First Generation: The Great Grandfather, Jake

Originally employed by Pittsburgh Plate Glass in the early 1900’s in Manhattan, Great Grandpa would bring scraps of glass and salvage material to fix windows for the people of his hometown, Tottenville, Staten Island. Jake eventually set up shop in his garage behind his house (where all great success stories start), across the street from the Firehouse in Tottenville- this was the first shop. 

Second Generation: The Great Uncle, Cliff

Cliff inherits the fledgling business from his father, Jake. The shop is moved from behind Jake’s home to a much larger garage on a larger piece of property behind Cliff’s house on Breuhaut Ave. Cliff’s son Jimmy is an NYC Fireman who joins forces with another NYC Fireman (retired as a Lieutenant), Herbert. As almost all firemen do, they both work second jobs.. at the glass shop, along with some other firemen and full/part time employees. As the only glass shop on the South Shore of Staten Island from the 40’s to the 70’s, business was good.

Third Generation: The Cousin, Jimmy & The Father, Herbert

Cliff remained in charge of the shop, while Jimmy took on operations. As Herbert’s son, Kevin, became Cliff’s ‘hands’. Cliff knew everything and Kevin was as strong as a bull and willing to learn; they made quite the team. Eventually graduating to field work, Kevin worked under Jimmy, his father, and a fellow named Paul as an ‘apprentice’. Fast forward one year and Kevin was de facto running the show for Jimmy and his Great Aunt and Uncle. Kevin asks for a raise, to $5/hr and was denied, he quits and swears he learned an invaluable lesson.

After quitting, Kevin takes up a job in home improvement (at the requested $5/hr) with a father and son pair at B&B Home Improvement. Eventually called up by the Western Electric Company at 19 years old, Kevin was a part of the United Steelworkers Union at the Nassau Smelting and Refining Company in Tottenville. He hated working at that ‘fancy junkyard’ and missed working with glass, it was time to start his own glass company. He cleaned out his father’s two car garage on Idaho Ave and ‘hung out his shingle’. In the summer of 1979, Kevin got started on his own, more or less.

Fourth Generation: The Founder and CEO of South Shore Glass, Kevin

Kevin was working four jobs: union steelworker at Nassau, B&B whenever he had the time, a bartender on the weekends, and a business owner. Eventually he saved up enough to buy a truck, built a glass bench and glass racks, painted signs with a stencil, and handed out cards. He missed the inclusion date for The Yellow Pages (a printed version of Google, as Google nor the internet existed at this point in time), so it was a quiet first year.

Year two brought more business, working with B&B, bartending, and scrapping. Scrapping? Junk men, think Sanford and Son; pickup trucks, tools and implements of destruction, chain falls, pry bars, jacks, oxygen and acetylene tanks, and torches. Hard work, but it kept everyone out of trouble, fed, and there was always gas in the tank.

Enter year 3, steady work, hired full time help, a second truck.. then a third. By 1982, the current Staten Island location on Sharrotts Rd was purchased- a 40’ by 100’ piece of M1-1 commercial property, zoned manufacturing. ‘83 commenced construction, by ‘84 South Shore Glass was operating out of the original one floor rectangle that compromised the first building, which they were already outgrowing. In 1990, there was a building expansion and 10 employees on the payroll. For the first 15 years, there was an average of one additional employee per year, reaching about 20. The third and final addition consisted of a second floor in 1996. 

Fifth Generation: The Kids, 1 daughter & 2 sons

In 2015, South Shore Glass saw its largest project to date. The first born son takes over the operations and his daughter returns to the fold; more employees, more trucks, more yard space, more employees, and another truck. With his wife as the book keeper and himself as the paymaster, Kevin had time; time to renovate his house, travel, and do nothing if he wanted. The youngest son rejoins the family business, which has posted its highest gross revenues ever over the last two years. The kids are doing something right.