Photo: QueensPost
Jan. 28, 2011 By Christian Murray
Every tax season, Lady Liberty comes to Sunnyside and rests next to the 46th Street subway station.
She is dressed in her traditional long green robe, wears a bold crown and holds her head up high.
However, there is something different about Sunnyside’s Lady Liberty. She is represented by men in costume, with a sandwich board draped around their necks while handing out leaflets.
One such actor is Carlos Espinal. He has been dressing up as the statue for the past three years, promoting Liberty Tax Service, which is located at 46-29 Greenpoint Ave.
“I dance to get attention, I have fun, but I’m not crazy,” said Espinal in Spanish. “People always look for me—I do a great job.”
Espinal’s sandwich board reads: “Income tax Preparation” on one side and then promotes the tax service on the other.
“I hand out promotion cards on most weekends,” Espinal, from the Dominican Republic, said. Liberty Tax Service pays him a wage for doing this, and provides him with the opportunity to make a nominal commission if he gets customers in the door.
“Each card is color coded,” Espinal said in Spanish, so Liberty Tax Service knows which promoter brought in a particular customer.
Espinal, who lives in Jamaica, said that Liberty Tax Service has several stores, including three in Jamaica. However, “I love working here because there are a lot of Hispanics in the neighborhood who I can relate to.”
