New Jersey salon owner joins lawsuit against Gov. Murphy over 'arbitrary' shutdown: We're being 'completely ignored'
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A New Jersey salon owner told “Fox & Friends” on Thursday that she joined a class-action lawsuit against Gov. Phil Murphy because she doesn’t think it is fair that salons are closed amid the coronavirus pandemic while other businesses in the state begin to reopen.
“I feel like it's arbitrary,” said Kelly Anello, the owner of Razberri Hair & Nail Design in Toms River, N.J.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She explained that “when this all started, I was more than happy to close the doors of my business” to “do what’s best for the health” of the community and her family.
“And now I'm starting to see him [Gov. Murphy] pick and choose [which] businesses [can] open,” Anello, a mother of four children, said.
“You can go to Lowe's, you can get your dog groomed, now, more recently, you can go to the boardwalk to a public bathroom, you can go to a garden center, but you can't get your hair cut,” she noted.
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On Monday, Murphy unveiled what he called a three-stage blueprint to reopen the economy from the COVID-19 shutdown, but gave no timeline on when stages would advance. He did, however, say moving from more restrictive practices in stage one to stage two would be a “matter of weeks.”
He has begun relaxing restrictions across the state, with nonessential construction able to resume and nonessential retail businesses to reopen for curbside pickup beginning this week. He also announced last week that beaches across the state will reopen in time for the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Anello questions why salons are not yet allowed to resume business, especially since “salons are under a license” and “are extremely clean.”
“We get surprise visits by the Division of Consumer Affairs,” she noted.
“It's safer than a boardwalk bathroom, I can tell you that,” said Anello, who employs 36 people.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Anello said that two of her children are in college, which makes the situation even more challenging especially since her salon has been closed for two months with “no income coming in.”
“You save for a rainy day, you save for a rainy month, you don't save for a rainy two months and now, who knows, going on three,” she said.
“I feel like the salon industry has been ignored, completely ignored,” Anello added.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She went on to say that by keeping salons closed as “the numbers are flattening,” the “governor has created kitchen beauticians and garage barbers.”
“People are desperate for services, they’re getting them done anyway. It's safer in the salon, period,” Anello said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gov. Murphy did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.