L E H A V R E N E W S M A Y BY LIAM LA GUERRE The new Utopia Barbershop in Whitestone is a special place. The shop at 20-06 Utopia Parkway is split in two. The left side looks like a typical barbershop, but the right side looks like a mini- Toys“R”Us, replete with bright colors, murals of cartoon characters and video game consoles. That part of the shop is designed to make it easier to cut the hair of special needs children, such as kids with autism, who usually fuss while getting trimmed, owner Radik “Ray” Khaimov said. With specially trained barbers and calming features, he hopes his barbershop will become a utopia where parents can take their kids without any worries. “When they look around, they’ll feel like it’s a friendly place,” Khaimov said. “Barbershops should be a friendly place. When they walk in, they have to feel at home.” Khaimov, a Russian immigrant, comes from a family of barbers. His grandfather, father and uncle were all barbers in Russia, and his older brothers are continuing the family trade in New York City as well. A 15-year hair cutting veteran, Khaimov wanted to do something different when he decided to open his own shop, because “all barbershops are the same,” he said. His wife, who teaches special needs children, advised him about cutting their hair, and he expanded on the idea for his shop. There is an airplane and black cab barber chair for kids. Cables, scissors and other equipment are hidden, and customized clippers make almost no sound. The lights are dimmed on the right 8 LEHAVRE COURIER | MAY 2014 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM side, because Khaimov said it could bother the children’s eyes. And while the kids wait for their haircuts, there are Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 video games and an arcade system that they can play for free. Soon, Khaimov said, iPads will be added for children to watch movies and surf the Internet as well. Khaimov said three of his six licensed barbers are trained to work with special needs kids and the others are learning. During the cuts, these barbers try to calm down the children by conversing with them, singing songs or counting. Also, the barbers work fast. Haircuts last just seven to 15 minutes so the kids don’t get upset. “The point is to let them feel comfortable, and let them feel we are friends,” barber Meny Yoshevayev said. “I love to do it, because I feel that I’m helping parents who don’t know where to go. It makes my day.” A barber who focuses on cuts for special needs kids THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Radik “Ray” Khaimov’s new Utopia Barbershop is designed to cut hair for children with special needs. BY LIAM LA GUERRE Being an NYPD officer goes further than just catching bad guys — it’s about helping the victims. Cops from the 109th Precinct in Flushing reached into their pockets to help out 71-year-old twin sisters who were robbed of their monthly income, the NYPD said on its Facebook page. The women were on their way home from a bank in Flushing on April 5 when they were followed into an elevator in their apartment building by Salvador Morales, who knocked them to the floor and stole the $1,100 in Social Security aid they just received, the NYPD said. One of the sisters suffered a fractured bone in her leg, and both were transported to New York Hospital Queens. After word of the crime spread through the precinct, Police Officer Anthony Lo Verme and Detective Kevin O’Donnell collected about $500 from their colleagues and donated the money in person to the victims, the police said. “When we heard that they had just lost their entire monthly income we all knew we had to help,” O’Donnell said. Morales, a 58-year-old man from Manhattan, was arrested in Brooklyn and has been charged with burglary, robbery and assault. Police were able to identify him from similar burglaries he pulled off in Coney Island in Brooklyn wearing the same “mask-and-hat getup,” police said. Morales has at least 11 prior arrests for burglaries dating back to 1989, authorities said. The cops visited the women, who are still recovering, and handed the money to them at their bedsides. “Cops in New York City do things like this each and every day,” said Inspector Brian Maguire of the 109th Precinct. “I love the fact that my officers took it upon themselves and they rose to the occasion.” 109th Precinct donates $500 to elderly victims of robbery Photo courtesy NYPD Detective O’Donnell and Police Offi cer Lo Verme of the 109th Precinct started the collection for the victims. 8
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