East End Contractors: Who’s Busy, Who’s Not
 Durell Godfrey |
(2/14/2008) As business owners of all kinds prepare to tighten their belts for an impending recession, which some say is already here, murmurs of the effects on the East End’s normally thriving construction industry have been heard at local watering holes for months. While the response is varied and many workers remain optimistic, national cutbacks will likely hit the little guy first and, according to some contractors, the effects are already being felt.
“I haven’t seen it like this for a long time,” said Patrick Brabant, whose Springs-based contracting business has focused on renovations and repairs for over 25 years. “The early ’90s were bad, and I think that this is going to be worse.”
For Mr. Brabant, it’s not just because his own business is experiencing fewer calls, or that workers who had been steadily employed elsewhere are asking him for side work he doesn’t have, it is the absence of big trucks on the roads that leaves him feeling uneasy. “There is no traffic,” said Mr. Brabant. “I left [Springs] at 8:30 a.m., and I got to Southampton by 10 to 9.”
“It’s kind of a cyclical thing,” said Michael Brosnan of Black Dog Builders in Montauk. “When it booms everybody comes from up the Island and grabs work.” So far, Mr. Brosnan hasn’t noticed the effects of the economy on his business, but he acknowledged that Montauk in particular is a unique beast. “It’s not that it’s recession-proof, but you’re dealing with second or third homes out here,” he said. “Most of us are okay, and we’ve got work to last us through.”
“It’s a different scenario out here,” said Richard Gherardi, a builder with Sand Dollar Development in East Hampton. “Wall Street usually makes money no matter what, and that’s our clientele,” he said, and although the stock market has been uncertain, “the bonuses at Wall Street this year were bigger than last year.”
Mr. Gherardi believes “some guys are busy and some aren’t. I’m sure the guys that were involved in doing under a million dollar homes are hurting,” he said, but speculated that many construction companies have turned to “rehab work.” Others agree with Mr. Gherardi’s assessment. “Most people are renovating their houses rather than selling them,” said Joe Hardy, who has owned Hardy Plumbing and Heating for 28 years. “They realize the market is down, but we’re way up in the renovation market.” Sales in January, according to Mr. Hardy, were up more than 10 percent for his company compared to the same month last year. “We’re actually looking for help,” he said.
At Riverhead Building Supply in East Hampton, Russell Goodale, the owner, is seeing his customers perform a lot more renovations than new construction. His belief is that because there is less land to build on, the renovation market is on the rise.
According to Don Sharkey, East Hampton Town’s building inspector, “brand-new homes are definitely down because of the lack of land, but teardowns and additions are up.” Mr. Sharkey said he’s been “as busy as he could possibly be,” despite the economic uncertainties.
But Mr. Goodale, who emphasized he’d like to keep a “glass-half-full” attitude, was somewhat apprehensive. “I’d be lying to you if I wasn’t concerned, but I’m not going to panic,” he said. “We’ve been through this before, and I think the last time we laid anybody off was 1989 or ’90,” he said. As for his customers, Mr. Goodale said it was “mixed, some of them still have quite a bit of work, some of them don’t.”
For East End residents, there was still a slight silver lining. According to Mr. Gherardi, “you’re able to get a lot more people to work from out here now. The employment picture is better for local business.”
Without the glut of competition from UpIsland, Mr. Gherardi is more comfortable with the market, even if he won’t be getting as much as he planned for the speculative houses he has built. “To me, this is a much more normal place to be,” he said.