Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Ludlow Garage is closing its doors on Saturday after more than 50 years in business.
Co-owner Jerome Vasconcellos (below left) and his brother-in-law, Mario Marques, decided to sell their auto repair mechanic shop at 151 Attorney St. between Houston and Stanton and rent out the Ludlow Garage body shop directly across the street.
Mario has been in the business for 57 years, Jerome for 51. Ludlow Garage was on Ludlow between Rivington and Stanton before moving to Attorney Street in 1982.
The two own both buildings and the businesses housed in them.
The new owner of the complete auto repair/mechanic building on the west side of the street will be using the space as a private garage for personal use to store his vehicles — it will not be torn down.
The body shop will be rented out, and the new owner taking over the smaller space will likely keep the three employees.
I asked Jerome a series of questions while visiting the garage on Tuesday.
Why sell now after all these years?
"We're tired. OK, we're tired," Jerome told me. "We work six days a week, 12 to 14 hours a day, you know? Maybe I am going to spend a little time with my kids. Enjoy time with them, make it up to them for when I wasn't there. When you own a business, it's tough. I'm ready to retire… and move down to Florida. One of my kids lives in the Bronx, and two live in Florida."
"I get up at 4:30 in the morning so I can leave Rockland County [where Jerome and his wife Letitia, the shop's office manager, live], and I don't leave here until 6 p.m., so I don't get home until 7:30, depending on traffic. It's a lot of hours."
Where will Ludlow Garage customers go?
"I'm selling the customer database to someone reputable so customers can still get service," Jerome said. "So when they call this number, it will go to another mechanic shop."
Have you told your customers?
"Yeah, the customers know. All my good customers have my personal cell phone — they can call me if they have a problem, and you know I will refer them, or if they need advice, I can help," he said. "I have customers who left here years ago still call me from Wisconsin, Ohio, all over — just for advice. I tell them, "Just text me, and I'll get back to you right away." I always call back. The way I do business — it's not about the money; it's about doing the right thing."
And what will happen to the remaining vehicles?
"I am trying to notify every customer. The new owner will take possession in February, but I have six weeks to get this place emptied."
And across the street at the body shop?
"The new renter will start in January. He'll change the name. But he hasn't said the new name yet."
What would you say to the people who are sad about the closure?
"I would say, first of all, thank them for the business they've given us — the whole neighborhood has given me the opportunity to serve them. I appreciate everything over the years," he said. "I came to this community from nothing and watched it go from bad to better. I've seen the whole transition. I come from Guyana."
He's emotional, and I am, too. On a personal note, I see these folks all the time, and I will miss them.
I blink back a tear and grab my camera equipment to get some photos of the team, the space, the cars, and the equipment. The team points out a 100-year-old car ("from 1925, Stacie!"), a historic rotor and break machine on its way to the Bronx, and a few vehicles that Jerome is working on restoring.
Jerome later lets me on the truck lift for an elevated vantage point for photos. He jokes, "Don't jump! We don't have insurance for that."
