Cops warn of nail salon robberies
After the latest holdup Monday night in New Hyde Park, police are warning nail salon workers to be on alert for an armed robber who has targeted the businesses.
In at least three recent Nassau County robberies, a masked robber entered the businesses around closing time and displayed a black handgun.
"This is a robbery, open the register," the man said before fleeing with the proceeds, according to police.
The robberies occurred on weekday evenings between 6 and 8.
"Merchants should always be aware of their surroundings with emphasis during opening and closing hours," police said in a public advisory Tuesday.
Police are asking nail salon employees to call 911 if they see any suspicious people or activities. Anyone who can identify the robber or provide information on the crimes should call the Nassau police robbery squad at 516-573-8040.
The robber is described as between 40 and 60 years old, 5-foot-3 to 5-foot-6, with a thin build.
In the Monday holdup, a man with a gun -- he wore a blue sweatshirt and scarf -- robbed Cleo Nails & Spa on Hillside Avenue at 6:16 p.m., taking an undisclosed amount of cash, police said. There were two customers and one employee in the salon at the time of the robbery, police said. No injuries were reported.
On Thursday, police said, a man wearing a black mask and black hooded sweatshirt robbed at gunpoint Angel Nail and Spa on Hempstead Turnpike in Franklin Square at 6:24 p.m.
On Dec. 23, a man with a gun, wearing a blue bandanna over his face, robbed Tiffany's Nail & Spa Palace on Rockaway Avenue in Valley Stream at 6:50 p.m., police said.
Suffolk police are investigating two armed robberies of Islip nail salons that occurred on Dec. 13 -- at 6:15 p.m. at Nail Tek on Islip Avenue and at 7:05 p.m. at Diamond Nails on Main Street.
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