PATCHOGUE, N.Y. (WCBS 880) — A Long Island barber who has worked in his shop for over 40 years told WCBS 880 he is being forced out of his storefront for a new apartment complex.
Sal Bademci, 67, opened up his barbershop on East Main Street in East Patchogue on Aug. 9, 1980, and has gained a loyal clientele over the last four decades.
Bademci said he is now being forced out of his location because the owner of the building sold it to a developer, who plans to construct a new apartment complex. And the barber cannot find a new storefront to relocate to.
“Lot of people trying to help me – even my customers and all my family,” he said. “I can’t find no place.”
He says he has nowhere to go and fears being throw out of his shop because he cannot find a nearby location with reasonable rent.
“I can't find a building now. I have no place. Want to throw me out? Throw me out. I have no place to go,” said Bademci.
Customer Steven Bachy has been coming to Bademci for decades.
“Sal is a great guy. Since I was a kid, I've been coming here. He's been here forever. He's one of the few places that's left,” he said.
Bachy added that he is saddened to see this struggle happening as so many businesses are still trying to recover.
“There's always a solution. People that have been here for 40 years shouldn't be thrown out. These are the kind of businesses you need here. They've been through Patchogue's good times and bad,” he said.
Bademci told WCBS 880 that he will continue searching for a new place to locate if nothing can be done and his customers say they will follow him.