BY KEVIN DUGGAN
From close shaves to
closed doors.
Workers at Brooklyn’s
barber shops, tattoo parlors,
and nail salons are facing an
uncertain future after Governor
Andrew Cuomo announced
mandatory closures
to help contain the spread of
the novel coronavirus.
“These temporary closures
are not going to be
easy, but they are necessary
to protect the public health,”
the governor said.
Shops deemed “non-essential”
across New York
— as well as the rest of the
tri-state area — will had to
close their doors to patrons
by 8 pm on March 21, assuring
a major economic hit to
small businesses at a particularly
devastating time,
said one Crown Heights
piercer.
“Around this time is usually
our best time. Because
of tax season, everybody has
a little more money to spend
on piercings and tattoos,”
said Alex Paez, who works
at Gothic City Ink on Union
Street near Utica Avenue.
The forced closures come
after an uncertain work
week, where customers had
been canceling their ink
and pierce jobs and opting
to spend money on essentials
like food and medicine
instead, according to Paez.
One Park Slope barber
said that he’s had fewer customers
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overall — although
some have come in for lastminute
shape-ups before
heading into quarantine.
“We had some people today
who said they wouldn’t
know when they can get a
haircut again,” said Serj Yu,
a manager at Elegant Barber
on Seventh Avenue near
15th Street.
Yu said that the shop will
remain open until the evening
before the ban to attract
as much business as
possible, but he understands
the imperative to close the
businesses affected by the
ban during this peculiar
situation.
“I understand people being
cautious so there’s really
nobody to blame,” he
said. “It’s a worldwide situation
and there’s nothing we
can do.”
When reached for comment,
dozens of businesses
across the borough did not
answer their phones — and
many had voice messages
informing customers that
they’d closed.
The owner of a Crown
Heights nail salon said that
he had sent his employees
home last week, after many
workers feared coming into
close contact with people
on the job during the pandemic.
“Workers were all scared
to come in,” said Jack Xia,
who owns Sammy’s Nail
Salon on Nostrand Avenue
Alex Paez says less people have come to get tattoos and piercings since
the spread of the novel coronavirus. Photo by Kevin Duggan
and Pacific Street. “You’re
touching hands and you’re
close to people’s face and
you don’t know who has the
virus.”
And while businesses
will be closed, demand from
customers continues, according
to the owner of a
Kings Highway nail studio
— who said they’ve still
been getting a half a dozen
would-be customers each
day calling for manicures
and pedicures, despite having
closed up shop earlier
this week.
“We’ve been getting calls
but we’ve been turning them
down,” said the owner who
only gave her name as Rita,
and whose daughter translated
from Chinese for her.
“We were just scared and we
didn’t want to put ourselves
at risk.”
CORONA CUTS
Barber shops, tattoo parlors, nail salons face shutdown
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718-278-3900
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Making Sense of the Census
The Count
Begins
By Julie Menin, Director of NYC Census
2020.
During these trying times we are in,
we want to share one bit of good news,
readers! Thanks to you and your fellow
New Yorkers, New York City is already
making great strides in the 2020 Census.
After being available for just one
week, 15.1% of NYC households have
already responded to the 2020 Census.
These are good starting numbers, but
let’s take a moment to appreciate why
this is so significant.
In 2010, after one week, just 6% of New
Yorkers had responded to the census by
this point, compared to the national average
of 16% at the time. Now in 2020, as
of March 23, the national average is 21%,
and NYC is at 15.1%. That means we are
closing the gap between New York City
and the national average.
That alone is incredibly significant.
But we have to remember that this is
even more important than ever because
of the unprecedented challenges we’ve
faced in the 2020 Census: the fear, misinformation,
and disinformation stemming
from the protracted, multi-year
battle surrounding the citizenship question;
a deep and widespread distrust of
the federal government; the census being
primarily available online for the
first time; and now, New York City is one
of the national epicenters of the battle
against the COVID-19 pandemic.
Now more than ever, to keep each
other safe and healthy, it’s never been
more important for New Yorkers to selfrespond
to the census, as more than 15%
of us have already done. And luckily, it’s
never been easier, since you can fill it out
in just five minutes online or by phone.
So if you haven’t filled out the census
yet, fill it out now at my2020census.gov
or by calling 844-330-2020. And if you
have already done it, take a moment to
pat yourself on the back for being a part
of this historic effort — then tell your
friends, family, and neighbors to do the
same!
“Making Sense of the Census” is a
weekly column from Julie Menin, Director
of NYC Census 2020. Every week we
will be publishing pieces from Julie and
guest authors laying out the facts and
answering tough questions about this
year’s census. Fill out the census now at
my2020census.gov.
/my2020census.gov
/my2020census.gov
link
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