After Her Mother Dies In Borough Park Apartment Explosion, Daughter Reopens Franchezka Unisex Salon
The lights were on at Franchezka Unisex Salon (500 5th Avenue near 12th Street), a business which had been shuttered since early October. But as of Monday, December 28, haircuts, washes, and many other services are once again being offered.
No announcement preceded the doors being opened, or the small “help wanted” sign in the window.
That’s because Helen Figueroa wants it that way. The 26-year-old is walking a fine line between privacy and welcoming back the community to a business that only three months ago was a busy salon run by her mother, Francisca Figueroa.
“When people ask about it, I tell them I can’t say anything,” explains Helen Figueroa. “It’s all still under investigation. I say nothing. I can’t say anything to you.”
She is speaking of the circumstances concerning the death of her mother who died in the well-publicized apartment building explosion which took place Saturday, October 2, 2015 on 13th Avenue near 42nd Street in the Borough Park neighborhood.
The FDNY has been investigating whether Francisca Figueroa was responsible for the explosion, two deaths, and the building’s destruction.
“Sources said she was heavily in debt and sent suicidal text messages and on social media, including telling her children to ‘be good’ and ‘take care of themselves,'” according to NBC News New York.
El Diario reported “[t]he authorities confirmed that the explosion in a building in Brooklyn last October was caused by Dominican hairdresser Franscisca Figueroa (48), who lived on the second floor, as reported by the FDNY.” (Translated by Donny Levit from the original Spanish.)
But right now, daughter Helen Figueroa is concentrating on moving forward. She’s chosen to hire a new staff. “It’s better off for me … to get a fresh, new start.”
Helen is certainly not new to the salon. She tells us she has been working there since she was a teenager. “I spent so much time here. Even when I was just coming to visit, I always wound up working,” she says. She even recalls almost giving birth in the salon. “Luckily the ambulance came, or it was going to happen here. A lot has happened here.”
When the news came of Francisca Figueroa, a large memorial of flowers, candles, and balloons began to grow in front of the salon. “I kept a lot of it,” says Helen.
While we spoke with her, a mother and young daughter came in, surprised that the salon’s door was open. “I was bringing my daughter here for a hair appointment the day she died,” said the mother.
Meanwhile, Helen didn’t miss a beat as she leaned the young girl’s neck back towards the seat to wash her hair. “This is going to take awhile. You let your mom keep your hair up for too long,” she says, gently tsking. It seem as if Helen is picking up where her mom left off three months ago.
While tentative in certain ways to speak about her mom, Helen makes it clear that she wants her mother’s memory to be part of the salon in the future. “I’m going to remodel. I’m getting a new sign soon for outside. But mom liked red, black, and white. I want to use those colors. Here’s a photo of my mom and I. See how she has red highlights in her hair? I got those, too.”
She has been hesitant to have those photos published. “The press has been too much at times. I am trying to protect my family,” she says.
Helen recalls the memorial service for her mother. “I asked the Mayor to not have press come that day. I was glad that my son didn’t have to see them.”
When asked if she ever thought that she’d run the salon, Helen tells us that her mother was hoping for that a few years ago. “She wanted me around,” she says. “The last few years, I was the mom and she was the teenager.”
Helen believes her mother’s spirit is still very present — and will always be part of the salon.
“My mom talks to me at night and wants me to come here,” she says. “Things have been dropping onto the floor in the back. It’s my mom. She’s still here. She’s never going to leave. When she’s here, it makes her happy.”