Malverne, West Hempstead reacts to closure of all barber shops, nail/hair salons, tattoo parlors

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Governor Cuomo issued a directive via Twitter Friday morning ordering all barber shops, nail and hair salons, and tattoo parlors to close, effective March 21 at 8 p.m.

The governor tweeted the directive at 8:48 a.m., stating, "These temporary closures are not going to be easy, but they are necessary to protect the public health."

"What we do next will have a massive impact on the trajectory of this virus in New York," the governor had tweeted earlier in the week. "We can only maintain public health by staying apart. The decision each of us makes now will impact us all tomorrow. Stay home."

Deirdre Bell, owner of Hair By Deirdre in Malverne, told the Herald that she had expected closures like this to happen. "I’m the only one in the shop and I'm taking one customer at a time,” Bell said. “It’ll all work out. I’m not really panicking about anything.

"I just hope that everyone will be safe, and for people to know that time will go on,” Bell added.

Sparrow Tattoo owner Robert Scarpati, based in West Hempstead, said that he was disappointed to hear Cuomo’s decision, but understood that the precautions were much-needed.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Scarpati said. “We’re going to hit it strong as soon as we can get back to work.”

Scarpati said that his tattoo parlor usually handles two to three customers at a time on most days, but he hopes to maintain that once businesses are allowed to reopen. “I just hope that they assess the risks accurately and only do what’s necessary,” Scarpati said, “especially since we keep up a sterile environment anyway.”

More to follow.