WALLABOUT WEEK: IN DA CLUB

Many months ago, I was taking a car service to a party, and we drove past Reign. I was shocked to see what appeared to be a nightclub in this otherwise sleepy/desolate area.

From what I've heard, Reign attracts the Escalade crowd, and that patrons party until the wee hours of the morning. Still seems like an odd locale for a crazy hip-hop club, but then again, industrial areas are probably more conducive to loud music late-night.

I've also heard that the bartenders have been opening the club early for neighborhood happy hours, catering to the chill lounge set (ie. people like me who are too tired to go out and shake it at 1am on a weeknight) and hoping to attract locals.

I'm set to go sometime this week! Has anyone ever been inside? This is as close as I've come: Anyone live nearby and had any very good (or very bad) experiences?

Reigh even has their own MySpace page (and a ton of friends to boot).

Reign 46 Washington Ave (between Park and Flushing)

WALLABOUT WEEK ON CHB

That area north of Park is usually a mystery. What goes on up there? Do people live there? What the hell is Wallabout? This week, we'll explore some of this uncharted territory and let you know what's new, exciting and intriguing.

As it turns out, this week is going to be quite pivotal for the area. Clintoncentric, one of our favorite 'hood bloggers, has decided to help us out here as she hasn't had enough time to keep CC as updated as she'd like. Turns out, she knows lots about Wallabout!

Here's her first contribution:

On Thursday, October 19th, the Historic Wallabout Association will present the latest developments on creating a Historic Wallabout District for the 22 blocks north of Myrtle Avenue and south of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, between Carlton and Classon Avenues. I pulled up an old pdf from a past HWA meeting and skimmed through it for interesting factoids:

The neighborhood is named after its original settlers, the Walloons, French-speaking Protestants from what is now Belgium, who in 1624 settled along a bay on the East River and named it Waal-bogt. Later, as the area became a major industrial center, it also attracted a major produce mart in the 1880s called the Wallabout Market. This is a pic from 1934, and according to this man's blog, it was the second-largest market in the world at one point: (If only it was still there! Then maybe we would all be eating better!)

To this day, the Wallabout area has the largest concentration of pre-Civil War frame houses in New York City.

The HWA's general meeting is from 6:30-8:30 PM at the Benjamin Banneker Academy, 71 Clinton Avenue.

*** Crap! That meeting time conflicts with the SCH meeting, and I can't attend either. Poo. Hopefully another CHB contributor can check it out.

Apology from RePop, CH Meeting

Russell at RePop just dropped me a note -- he was bedridden with food poisoning this weekend, and apologizes for closing early on Saturday. ALSO, I am once again unable to attend this week's Society for Clinton Hill meeting. (Sorry- I have class!!.) Will someone email us notes to post??

Society for Clinton Hill

GENERAL MEETING

Thursday, October 19, 2006, 7:30 p.m. sharp

St. Luke's Church Sanctuary

Washington Avenue (between Dekalb/Willoughby)

FINALLY - Cool Oddities in the Hood

BrooklynJay tipped me off to a postcard he found at Zaytoons for a new store called Repop.

Via the website, the place looked amazing -- the perfect place for picking up some random trinkets and vintage housewares. It looks like the kind of place only available in East Williamsburg. Not anymore! Yessssssss...

As discussed earlier, this place is technically NOT part of Clinton Hill. I suppose it would be considered Wallabout or Navy Yard. Either way, it's close enough to call our own. (Look for a post soon about that whole area between the BQE and the Navy Yard. The whole area is ripe for cool scenes like Repop!)

Partners/owners Russell and Carl moved to the neighborhood from Kansas City, where they worked for and owned similar shops. Repop, which just opened in mid-July, is eventually slated to become part bar, allowing patrons to shop while they drink. The shop is so great right now on its own that I hope they expand to a space next door for the bar. Repop is the type of place you could spend hours in, literally discovering something new each time you turn around. Items big and small are packed in -- from furniture to dishes to buttons to ancient doll heads and dismembered doll parts, not to mention vintage frocks and owl-feather hats, plus religious statues.

Inventory is changing constantly. Best of all, the guys are super honest. BrooklynJay found a valuable camera for $20. When he politely informed Russell that the camera was worth a few hundred bucks, Russel shrugged and said, "Yeah. We only mark up 10-20% of what we pay for the goods." The owners have a keen sense of humor as well. The back of the store features a small wall display unit filled with old Fisher-Price little people (you know, the smaller, swallowable ones from our youth, as opposed to the gigantic ones in stores now). You can't pass something without a chuckle.

Repop 68 Washington Avenue Bkln, NY 11205 718-260-8032 Wed-Sun, 11am-7pm