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QUEENS WEEKLY, JANUARY 12, 2020 Supercuts on Bell Boulevard Photo via Google Maps
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Another Bayside business
fell to the wayside as
New York property taxes
continue to rise.
This time, the northeast
Queens neighborhood said
goodbye to the Supercuts
salon at 41-04 Bell Blvd.
News of the chain hair salon’s
closure broke on the
Bayside community Facebook
page.
“We spoke with Don,
the owner of the franchise
who said it wasn’t so much
the rent, but the recent rise
of imposed taxes that don’t
take the small businessman
into account that was
the defining factor,” said
Gregg Sullivan, founder of
BaysideLiveTv.
Franchise owners Barbara
Burdzy and Dan Raghoonundon
bought the salon
in August 2015 and had
future plans to expand the
business.
According to Department
of Finance records,
the property tax on the
building where Supercuts
is located rose by nearly
$29,000 over 10 years. Annual
property tax in 2009
was $80,227 versus $109,063
in 2019.
Bayside Village BID
Director Christine Silletti
said that the franchise
owners told the landlord
they would not be renewing
their lease. So, the property
owners offered the space to
the owners of Hair Studio 4
who refused the offer.
Silletti added the the
Supercuts stylists have a
“partnership with another
hair salon” and plan to
move there.
Founders Frank Emmett
and Geoffrey Rappaport
started Supercuts in
1975. The pair opened their
first location in California
as a quick alternative to
high-end salons and smaller
neighborhood barber
shops.
Emmett and Rappaport
developed a 20-minute haircutting
technique that allowed
them to offer quick,
inexpensive haircuts to
their customers. Patrons
can get a haircut without
booking an appointment
and choose services for a
tailored experience.
Today, Regis Corp. owns
Supercuts in addition to
several other haircutting
and styling franchises in
the United States. There
are currently 2,369 Supercuts
franchises across the
country and 140 outside of
the U.S.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at
(718) 260-2583.
Zhaoyue Sun, 62, sits at North Restaurant in Flushing. Photo by Baidi Wang
‘Life is too expensive here’
Senior immigrants in Flushing putting off retirement
BY BAIDI WANG
It’s almost 10 p.m. in
downtown Flushing, and
Ming Gao is busy cleaning
up after a 10-hour day
at C J Food Market where
he works as a butcher.
Gao seemed tired.
“Work is not easy,” he
said. “I definitely wouldn’t
work if I were in China.
Life is too expensive here,
and I want to help reduce
the pressure on my children.”
Gao, 63, is only one of
the large number of seniors
living in Flushing who are
working past 60, what is
a normal retirement age
in China. It has been eight
years since he immigrated
to the U.S. from China.
John Liu, 80, is actively
seeking part-time jobs. He
ran a small clothing factory
before retiring two
years ago, but he said he
didn’t like retirement.
“If there is a job without
a heavy physical requirement,
I’ll go for it,”
Liu said. “I can earn money
while keeping busy. It’s
good.”
According to a report
this year by the Center
for an Urban Future, an
independent, nonpartisan
policy organization,
the number of New York
state residents over 65 increased
26 percent over
the last decade. Seniors
are the fastest-growing
segment of the state’s population.
In Flushing, the elderly
residents account for 17.5
percent of the population,
whereas across the city,
that number is 13 percent.
But most of the Flushing’s
seniors are Chinese. Some
are even new immigrants.
They are facing challenges
in language, culture
and finances.
“To be honest, it’s really
hard to find a job for
new senior immigrants
who cannot speak English,”
said Penny Shen, a
senior coordinator at the
Chinese-American Planning
Council (CPC) in
Flushing, who is responsible
for the organization’s
Senior Community
Service Employment Program.
“The possibility
of finding jobs depends
on applicants’ abilities,
but English is a primary
obstacle. It might be too
late for them to learn English.”
Many seniors in Flushing
cannot find regular
office jobs because of the
language barrier. Many
senior men work in restaurants
working as kitchen
helpers or dishwashers.
Some senior women work
as home-care workers for
Chinese families in Flushing.
None of those jobs require
English.
Shen also said onethird
of seniors who ask
CPC to help with job-hunting
are struggling financially.
“I don’t plan to retire
so far. The living expense
in Flushing, especially
the housing rent is too expensive.
I’ll keep working
when I’m still healthy,”
said Zhaoyue Sun, 62, a
cook at North Restaurant
in Flushing since 1995.
Bayside Supercuts
location closes shop
on Bell Boulevard
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