Nail Salons, Lifeline for Immigrants, Have Lost Half Their Business - on the verge of collapse

[Demovictory9]

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/23/nyregion/new-york-city-nail-salons-coronavirus.html

Nail Salons, Lifeline for Immigrants, Have Lost Half Their Business
New York City nail salons reopened in July, but few customers come in. “No matter how hard I work, I make no money,” one owner said.

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Juyoung Lee dreamed of opening her own business, but her nail salon in Flushing, Queens, has few customers now.Credit...Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

On most days, Juyoung Lee is the only person inside Beverly Nail Studio, the salon that she owns in Flushing, Queens. It is often eerily quiet, and when no customers come by, Ms. Lee at times sits at her work station and weeps.

“Maybe, just maybe, tomorrow will be busy,” she said. “I’m waiting.”

Like nail salons across New York City, her business had to close when the pandemic hit in March. There was a brief surge in demand after the lockdown was lifted in July, but then appointments started dwindling. Often, customers requested cheaper services. Now, they hardly come at all.

The beauty industry in the city seemed well positioned to bounce back after restrictions ended. After all, many customers had spent months without professional grooming. But now, many of these businesses are on the verge of collapse — a drastic hit for an industry that is an economic engine for immigrant women.

Some nail salons have had a difficult time persuading customers that it is safe to come in. Others, especially those in Manhattan business districts, have yet to see regular customers come back because many of them had left the city or are working from home.

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Eighty-one percent of the national nail salon work force are women while 79 percent are foreign-born, according to a 2018 report conducted by the U.C.L.A. Labor Center.

[JI7]

1. See, It's not just about preventing Lockdowns. People will stop going to businesses on their own

because of risks .

This is why it's important to just give people monthly checks to help get through this rough period .

[radius777]

2. Very sad, especially that some of the workers

tend to be undocumented and can't receive any gov't help in most cases.

[Croney]

3. My young granddaughters are going to their nail salon regularly.

Everyone stays masked, and few other people, if any, are there. I give them extra money so they can overtip. Being old, I don't take the unnecessary risk myself.

I hope vaccines bring swift recovery all around.

[samnsara]

4. i know the person very well at the nail salon I use but I just cant go back right now :(