14 The Courier sun • MAY 15, 2014 for breaking news visit www.couriersun.com THE COURIER/Photos by Liam La Guerre Radik “Ray” Khaimov’s new Utopia Barbershop is designed to cut hair for children with special needs. NEW BARBERSHOP FOCUSES ON CUTS FOR SPECIAL NEEDS KIDS BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected] @liamlaguerre 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 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.” Assemblyman eyes vacant lot owned by ConEd for school parking By ERIC JANKIEWICZ An vacant lot in Ozone Park that has sat fallow for several years should be converted into a parking lot for teachers at a nearby middle school, an elected official said. State Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder has asked Con Edison to allow teachers and parents from M.S. 137 to park in the lot across 98th Street from the school. The extra parking space would do more than just make parking convenient for teachers and parents, Goldfeder said in a press release. “Allowing access to the vacant lot for parking will help encourage parents to be more involved in student activities with their children,” Goldfeder said. “Every organization has a responsibility to the communities they are located in and a small gesture from ConEd will go a long way in easing parking congestion for residents of Ozone Park and parents visiting the school.” Parents complain that the area is severely congested and “parking is often difficult,” Goldfeder said in a letter to ConEd. “The vacant lot would be the perfect solution to the longtime issue of parking in the area for homeowners and allow the school extra space to host special events.” A ConEd spokesman said he was unable to respond before press time. NEW CITY GUIDE TO FLOOD PREPAREDNESS By ERIC JANKIEWICZ Homeowners in New York City can now turn to a new source on how to protect their homes against Sandy-like storms. The city’s Department of Environmental Protection released a new guide on May 13 to help homeowners protect their properties and valuables against flooding from heavy rainfall and sewer backups. In the department’s three-page guide, “Homeowner’s Guide to Flood Preparedness,” homeowners can find information about flooding problems and tips on prevention. While the illustrated guide provides many useful tips for homeowners, it wouldn’t help with extreme flooding that many communities in the city were hit by during Superstorm Sandy. The guide can be found on the city’s website, www.nyc. gov. Some of the issues addressed in the guide are installing check valves to prevent sewer backup, using barriers to block water from flowing into low-lying driveways and installing proper roof drainages. “One of the consequences we are already seeing from climate change is an increase in the frequency and intensity of rain events that can result in flash flooding in low-lying areas of New York City,” the department’s Commissioner Emily Lloyd said in a press release. “However, there are steps homeowners can take that will help prevent flooding and this new guide is full of important information that will help New Yorkers protect their properties.” The new flood preparedness guide was rolled out May 12 at a meeting of nearly 300 members of the Empowered Queens United in Action and Leadership (EQUAL) organization at St. Catherine of Sienna Catholic Church in Saint Albans. The organization is made up of congregations located in southeast Queens, Sunnyside and Woodside. It was formed to empower community members to get directly involved in efforts to improve the quality of life in their communities.
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