The Lot Radio—Live From a Reclaimed Shipping Container in NYC

Just what the world needs—another internet radio station.

That’s what I thought when Francois Vaxelaire called me last year to tell me about his plan to start an internet radio station based here in Brooklyn, New York. He asked if I might be interested in doing a show when he had things together. I told him to get back in touch when he was ready, and we’d go from there.

He thankfully did, because it’s actually one of the best things to happen here in New York—well, in Williamsburg, Brooklyn—in a long while.

The Brussels-born Francois, who moved to New York six years ago, was feeling somewhat at a crossroads in his life. Frustrated and creatively unfulfilled at his job as a freelance multimedia producer, he wanted to do something “professional” with his first passion, which was music. He was seriously thinking of moving back to Brussels. Needing to get out of the house and clear his mind, he took a walk around his neighborhood in Williamsburg, near McCarren Park.

He came across a vacant lot on a triangle of land off Nassau Street. Amazingly enough, there was a “For Lease” sign on the fence around the lot. Knowing he’d stumbled onto something special, the idea of an online radio station popped into his head. He wrote the number down on the sign and called a few friends to share his idea and make sure he wasn’t thinking something crazy.

One of the first people he called was his friend Lloyd Harris, aka DJ Lloydski, part of the Tiki Disco crew and DJ extraordinaire in his own right. Lloyd loved the idea and told Francois he was in and wanted to be “on the right side of something awesome.”

With Williamsburg being a very “hot” part of town, the owner of the vacant lot had people lining up wanting to rent the space. It was not going to be an easy task to secure it. But the landowner liked Francois’s idea for the radio station and granted him the lease.

After securing the space, the next task was to have a structure to house the radio station’s studio. A real building was not an option because of cost and time. He considered a trailer but wanted something more “solid”—more durable and anchored to the ground. He decided that a classic 20-foot-long shipping container would be perfect.

Francois designed it and found people in Long Island to build his dream box. At first, he just wanted the radio station studio in the container, but he had to come up with a concept to make the project self-sufficient. It was extremely important for him to keep the station 100 percent independent. He had the idea to divide the container in two: one side housing the radio station, and the other a kiosk where they’d sell coffee, pastries, sandwiches and some merchandise. The kiosk would fund the whole project, so they’d be totally independent and not have to rely on sponsorships or be associated with any brands. Having the container and the plan for the kiosk made it way harder to get all the permits from the city, which took more than nine months. But it was well worth it.

Once everything was in order, Lloyd started reaching out to some of his DJ friends and inviting them to come and play. When I received the call and went down to check out the station, I was surprised to see this oasis in the middle of Williamsburg. I knew right away I wanted to be part of it.

In addition to the structure that houses the station and kiosk, they use the whole triangle of land, so you can have people hanging out while the radio shows are being done live, having coffee and chilling. Picnic tables can be set up, and pink plastic flamingos and hammocks decorate the space. You have local neighborhood people stopping in, and DJs and creative types visiting and hanging out, creating a special, community-based atmosphere. And they recently acquired a mascot: a tricycle that Lloyd refurbished. It is now outfitted with a boombox that can broadcast the shows as they ride it around the neighborhood.

The station is also located right across the street from a church, which seemed like it could have been a problem—but quite the contrary. The church loves the station and has been more than helpful along the way, even offering space for a concert performance by the French artist Jacques. It was a great success, with more to follow.

Inspired by NTS Radio in London and Red Light Radio in Amsterdam, The Lot Radio is unique in its community interaction and diverse programming. Lloyd does the “morning show” from 10am to noon; it’s an ambitious time slot for one of the busiest DJs in town, but he really looks forward to playing his show every day. Monthly guests include Joakim, Mike Simonetti, FaltyDL, Christine Renee, the Razor n Tape crew, and me, among others. Recent guests have included Sasa from In Flagranti, Pedro Winter from Ed Banger, Eric Duncan, Nicky Siano, Stretch Armstrong, the Martinez Brothers, and Bruce Forest.

What was once just a dream now has DJs lining up, waiting to get a slot on the schedule. As Francois told me, “That triangle is magic.”

Does the world need another internet radio station? Yes. This one.