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Robert G Salon was more than just a hair salon. It was a General Store without the pickle barrel, a neighborhood watering hole where people stopped by for a cup of tea or a glass of wine to share the latest news and local gossip. It was a safe house for kids, a place to drop of keys and pick up packages, and a destination for every dog within a three block radius for their daily biscuits. Robert loves dogs and kept a jar at the front desk. Dogs would pull their owners and dog walkers down the street and slam on their brakes when they reached our doorway.

Robert is Robert Gloria. Robert G. Salon was his fourth hair salon in the area, two in Chelsea and two in the West Village. He is the Robert of Robert Kree which was on Bleecker Street between Perry and Charles, where he did John Kennedy Jr.’s hair and his wife Carolyn Bessette, and Monica Lewinsky, before the landlord raised his $10,000 per month rent to $50,000. It was the beginning of the gentrification of Bleecker Street. Who knows when and where that will end.

This April I will have been doing hair for 50 years. I have worked in several shops in the Village. I was at Bleecker People from 1972 until it closed in 1989. Many of the people I work with were victims of the Aids epidemic, including the owner. I worked at Bluni/Rea for the next 19 years until the landlord tripled the rent and we were forced to move to Robert G.

A frequent scenario is that landlords pass along a portion of the real estate taxes to commercial businesses above and beyond their monthly rent. These can be exorbitant and impossible for small businesses to absorb.

Six of us from the old shop have relocated to Avalon on Christopher Street, a very warm and friendly place, casual and creative, busy yet laid back.

Of course I will miss Commerce Street, the neighbors, our daily fix of Milk and Cookies, Phil and Favio from the handbag shop. I’ll miss the tour groups exploring our little pocket neighborhood of history, sitting outside in nice weather reading or just people watching Vegas and Buddy, Nora and the boys, Gus with one green eye and one brown, and Noah who is only ten but who I have known for half his life.

Something needs to be done to protect small businesses, the Mom and Pop shops which have been here for years, creating jobs and the charm that makes the Village what we love and live here for.

Farewell Robert G.

Regards

Alan Perna

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