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.