New York's Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez issued a proclamation recognizing Claudio Capinegro.
The 92-year-old owned a shop on 116th Street in East Harlem for 60 years.
No one was ever turned away, not even people who promised to pay later.
For Rodriguez, this honor is personal because as a boy he got his hair cut by Capinegro.
"He was the central point for what's going on, who's doing what, what's happening, eyes on the ground," Rodriguez said.
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