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Record Shop With Vintage Reggae to Open in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens

By Rachel Holliday Smith | July 29, 2016 11:44am | Updated on August 1, 2016 8:43am
 A new record shop with a focus on vintage reggae will open in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens this summer.
A new record shop with a focus on vintage reggae will open in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens this summer.
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Ian Clark

PROSPECT-LEFFERTS GARDENS — A new record store with a focus on reggae is opening in the neighborhood this summer, bringing a specialty collection of vinyl to a Fenimore Street storefront, its owner said.

Record City will open at 65 Fenimore St. near Flatbush Avenue by the end of August said Ian Clark, 43, a DJ and vinyl seller of more than a decade.

Before opening the new 300-square-foot shop, Clark ran his business — including his label, DKR Records, which reissues vintage reggae music — online and in a nearby warehouse space on Rogers Avenue and Empire Boulevard.

But now, with more people buying vinyl and recent closures of New York’s record stores, he thinks the time is right to give a brick-and-mortar operation a try.

“In the mid-2000s, tons of the old school spots and a couple of the new school spots closed down,”  the owner said, citing closures in downtown Manhattan. “So, hopefully, there’s a little bit of a void or vacuum that can be filled by a new shop.”

Clark will have roughly 5,000 records in stock, carrying his label’s own reissues, records from his collection, and music from a mix of genres. Patrons can expect a “very healthy” dose of reggae, which he thinks will fit well in the neighborhood.

“Because of the connection to Caribbean music, I wanted to be in a historically Caribbean part of town,” he said.

Record City will take over the space previously occupied by the wine shop 65 Fen, which is moving next door, Clark said.

He is currently renovating the space, which has elicited a lot of interest from passersby who pop in to tell him they’re psyched for the new spot.

The attention is encouraging to Clark, who is banking on customers beyond his niche, reggae record-collecting crowd.

“The record nerds that already know about me are going to definitely come out,” he said. “But what will be really interesting is to see what kind of people…come in with a general interest.”