Rap Club In Park Slope? Neighbors Revile, Want It To Be "Indie"

The new club Prime Six at Flatbush and Sixth in Brooklyn has neighbors up in arms: the venue may (gasp!) play rap music. Naturally, Park Slopers have been circulating a petition. The details, hysterical and sickening, serve as a prescient glance of the imminent neighborhood tension.

The Village Voice caught wind of the whole memo written by neighbor Jennifer McMillen, and it basically boils down to the writer's demand for

"a vibrant artistic hub instead of another Yo MTV Raps 'bling bling' vip club."

The title, with flagrant use of caps, provides a nice condensation of the letter's urgent tone:

"SEND THE MESSAGE TO PRIME 6: Indie Music Will Earn You More Than Hip-Hop!!!"

The true tension of the matter comes from the fact that Prime 6, at the nexus of Atlantic Yards, would be a grade-A location for drinks after a Nets game; however McMillen, in foreseeing this as an invitation to what she views the "rap" crowd, has decided to lash out.

Of course, this club would be markedly different from the rooftop hot-spot planned for Hotel Grand Prospect in the neighborhood, which affects more of the yuppified vibe now cliche in those parts.

Yet McMillen gratuitously preempts any charge of racism for opposing rap music:

"I know for a fact that there's no single type of establishment (or type of bar/club patron for that matter) that Park Slopers would inherently view as 'undesirable.' I don't think anyone would deny that Park Slopers are about the least 'racist' people on the planet.'"

She plays the family card--though she doesn't have kids of her own--and implores Prime 6 and owner, Akiva Ofshtein, to find a balance between the rap vibe and what she views as the tenor of the neighborhood.

Her approach natrually comes in the form of a stroller zinger:

"So here's the gist of my big idea: Isn't there some middle ground between this spot being a stroller repair shop and it being a full-on hip-hop club?"

She equates hip-hop with violent crime before pitching the indie vibe and going down the treacherous slope:

"Seventh Ave has ZERO venues for live music by indie artists, and is absolutely ripe for the right type of establishment to come along and breathe life into the live music scene. The business owner who is able to do THAT will reap financial rewards far beyond what they could hope to earn by selling Henessey.etc to basketball fans after a Nets game."

Her ideas are no doubt polemical, and it's unclear as to whether the insanity of her backward proposals should be lambasted or pitied.

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