Prime 6 Petitions May Be Missing the Point

Initial outrage against the opening of a Manhattan-style restaurant and lounge near Atlantic Yards has now spiraled into a full-on Internet debate over racism.

On Monday, Slope residents to protest the noise and company that the restaurant, Prime 6, may bring to Park Slope. On Wednesday, an Internet urging the restaurant to “embrace indie music” rather than hip-hop and today, a second petition surfaced petitioning the initial petition.

“The underlying racism is just disgusting,” said Windsor Terrace resident Kevin Bova, who penned the second petition in protest of racial remarks in the first. “If you live anywhere in Brooklyn you don’t have the right to be racist. This is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in city. I’ve lived here my whole life and that’s not the Brooklyn I’m proud of.”

He added: “I feel one absurd petition deserves another.”

Though there has been some question as to whether the initial petition against Prime 6 may have been a hoax, whoever authored it did not respond to an E-mail request for comment from Park Slope Patch.

Still, some feel that both petitions may be missing the point.

“It’s not productive on either end to try and anger people about an issue that may or may not be true. They were fairly clear [at the community board meeting] that the only music they proposed was 'light acoustic.' I don’t think people were even worried about that aspect,” said Hope Reichbach, a spokesperson for Councilmember Stephen Levin.

“Our concern is that the owners are accessible to the community and are able to dialogue about issue that are quality of life.”

At Monday’s Community Board 6 meeting, opposition primarily stemmed from proposals for hours extending until 4:00 a.m. and a backyard, which residents worried would bring excessive traffic and noise to the neighborhood. 

“We’re not even going to address this petition because it’s just so ridiculous, whether it’s a hoax or not. It’s just so blatantly racist,” said Sharon Davidson, Executive Director of the North Flatbush Business Improvement District.

“As the BID, we want to see businesses in our district. We want to compromise and work with this guy. That’s what we’re looking for.”