Inside a basement in Crown Heights, high school best friends — and now business partners — Rivki Krinsky and Gitty Cohen turned their passions into a profitable business called “The Hustle Wig.”
Their clients range from women who wear wigs for religious reasons to women having chemotherapy treatments. The store owners pride themselves on offering comfortable and affordable wigs.
"We sell hat wigs and they’re designed to be worn with any time of hat," Krinsky said.
"We actually line the top with a T-shirt fabric so that its super comfortable especially for people who have no hair," Cohen said. "They just say that it makes them feel so confident."
Krinsky and Cohen’s confidence in their business took a tremendous hit early Tuesday morning.
That's when cameras caught a man riding up on a Citi Bike and breaking into the Brooklyn business not once, but twice. The man was seen on camera allegedly stealing more than $35,000 worth of supplies, including some of the human hair that was going to be used to create a new line of wigs.
The man could be seen taking whatever he could get his hands on: from a light-up sign that reads “Hustle” to a recent shipment of real human hair that took three months to arrive.
"Recently the price of hair and wigs have gone up significantly so it makes sense that somebody would know that hair and wigs are a high-cost item," said Cohen.
While the women of The Hustle Wig hustle to get their customers’ wig orders back on track, they recognize the theft is a "big setback" for them. They’re hoping someone can identify the unmasked thief before he strikes another small business.
"I hope that they can find him and hold him responsible," said Krinsky.
When reached for comment, the NYPD said an investigation was ongoing.
