The Q at Parkside

(for those for whom the Parkside Q is their hometrain)

News and Nonsense from the Brooklyn neighborhood of Lefferts and environs, or more specifically a neighborhood once known as Melrose Park. Sometimes called Lefferts Gardens. Or Prospect-Lefferts Gardens. Or PLG. Or North Flatbush. Or Caledonia (west of Ocean). Or West Pigtown. Across From Park Slope. Under Crown Heights. Near Drummer's Grove. The Side of the Park With the McDonalds. Jackie Robinson Town. Home of Lefferts Manor. West Wingate. Near Kings County Hospital. Or if you're coming from the airport in taxi, maybe just Flatbush is best.

Monday, February 27, 2017

Word On the Street: Nelson's Gotta Go

Say it ain't so. While the world wonders how the Oscar went first to the lily-white-straight movie by mistake when the jet-black-gay movie was the real winner, rumors are swirling that the building that houses Nelson's barbershop on Parkside is being sold, and longtime proprietor Nelson Urraca must find new digs in just 30 days.

Here's the Q's first write up on the place a few years ago. I've been a happy customer at least three or four times a year ever since.

As anyone living in Lefferts knows well, the Barbershop is a place of community. It's a clubhouse and a therapy session and a place for advice and empathy, soul and sympathy. This is true at the small town "white" cutters too, but nothing can compare to the ecumenical church that is the "curly" hair barbershop. It's a fixture of black-cast movies, and at 9 Clarkson I've watched as a true family has developed in just four years, the tiny shop packed noon and night with laughs and sports.

The Q will keep you updated on the real deal. Let's hope Nelson can work something out, or at the very least, find a spot nearby. I know his mom lives on Flatbush around the corner, so it's been good to be so near. Feeling a little weepy about it, though I do know shit happens, nothing lasts forever, change is inevitable. Still, this one hurts.




4 comments:

Virginia B. said...

We are devastated. But ready to fight.

Unknown said...

Nelson told me he has identified a spot close by and is looking forward to negotiating a lease there. He views the change in positive light as the larger space presents him with new opportunities that he believes will enable him to serve a larger customer base and offer expanded service.Nelson did make it a point to say how supportive his landlord has been over the 18 years he has been there. He is sympathetic toward him because the sale is necessitated by health changes. I was happy to learn of Nelson's experience and good attitude simply by asking him. Otherwise I might have been overly influenced by the preconceptions of greed and villainy that wash over many discussions of change in our nabe.

Clarkson FlatBed said...

Unknown: I appreciate your sharing his public face assertion of optimism. I can assure you there's a lot of angst and anxiety as well. Let's just say he will likely land on his feet, but this is not how he expected to be spending 2017. Moving, and his new digs, will not be cheap.

Izzle718 said...

Wow, been getting cut there for over a decade ... neighborhood is really changing. Does anyone know if he has a realtor?