Trim & a chat
Nabe honors barber, Qns. staple for 50 yrs.
HOPKINS BARBERSHOP in Queens has always been more than just a place to get a haircut.
Pols, celebs and everyday people have mingled at the Springfield Gardens staple for a halfcentury, chewing over current events, politics, faith and sports.
On Saturday, Oscar Hopkins, 87, the shop’s owner, was saluted with a BBQ celebration outside the Merrick Blvd. shop that has been a gathering place and forum for the African-American community.
“It’s not all about me. It’s about people who supported me to get where I am,” Hopkins said.
“Without them, I wouldn’t have made it. That’s very important to try to be a leader in your community and to serve the people’s needs.” Hopkins makes it look easy. The Sumter, S.C., native came to New York in 1951 in search of a better life.
He joined the Army and served as an ammunition bearer for .50-caliber machine guns during the Korean War. After trying several trades he settled on becoming a barber in 1966.
He has always been more than just a man with scissors.
The father of three has been a mentor and embraced everyone who turned his shop into a community hub. Hopkins helped train scores of young black men out of prison to earn their barber’s license and find work.
Hopkins uses a walker now but it doesn’t slow him down. He still shows up to work everyday to supervise the shop and check in on his neighbors.
“This is the community he lives in, the community he loves,” said Everett Hopkins, 59, a lawyer who runs his practice from a storefront next to his father’s shop. “My father was a guy who always believed in going into business for yourself. His thing was just go out and do your thing and you’ll be successful.”