A mysterious petition about a controversial hip-hop nightclub is stirring up tension in serene Park Slope.
Prime 6, a proposed restaurant/bar on Flatbush and Sixth Avenue, caused a stir at a Community Board meeting Monday. Residents are concerned the bar will stay open until 4 a.m., blasting music.
Stirring the pot further yesterday was a petition — with 544 signatures so far — warning that hip-hop music would bring crime.
“This petition is inappropriate,” Councilman Stephen Levin told Metro. He plans to meet Friday with the Flatbush Avenue Business Improvement District to discuss Prime 6.
Supposed petition author Jennifer McMillen — residents didn’t recognize the name, and a Levin spokeswoman said she suspected it might be fake because it is not in voter records — asked Prime 6 owners to feature indie music instead.
“It’s thinly veiled racism and classism,” said Wes Jackson, director of the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. “They think of hip-hop being some kind of euphemism for aggressive black males swinging chains.”
Residents said Monday’s meeting was combative but centered only on nightclub owner Akiva Ofshtein and his plans to stay open late, including having loud music outside.
“If he was playing Beethoven or Gregorian chants, no one would want that,” resident Michael Rooney said. “It doesn’t matter what the music is.”
