Astor Place Hair to Close Permanently Next Month Due to Pandemic
You’ve seen, you’ve read, you’ve heard.
News broke over the weekend that Astor Place Hairstylists, a bastion of affordable cuts, is closing down for good. Barring some miracle, the 74-year-old business will be another victim of this dreadful pandemic.
Apparently, management informed staff last Friday. Its final day on the namesake block is at the end of November.
“[The COVID-19 pandemic] killed us,” manager Frank Luciano told Gothamist.
“At full staff we had 54 barbers and beauticians,” Luciano said. “Now we’re down to 25 at most, depending on the day. We are following all the protocols and spacing everything out, with partitions, but we’re not able to cover expenses.”
Perhaps Mayor de Blasio, who has gotten his trims there for years, will intervene. He apparently stopped by on Saturday “after hearing the horrible news,” according to Gothamist.
Astor Place Hair opened circa 1946 at 2 Astor Place, and once occupied several floors. Rising rents forced owners John and Paul Vezza to consolidate the business in the basement in 2004.
The Vezza brothers are third generation owners, but they do not own the building itself.
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