Local Tattoo Parlor: "No Hepatitis Here

by HOWARD GIRSKY Tony Marden, 32, a Bayside contractor, had no worries about hepatitis as a tattoo was affixed to his chest last week at Murder Ink in Flushing.
"It will make a great Mother’s Day gift for my wife," he said. "And on top of that my wedding anniversary is coming up."
Marden, who already sports a cross on his left arm, said he’s protected by hepatitis vaccine and didn’t fear picking up the disease in the Flushing tattoo parlor.
Murder Ink tattoo artist Felix Bee Cortez said that his parlor is completely safe.
"Unlike some parlors in Manhattan," he said, "we use disposable needles, wear gloves, don’t recycle ink, and sterilize tubes used in the process in an autoclave that’s between 250 and 270 degrees."
Cortez, who estimates he’s done over 3,000 tattoos, said that most people are attracted to tattooing because of the "self-expression and acceptance" it provides.
Murder Ink, on Francis Lewis Blvd. and 26th Ave., offers a wide variety of tattoos and body piercing. They cost from $50 to as much as thousands for more ornate designs.
Cortez said the most popular tattoos are hearts, roses, Chinese themes and tribal dragons. He said that if a customer changes his mind after a tattoo is etched on his body then he will have to go to a laser surgeon to have it removed.
As far as Marden was concerned, he had nothing very exotic in mind. He had the names of his wife and two children tattooed on his chest.
"I think my wife Christina and children Marisa and Michael will get a kick out of it," he said, as Cortez completed the 45-minute process.