New Chinese landlord aims to evict neighborhood barber of 60 years in favor of Chinese takeout Impressive array of pols arrives to speak out for Claudio, but legal help seems unlikely Mayor says he believes in the law of the jungle "unless its my barber!" Male residents of Harlem's vanishing Little Italy are up in arms over the eviction of their neighborhood barber, the renowned Claudio, whose tiny shop housed in a one storey building at 1st and 116St may be gone forever this month if their activism combined with the intervention of Congressman Charles Rangel, Assemblyman Robert J. Rodriguez and East Harlem Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito doesn't push back his new Chinese landlord of two years from trebling his rent to force him out and replace him with a Chinese takeout. Claudio Caponigro at 80 was expecting to live out his working life in the community he has been part of and loyal to since emigrating from his native city Salerno, Italy 60 years ago, but the Ayn Rand mentality which has taken over New York City real estate since Mayor Bloomberg arrived is in full force in the city and in the New York Senate and any action to extend rent regulation to small business is still a pipe dream, despite the fact that Alan Greenspan acknowledged that his own adoption of Ayn Rand's philosophy of extreme selfishness and the unleashed capitalism it rationalizes was his big mistake, and the root cause of the unregulated market collapse two years ago which has left American winded. So tenants such as Claudio the Barber are at the complete mercy of landlords who can refuse to renew their leases on any basis they please, and the community faces the premature loss of a man who has barbered several generations of clients through good and bad times, including giving poor kids free haircuts and even today not raising his charge to more than the giveaway $8 it has been for decades. Mr Montinigro did offer to pay double his current rent of $650 but the offer was declined, and he is due to appear before a judge to answer the eviction notice on Thursday morning, June 16 at 9.30 am in Room 253, 111 Centre Street. A week before, at 10.30 am June 9th, we arrived at his shop to see the press conference and protest meeting held by Rodriguez, Rangel and Melissa Mark-Viverito, attended by a throng of news reporters, cameramen, and supportive clients. as well as Claudio's two daughters and other family members. Charles Rangel (80 himself) gave a particular fine, typically poetic speech in support of letting Claudio stay in what the barber calls his "house, my museum", in recognition of one whose long time presence cutting the hair of several generations in many families has made him an essential social node and a pillar of the community, and took a haircut at the same time - see the video at position #20. After the excitement was over we felt a little disappointed, however, for the situation only brought into view with stark clarity the truth that there is very little legal leverage available to a small business being displaced by a landlord, in fact none at all, and unless the Chinese landlord is impressed enough by the neighborhood agitation to worry about the level of business his takeout can look forward to in the short run, and accedes to the proposal of Charles Rangel and his other protectors to cut Claudio a little slack, there is every prospect of one of the few rooted neighborhoods lingering in New York losing one of its cultural mainstays. An hour later we attended Mayor Bloomberg's own press conference nearby in Thomas Jefferson Park introducing free WiFi from AT&T to the first three of the City parks to gain the facility. So we asked him if he thought anything should be done to save small businesses from being obliterated by real estate economics, but he showed no sympathy in his answer then or afterwards as we walked him to his limo, explaining why we had raised the issue. The City made some effort to preserve art galleries downtown, he allowed, but on the whole he was satisfied with a system where the market decided who should win or lose. "Of course if it was my barber I might worry, " he laughed.