Erik Paulsson has been doing electrical work in Park Slope for more than 20 years. He lives at 5th Ave and Union St. His sister moved here, he visited, and he fell in love with the place. He does not own a car. He either walks to the job, takes a bus, or one of his workmen will pick him up.

Eddie has been plastering and painting in Park Slope for decades. Initially he was working with Bob Kaye

Unbeknown to me, my plumber, when working in the cellar, turned the gas off behind my 4th floor dryer. I followed YouTube videos and took the dryer apart. The dryer got a good inside cleaning, then John came, found the shut off valve, and put the dryer back together. He is located in Bay Ridge. His website and Yelp page.

Fitzroy Flemming takes care of a few houses here on 1st St. No e-mail. He has a regular job. He can take care of snow shoveling and trash when you are away, or all the time. Fitzroy is one of the few here I have not used.

Stafford Elliott can handle all of your floor needs, including installing face-nailed floors. (See my Face Nailed Floor Borders page for ordering the wood.) He has been doing floors for decades. His son Jason now works with him.

I used to use B & M Alarms. They are no longer recommended due to their negligence causing false alarms. The entire firm is two guys: Joey and Huey. They work together. You will get to know them. Very personal service. Note these days most of their business is video, both new installations and upgrading to high-definition. When I first moved here I used All-Security. He wouldn't fix a problem. He ended up suing me for a bogus reason. Then didn't show up in court (presumably as he had no case). A nasty fellow.

Adriatic Wood Products is the place to go for your millwork needs. They can do both small and large run sizes. He makes his own cutting knives. They made the replacement wood for my cornice.

Many years ago I needed new stairs to the cellar. The soil floor that was here when I bought the house had rotted out the bottom. Plus the new concrete floor wasn't the same height. Soxco Stairs built me perfect stairs, which I left unfinished.

Joe Bootz was a supervisor for RotoRooter and then worked for Donato Plumbing for 15 years. He retired. Then he got bored. Now he does small plumbing jobs by himself. No business card. It's all word of mouth. His cellphone: (347) 447-8126.

I previously had Clogbusters here. But the third time I used him for freeing up a clog in the rental, he then caused a clog on the other pipe where they met in a Y. He was gone by the time we noticed. He gave us various excuses, and wasn't going to return for a week. We then turned to Yelp and found Dov Sewer & Drain. He is in Crown Heights and was here in minutes. He is very smart and very expensive. For my next inside sewer work I used Michael Donahue. Reasonable pricing. Top notch work. His website and Yelp Page.

Eddie can custom make plaster medallions and plaster crown moldings. For my kitchen he replicated the medallion and crown molding to match the others in my house.

If you want to own your own marketing floor plans, Don is the local guy. And the most reasonable. If you look at real estate listings you have seen his plans. I plan to overlay on the plans of my house what circuit each light and socket map to. His website.

I use Dan to terminate my network and telephone wiring. You would need to have rather extensive wiring to use him. His website.

This firm made lovely mahogany cabinets for my kitchen. Everything is totally custom. They specialize in inset doors. Not local, but as you are buying direct the price is reasonable. Their website.

Empire is around the corner from Lowe's. And it is across the street from Foro. I got prices from both. Foro was considerably more expensive. I ended up putting in Corian. They did a fine job. Then they made a quartz vanity top for me. They also make cabinets. I have no idea how they do those.

I had been using Lotus Awnings, the only place left in Brooklyn that made traditional canvas awnings for residences. They periodically repaired my awnings and installed a retractable awning from Eastern Awning. But the two owners got old and died. That leaves Capital Awnings in Jamaica, plus Patricio who installed for Lotus and his wife Narcisa, who was their seamstress. They had worked for Lotus for 34 years, and are now on their own. I had them recover my awnings. Their Instagram account. The salesman for Lotus, Marco Hernandez, is now the opener in the Home Depot Millwork Department.

Vinroy Baronette started as an assistant mason in Park Slope in 1979, working for his dad. In 1989 he took over the business. He has done a lot of work for me. He is always busy. He is Berman Realty's go-to guy for all the work on the properties they own and manage. So you will have to pester and pester him, to get him to come.

When I wanted to restore my cornice word got out and Moe appeared. He doesn't have men that can do woodwork, so I hired him and Pinocchio Woodwoorks [no longer on this page] to do the job. Bravo hired the boom lift, stripped the paint, and painted. Pinocchio subcontracted the woodwork, and hired Adriatic to make the knives for the wood that has curves. The subcontractor made the rest of the wood and did the installation. Bravo's website.

I have known for a long time that day laborers hang out at the Home Depot. Recently I've seen some at Lowe's. So I stopped and chatted with them. The ones at Home Depot are Jamaicans and Trinidadians. At Lowe's they are Guyanese. They all have vehicles, so I could hire them on my bike and they would get to my house themselves. One gave me a card, which is below. At the time I had four boxes of rotten wood from my cornice restoration. I texted him. He gave me a price. My contractor said it was good. And a few minutes later the wood was gone.

Allen McCullough is the go-to guy in Park Slope to revive your gas lantern. The mentioned video can now be found at the Brownstoner. Click on image for large easy to read size.

