MTA: Changes coming to BK by the busload!
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority launched its borough-wide overhaul of the bus network on Oct. 2. Photo by Elissa Esher
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Alien odyssey
British pianist plays Fort Greene jazz festival
All that jazz: Aaron Whitby (second from left) and his band will play upbeat tunes from his jazz-funk album “Cousin from Another Planet,” at Bric’s JazzFest on Oct. 24. Photo by Derrick Watterson
HBy Rose Adams e’s got the keys to the
Planet!
A Fort Greene piano
player will invade Brooklyn’s
biggest jazz festival next week,
beaming down with his debut
album as a bandleader. Aaron
Whitby and his crew will play
funky tunes from “Cousin
From Another Planet” on
the opening night of the Bric
JazzFest Marathon, a three-night
extravaganza of blues, soul, and
jazzy performances taking place
all over the Bric House in Fort
Greene from Oct. 24–26.
The album contain eight
sunny songs filled with violins,
guitar, drums, keyboard, and
occasional vocals. Whitby said
that he came up with his out-ofthis
world songs while roaming
Fort Greene with his young son.
“A lot of these tunes kind of
came to me walking to school and
walking home,” said Whitby. “It’s
quite animated and colorful … a
lot of it was inspired by my son.”
The pianist was born in
London, England, but moved to
New York in 1997 to pursue a
career playing jazz. The title of
“Cousin from Another Planet”
riffs on the 1983 movie “Brother
from Another Planet,” about a
black alien who lands in Harlem
and bonds with a human over
their commonalities. As an
immigrant, Whitby said that he
related to the alien’s simultaneous
feelings of estrangement and
familiarity, as an Englishman
living in Brooklyn, and playing
a quintessentially American form
of music.
“One the one hand, it’s that
I’m an immigrant, I’m from
somewhere else. And also I’m an
immigrant to the music,” Whitby
said. But he believes in looking
at the similarities between all
creatures, human and otherwise.
“We’re all cousins,” he said.
The three-day marathon of
jazz, which will feature 21 acts
performing on three different
stages, is the conclusion of a week
of jazz-related events, starting
on Oct. 19 with a free outdoor
concert by rhythm and blues
singer Bettye LaVette. In the
following days, the Fort Greene
arts group will host a poetry slam
and two documentaries about
the history of jazz: “Blue Note
Records: Beyond The Notes,”
which sheds light on the artists
behind the legendary music
label, Blue Note Records, and
“Amazing Grace,” about two
Aretha Franklin performances
from 1972.
“Bric JazzFest Marathon”
at the Bric House (647 Fulton
St. at Rockwell Place in Fort
Greene, (718) 683–5600,
www.bricartsmedia.org). Oct.
24–26; 7:30–11:10 pm. $35 per
night ($30 in advance). Aaron
Whitby performs on Oct. 24 at
9:20 pm.
“Outdoor Kickoff Concert:
Bettye LaVette” at the Plaza at
300 Ashland (Lafayette Avenue
between Flatbush Avenue and
Ashland Place in Fort Greene).
Oct. 19 at 3 pm. Free.
“Brooklyn Poetry Slam” at
Bric House. Oct. 21 at 7 pm. Free.
“Blue Note Records: Beyond
The Notes” at Bric House. Oct. 22
at 7:30 pm. Free.
“Amazing Grace” at the Bric
House. Oct. 23 at 7:30 pm. Free.
Your entertainment
guide Page 43
Police Blotter ..........................8
Wellness ................................. 35
Letters .................................... 32
Standing O ............................40
HOW TO REACH US
COURIER L 2 IFE, OCT. 18-24, 2019
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
Transit gurus kicked off a
sweeping overhaul of Brooklyn’s
bus network on Oct. 2.
The Metropolitan Transportation
Authority launched
its fi rst ever borough-wide revamp
of Kings County’s bus
system by talking to straphangers
at the Williamsburg Bridge
Plaza Bus Terminal in an effort
to bring faster and more
reliable service to the borough,
according to the agency.
“We’re taking a holistic,
clean-slate look at Brooklyn
bus service. By redesigning
the bus network, we can deliver
more frequent, reliable
service that satisfi es the needs
of the borough,” reads a statement
by the agency’s Five Borough
arm.
Transit honchos plan to reexamine
the borough’s 63 local
and nine express bus lines
over the coming year — some
of which follow old trolley or
former elevated train lines no
longer in use — while looking
at ways to make them faster
and more reliable.
The renewed push to improve
the system comes as
more and more Brooklynites
are opting against taking the
bus. Express and local bus
service have seen a 10- and
14-percent decline in ridership
respectively since 2016,
as straphangers rebel against
the shuttles’ sluggish average
speed of 7.7 mph, according to
the agency.
The deteriorating situation,
coupled with recent cuts
made to the B38 , B54 , and the
B46 — the busiest bus route
in the borough — have led to
numerous demonstrations for
angry straphangers , including
one disgruntled commuter,
who was so mad that he baked
protest cookies at a rally in August.
Under the makeover scheme
— which is part of New York
City Transit President Andy
Byford’s Fast Forward plan
— the agency will collaborate
with the city’s Department of
Transportation to build new
bus lanes, expand service
along busy corridors, and reroute
under-utilized buses.
The agency plans to use
data from MetroCard swipes
and satellite-tracking systems,
along with information on residential
and commercial development,
and other transportation
methods — including taxis
and ride-sharing vehicles — to
help facilitate their improvements.
Offi cials also want to hear
from commuters — as the agency’s
outreach staff have begun
compiling rider feedback at bus
stops and subway stations, and
will begin inviting commuters
to open house meetings by the
end of the month.
In speaking with this paper,
straphangers were chiefl y
concerned with improving reliability
and reducing overcrowding
on borough buses.
“At the end of the day, if the
buses would just come consistently
I’d have a lot less issues
with the bus system in general
— they should focus on that
fi rst,” said Bedford-Stuyvesant
resident Hosneara Begum.
“Most people are just trying to
get to places on time.”
Another commuter said she
prefers enduring the long descent
into her nearest subway
station — despite suffering
from bad knees — rather than
risk being late using Brooklyn’s
unreliable bus service.
“When I’m in a hurry, I
have to take the train rather
than wait. I have bad knees so I
need to take the elevator - that’s
a long walk - and then I get on
a packed train car and sometimes
have to stand up, which
is really bad for my knees,”
said Evette Range.
And one Crown Heights
high school student said he’s often
forced to skip buses, which
frequently arrive packed to the
gills with surly straphangers.
“A lot of the time I just have
to wait for the next bus to come
around, because there are way
to many people for me to fi t on
my bus,” said 17-year-old Sam
Sou. “That means waiting a
whole other 20 minutes usually.”
The Transit Authority
wrapped up a borough-wide
bus revamp in Staten Island in
2018, and has since launched
similar projects in the Bronx
and Queens. They plan to unveil
their fi nalized Brooklyn
scheme in late 2020.
— Additional reporting by
Elissa Esher and Joe Hiti
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