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Why NYC Is Banning Cars From Some Streets
From Catharine Smith | 06:42
The Open Streets program aimed to give New Yorkers more safe spaces to hang out during Covid. The program was so popular that it's going to be permanent. But questions remain over how that will work.
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- Why NYC Is Banning Cars From Some Streets
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- Catharine Smith
The Open Streets program aimed to give New Yorkers more safe spaces to hang out during Covid. The program was so popular that it's going to be permanent. But questions remain over how that will work.
Harlem Keeps Jazz Traditions Alive As Pandemic Restrictions Ease
From Catharine Smith | 04:20
While New York City reopens, Harlem musicians continue one of jazz's most revered traditions at the historic Minton's Playhouse.
This story spotlights the importance of jam sessions in jazz culture and reveals how pandemic-era musicians are keeping the tradition alive at one of the most famous jam session sites in jazz history, Minton's Playhouse on 118th Street in Harlem. The piece revolves around a 15-year-old jazz musician who's getting back onstage in front of a live audience for the first time since the pandemic hit. He travelled from his home in Washington, D.C., to participate in the legendary jam session at Minton's. The club's first jam sessions were a product of the World War II era, and the cats swinging there in 2021 are paying homage to those early gatherings. The piece includes an analysis on the cutthroat social history of jam sessions by historian Scott DeVeaux, and contrasts that to today's more welcoming sessions.