Beloved barber staves off closure

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Marble Hill residents are declaring victory in the fight to keep the neighborhoods renowned Marble Hill Unisex Salon open.

“Number one, we had faith,” longtime proprietor Roosevelt Rosey Spivey reflected after agreeing to a five-year lease with his landlord, who previously threatened to close the barbershop. “Number two, you had some good people in your corner.”

The struggle began in January, when Mr. Spivey received notice from landlord Abraham Rosenstock, of 151 West 228, LLC that he would be required to leave the premises of his shop within 30 days. At the time, the company said it planned to open its real estate office at the site of Mr. Spivey’s shop.

Mr. Spivey said the notice of eviction threatened his livelihood and was “uncalled for,” given his presence in the neighborhood for more than a half century.

After several months of negotiations and pressure from residents, some of whom signed a Change.org petition to keep the barbershop open, Mr. Spiveys landlord promised a five-year lease extension earlier this month. The petition, calling on elected officials to come to Mr. Spiveys aid, garnered hundreds of petitions.

Community support

“Hundreds of Upper Manhattan and Bronx civic and religious leaders and community members contacted my office asking me to help save Rosey’s barbershop,” state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, whose district includes part of Marble Hill, said in a statement. “Our efforts to save this neighborhood institution were successful and I am thrilled it will be able to continue to thrive.”

The news elated customers at the 151 W. 228th St. establishment.

“It’s good news,” said Malcolm Jones, 45. “I’ve been coming here since 1979. I went to Kennedy [high school], I went to 141. I came here since I was a baby.”

Mr. Jones said he was “finicky” about barbers, and that he could not imagine finding another barber who knew just what he wanted. But he added that Roseys was about more than hair — it was about the fabric of the Marble Hill community.

Marble Hill, Roosevelt Spivey, Rosey's, Adriano Espaillat, Nic Cavell
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