HARTFORD — — For about 24 hours, haircuts from Joe The Barber joined the list of things that need a permit to be held in Bushnell Park.

Anthony Cymerys, a retired Windsor businessman, had been cutting hair under that name for the poor and homeless in the park on Wednesdays for more than 20 years.

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City officials initially said Thursday that Joe was banned from the park because some residents had expressed concerns about safety and sanitation issues with the haircuts and noted that he was not a licensed barber.

But in a turnabout late Thursday, the mayor's office issued a release saying that Mayor Pedro Segarra was granting Joe "a special dispensation in light of his numerous years of charitable work to the city of Hartford and wishes for him to continue his great and generous work in Bushnell Park."