PROSPECT HEIGHTS — A rock and roll record label whose warehouse was flooded by Hurricane Sandy is planning to open a new shop in the neighborhood.
Independent label Norton Records has operated in the city since 1986, most recently at a Red Hook warehouse that was inundated by water during the 2012 storm. Floodwaters decimated their collection, damaging or destroying thousands of vinyl records, according to a report from the Village Voice.
A video produced shortly after the storm by vinyl collecting website Dust & Grooves shows the extent of the damage at Norton Records' Red Hook warehouse:
After Sandy, the label — which focuses on early rock, R&B and rockabilly artists — became the focus of an intense, volunteer-led recovery effort involving several vinyl “wash-a-thons” to salvage the damaged music and multiple benefit concerts put on by Norton’s friends and artists.
The label has operated online since the storm; its website still has a section for “Sandy Specials,” i.e. LPs saved from Red Hook, cleaned and repackaged after the hurricane.
Now, Norton Records is working to open a new shop elsewhere in Brooklyn. Recently, the label’s distinctive sign popped up on a storefront at 595 Washington Ave. in Prospect Heights. A sign on the door reads “coming soon!” and albums line the shelves inside.
A "coming soon" sign hangs on the door of Norton Records' new storefront at 595 Washington Ave. in Brooklyn. (Photo credit: DNAinfo/Rachel Holliday Smith)
Exactly when the new shop may open is unclear. An inquiry to the label was not returned. But in December, the label held a holiday sale through its website and Facebook page, which reads: “Each online sale gets us closer to opening the Brooklyn Norton Records store!”
For more information about Norton Records, visit its website.
