George and Mark at their workbench inside Crown Machine Services.

By Carol Tannenhauser

In the May issue of Vanity Fair, Andrea Martin, the Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress, was asked, “Which living person do you most admire?” Her answer was, “The sewing-machine repairman at the corner of 107^th and Broadway.”

“She was talking about him,” said George, who declined to give his last name, indicating Mark, who declined to give his. Both declined to give their ages. “She was definitely talking about him,” Mark said.

They were sitting side by side at a table, behind a pair of sewing machines, fixing them. The machines whirred, intermittently, as they worked. Before them was a gigantic jumble, a chaotic collection, a pretty impressive pile of appliances, electronics, and other assorted stuff, needing to be serviced or repaired.

Is there a system beyond the small manila tags tied to each item?

“The system is wherever there’s a spot, something gets put in it,” said Mark. “When that spot becomes free, something else goes in there. It’s been working so far.”

That’s saying something, considering Crown Machine Services has been a fixture – and fixer – on the Upper West Side for more than half a century.

“This is a very important store, because there’s nobody else around that does this kind of work,” said George, who opened it in 1965. What his arrangement is with Mark, who’s been at Crown for 25 years, or how they got together neither would say, beyond “we’re just two mechanical guys.” They both have wives at home. “Well, one each,” Mark said. “She better be at home!” George added.

They’re kibitzers, but serious about the services they provide to the neighborhood and city, and what they need in return to survive.

“Nowadays, we live in a ‘Kleenex society,’” said George. “People got in the habit of, when they have a problem just discarding it, throwing it away. You walk through the streets and you see vacuum cleaners, sewing machines, and many other things that, if they brought them in, they are probably better than the replacements. Instead, they just go out and buy a new one.”

“Older stuff you repair,” Mark said. “Newer stuff you have to think about.”

“In order to survive, we do a lot of things,” George said. “Computers, lamps, mix masters, irons, and some odd jobs we take on as an accommodation. Mark recently fixed an expensive suitcase and a motorized wheelchair. This is not work we’re looking for, but we do it to accommodate the people who have been coming to us for years. We don’t like to turn them down.”

Many of Crown’s customers are famous, perhaps because of its connection to the theater. George and Mark have been servicing sewing machines in the wardrobe departments of Broadway shows since the 1960s’ musical Godspell, where George got a contact marijuana high so strong “my feet were off the ground and I couldn’t find my car.” They did Lion King and the current Anastasia, among many others.

“One thing I want to get out there is that we also sell sewing machines and vacuum cleaners,” Mark said. “We carry Miele, which is the best vacuum. I have customers who’ve done a lot of repairs with us, but then they’ll go online and buy a vacuum. They probably think they can get it cheaper, but they can’t. All the Miele dealers sell it basically at the same price. People have to realize that they have to also shop us, not just bring repairs. In order for us to stay in business, they have to think of us when they need new things, like air conditioners in the summer. We can compete on those prices.”

The bell above the front door jangled and a woman entered the store. After resolving a vacuum cleaner issue, she was overheard saying to George, “I’m pleading with you never to leave, ever, ever, ever! This is the way New York used to be, with services on every block. Now, you’re the only one around. You’re like a dinosaur!”

Except George and Mark have no intention, nor are they in any danger of becoming extinct.

“Business is good and we get along exceptionally well with our landlord,” George said. “I originally rented the store from his father, who told him, ‘Whatever you do, get along with George.’ Through the years, they’ve been very good. They raise the rent, but they don’t chase us out of here. When the lease comes up, they can charge whatever they want, but we negotiate. They want us here, because we repair their computers and air conditioners.”

There is one thing you should know: it is not ‘first come, first served’ for repairs at Crown Machine Services. Those who buy there get priority.

“You buy a vacuum from us and screw it up, we’ll fix it in a day or two,” said George. “You make a mistake and suck up your diamonds or the cat and we’ll pull them out. But we’re very busy. We have a lot of stuff to repair, all the time. We really don’t have a slow season. We take care of our people first. When you buy elsewhere, you have to wait in line.”

“It drives me nuts when people say, ‘We want you to stay,’ and then go online and buy a vacuum,” Mark said. “If you really want us here, then you have to support us, not just when you need us, but when you have a choice. If you keep choosing the Internet to buy things, then stores like us won’t be here. We used to do a lot more sales when the internet was not around. People looked in the phone book, saw our big ad, and came to us. Now, there’s no phone book. They go online. Things can be delivered free in two days, so that’s what they do.”

Update: Mark says that if you mention West Side Rag and buy a new Miele vacuum you can get 1 free box of bags with any C1, C2 or U1 and 2 boxes of bags with any C3.

Photos by Carol Tannenhauser.

West Side Rag is profiling small businesses, which are disappearing from the neighborhood at an alarming rate. Readers have sent in dozens of suggestions and we’ll be taking a look at several of them over the next few months. To read more in this series, click here.

If you have suggestions for other businesses we should profile, please email us.

Cash register photo by Franck Blais.