http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/ny-metro-grandma-salon-20180806-story.html
Grandmother struck with stick in salon seeks answers after Brooklyn eyebrow beatdown
A Brooklyn grandmother who was whacked with a broken broomstick and splashed with corrosive acetone during a nail salon scuffle says the whole incident could have been avoided with a simple $5 refund.
Instead, racial tensions are brewing between the Chinese owners and workers of an East Flatbush nail salon and its mostly-black clientele.
A brawl broke out Friday in the shop between employees and a dissatisfied customer, Christina Thomas
In the middle is Thomas’ grandmother, Thelma Medley, who returned to the shop days later to forge a peaceful dialogue with the owner.
As protesters called for a boycott outside the New Red Apple Nails in East Flatbush, the grandmother talked with salon owner Michael Lin about how the fracas could have been avoided.
“This could have all been resolved for $5,” Thelma said, quoting the price of an eyebrow treatment.
Thomas and a nail salon worker were arrested following a fight that broke out after Thomas complained about an eyebrow procedure. She said the owner and workers became irate after she requested a $5 refund for the botched eyebrow procedure and a $14 refund for a pedicure she also received.
The fight was caught on cell phone video, and went viral after it was posted on Facebook.
“It didn’t have to go this way,” Medley said.
Medley addressed Lin by his first name, and reminded him that she and her granddaughter had been customers for several years.
But it was Lin, as seen on the video, restraining Thomas while a worker whaled on her grandmother with a broken broomstick. Another worker splashed her with acetone, a toxic chemical used to remove nail polish.
“When you were holding my granddaughter, let’s be real, that you’ve known for years, why you didn’t have your workers stop hitting my granddaughter?” Thelma asked. “Why you didn’t control your workers? Why did they throw acetone on me? Why did they hit me in my back?”