Billy Jones Way: Williamsburg honors music man who made room for others’ dreams

A street is getting renamed for a man who helped to put Brooklyn's live music scene on the map. Billy Jones is known for co-founding Baby's All Right, but his legacy goes far beyond the stage. News 12's Mike LaMorte has the story. It's one of the only venues keeping live music alive in Williamsburg. But for the late Billy Jones, Baby's All Right was about much more than music. It was about giving people a chance when no one else would. You know, he gave me my first job. He was my business partner, mentor, friend, everything in between. Tom Moore says Billy helped him find his place in New York and gave countless others a job, a stage, and a reason to keep dreaming. His consideration, faith, and looseness not only let people feel supported, but gave them the necessary room to struggle towards a thriving one could eventually own for his or herself. Jones and his friend Zachary Mexico opened Babies Alright in 2013, helping make Brooklyn a destination for independent music. Billy died last year at 45 after a year-long battle with brain cancer. But to the people he inspired, they're ensuring his story does not end there, renaming this strip of Broadway in his honor. As the new sign was revealed, his family saw just how far his impact reached. To know now that he was an integral part of bringing the music scene back to Brooklyn, and that's really what we're celebrating tonight. A legacy stretching beyond music. He wanted everyone to feel heard, to feel joy, to have fun, and to live life. And that's the Billy Jones way. In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Mike LaMorte, News 12.