A city councilman is proposing curbside trims and perms as a creative way to help barbershops and hair salons safely reopen from the coronavirus lockdown.
“Expanding sidewalk permits to barbershops and hair salons would allow for these small businesses to get back on their feet faster and safely,” Councilman Keith Powers (D-Manhattan) wrote the mayor this week.
The mayor is expected to announce a plan for outdoor dining by Friday — but there’s no similar guidance for salons that can also reopen as early as Monday under the city’s Phase 2 restart.
Powers said the curbside cuts would provide much-needed relief for New Yorkers — himself included — who’ve gone without a trim since salons closed three months ago.
The 36-year-old pol got his last cut at his longtime barber Sigfrido’s on First Avenue in Manhattan the day before salons shuttered on March 21.
“Lots of neighborhood barbershops are going to have difficulty staying open if we don’t give them options to be able to do social distancing and increase capacity,” Powers told The Post.
“People aren’t going to feel comfortable immediately going in so I think we want to offer the public some comfort and give those businesses the capacity to make a little bit more money when they reopen,” he said.
Reps for the mayor did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
But at least one barbershop owner was open to the idea.
“I would love to be able to cut outside, but the problem we would run into is the coming heat,” said Shawn Dixon, who employs 12 barbers at three Otis & Finn locations in Queens and Brooklyn.
“Cutting hair while people are sweating can cause come difficulty with clippers and cutting. If they gave us the ability to have tenting that would be something that we would welcome and could help. That said, I don’t think it should be required in order to reopen,” Dixon said.
