National Clothesline

New York drycleaner Louis Luciano survived after being stabbed in the belly by a well-dressed man who robbed the store shortly after it opened.

Luciano, who works as a manager for Meurice Garment Care’s East 57th Street plant, was rushed afterward a local hospital in critical condition.

Despite being the victim of a horrible crime, Luciano appeared to have good luck on his side. Working in his favor was the fact that the 4-inch knife somehow missed all of his vital organs — and that he never removed it.

After being upgraded to stable condition following surgery, the 42-year-old plant manager talked to the New York Daily News from his bed at Weill Cornell Medical Center: “The guy came in dressed nice. He said he wanted to have work done.

“He came from the side. He was showing me something, like hemming. He wanted something done.”

After he told the business-suited man that they didn’t offer tailoring services at the plant, the perpetrator became agitated and pulled out a knife and demanded cash.

Luciano handed over $400 from two petty cash drawers, but that didn’t satisfy the criminal, who proceeded to plunge the blade into the cleaner’s stomach and fled the scene.

Oddly enough, Luciano wasn’t originally scheduled to open the plant that morning. He came in three hours early, exchanging shifts with a female co-worker who had a doctor’s appointment scheduled later that day.

All things considered, Luciano was glad that he was at the store that morning.

“It’s better it was me,” he told Daily News reporters.

The suspect was described as an African-American male in his 40s. No arrests have been made.

The National Cleaners Association recently updated some of its educational programs taking place in July and August at the New York School of Drycleaning, located at 254 W. 29th St.

The two-day Korean language DEC Certification course will now be held on consecutive Sundays July 23 and 30 from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m.

The cost is $509 for members and $975 for non-members.

In August, the association will host a comphrehensive session on “Managing and Marketing For the Millennium.”

The course meets for 40 hours altogether, running from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, Aug. 7-11.

Also on tap is a 40-hour, five-day course on “Radical Drycleaning/Stain Removal.”

The class will be in session from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, Aug. 21-25.

The cost to attend either of the 40-hour classes is $750 per member and $995 per non-member

Not all classes require attendance at NCA’s New York School of Drycleaning. The association will also host a couple of upcoming webinars that can be “virtually” attended via the phone or personal computer.

“Surviving a Regulatory Inspection” will be held on July 19; “Branding and Marketing Your Business” is scheduled for Aug. 16.

Both seminars will begin at 6 p.m. ET. The cost is $69 for telephone and web-based participation.

For more information, call NCA at (800) 888-1622 or visit www.nca-i.com.