A beloved 44-year-old record shop in Park Slope has been saved from eviction, thanks to a lease from another landlord on the same Fifth Avenue block.
There was an outpouring of support from longtime customers and record collectors for Tony Mignone’s Record and Tape Center after The Brooklyn Paper reported last month that the cramped time capsule of LPs, cassettes and — the ultimate anachronism — 8-track tapes could be deader than disco because his landlord would not renew his month-to-month lease.
“This is my 15 minutes of fame,” Mignone sang to The Brooklyn Paper from the spot near Ninth Street that he’s occupied for 38 years. He started the business in 1965 on Fifth Avenue and Sixth Street.
Mignone’s landlord demanded that he leave, though the issue was never Mignone’s rent payments. The landlord, who owns the deli next door, wants to expand into the space.
Mignone can’t wait to start work on the new store.
“Sometimes I’m dreaming of what I want to do and how I want to set it up,” the 73-year-old tune man said.
Mignone’s saga unleashed a debate on The Brooklyn Paper’s Web site about the changing face of Brooklyn’s neighborhoods. There was a lot of support from readers upset at seeing an independent being forced out.
“His shop is old school — that’s why I go there. I expect a bit more from my music buying experience than opening up an amazon.com box or watching a download click across the screen. Meeting actual people is part of that experience that you internet shut-ins are missing,” wrote a posted named Frank.