This firm has installed solar panels on my roof. You get a 30% Federal tax credit, and a 20% NYC Real Estate Tax abatement on the work. There is also a State tax credit, capped at $5,000. Their referral fee has gone up. If I refer you to them, we each get $1,000. Their website. Do I have a complaint? Yes, they should be bigger.

Boro Land Surveying is the only local surveyor. He is very busy and very hard to get. If he has surveyed a contiguous neighbor, that will also appear on your survey.

Nigel Rollings made really lovely mahogany side fences for me. He also made one for my next door neighbor. Then we had a falling out. He refused to let me plant a vine to cover a back fence towering 8' over my backyard. He is not into native plants, which I want. His garden designs tend to be formal. He likes water features and art. He likes symmetry, I like wildness. I have a more practical outlook than he has. Compared to some other garden designers his prices are very reasonable. His e-mail address can be found on his Instagram Page.

A.J is the local iron place. They have a big shop on the canal side of 3rd Ave. They do small jobs on Saturdays. Their website. Call 718-237-2642.

Carlos made the iron railings that are now on my stoop. I know nothing about his other work. I had him copy the railing two houses up the block from me. Some of the scroll ends didn't get deburred, and now that the railings have been powder coated there is nothing that can be done. The powder coat place in the next listing does not have an oven big enough for the railings, so they were powder coated by Lecapife Steel Steps Manufacturing, 290 Liberty Ave, Brooklyn.

I was researching getting an iron railing for my stoop. I came upon powder coating. I learned that it can last for a couple decades. My gate had been sandblasted and painted by a local ironworks, but it rerusted after a few years. I think they just used ordinary paint and no primer. On Yelp a bunch of places offer powder coating as one of their services. I liked that this place specializes in powder coating. Come see my under stoop gate. It was $600 plus tax. Eazy Powder Coating's Yelp Page. My stoop railings were also powder coated before being installed. They were too big for Eazy Powder's oven. They were powder coated at Lecapife Steel Steps Manufacturing, 290 Liberty Ave, Brownsville.

Federal Conservation is the go to place for insulating our houses. They offer many types, but the only thing feasible for us is to blow insulation inside the roof. They will leave behind two roof vents. This will allow you to then seal up the skylight, which was the original venting.

Palone can do a really good job of installing a packaged air conditioner on your roof, with it supplying air to every room on the top two floors, and all ducts hidden in closets and space above.

Scaran is out in Southern Staten Island. They are included here for those that want the comfort advantages -- like I do -- of Carrier's top-of-the-line variable-speed Infinity System. If you want something simpler, you are better off with some local installer. Local alternative: All HVAC 718-833-0148. Sal in Bay Ridge.

Shannon Florist is my favorite nursery to pick up plants. With my BBG membership card I get a 10% discount.

Park Slope Hardware. A local store with above average locksmithing expertise. On Yelp.

The 5th Ave Keyshop is the best full-service locksmith in the neighborhood. Please don't use All-Security. See above.

You are probably familiar with Peter Romano's Stained Glass Store. Now at his fourth location, he has been in Park Slope since 1976. He can restore any of the stained glass in your house. He will come to your house to take it out and put it back, but only within Park Slope, and a few nearby neighborhoods.

Third Avenue Plumbing & Heating Supplies. A small shop with all the usual plumbing supplies.

Greschlers' is the place you go when you need a specific or unusual screw and other fasteners. Their website.

I needed a demolition hammer (aka jack hammer) to bust up a low brick wall in my back yard. My Tool Rental & Equipment had three sizes of the electric ones. I rented the smallest. It did the job. Then to restore my cornice we needed a boom lift. They came through, but ended up screwing me on the price. They have any tool that you might need, but don't own.

Jamaica Building Materials is where I bought the Belgium blocks that I use standing on end for my garden borders. When I stopped back to pick up this card, I found that the blocks are no longer kept at this site, but they bring them in for you. Blue stone is stocked here. They are not far. They are just east of Grand Ave.

Roy Electric once was in Park Slope at 7th Ave and Union. Then they were along a row of storefronts on Coney Island Ave at Foster. Then in a store in Westfield, NJ. Now located in a warehouse on Staten Island. The prior owner of my house bought many lights from them. I have bought more. And I used them to polish an antique brass and copper pump. Roy and Rose have died. Now run by son Dave. Their website.

I have used Bear Glass for mirrors. They resilvered an overmantle mirror, they made an overmantle mirror with a beveled edge, and they made me a small mirror out of Starphire glass (clearer than regular glass). I ended up with free delivery for all. The 20th St location is very near 7th Ave. Production now takes place in Queens Village.

I had some heavy brass pipe hanging around. I had my bike trailer attached to take some e-waste to Staples. And to bring back printer paper. With the pipes in tow, I first headed to 6th Street. That scrap dealer is no more. Then I went to the large place on Smith Street. They only take scrap if you arrive in a car, van, or truck. They directed me to here. No problem taking it. And I was stunned by how much I got for the pipe! (Copper gets even more.) No website. You can find them at 99 19th St. That's west of 3rd Ave, on the road to the back of Home Depot.

I have been wearing wire-rim, then rimless, glasses for decades. Few opticians have the expertise to drill the holes. I had one in Manhattan, but when I moved to Park Slope I wanted one more local. Someone recommended this place, as Scott has the expertise. Scott and Joe are partners. They are between 16th and 17th Streets. Their website

Angelo's The Park Slope Barber on 7th Ave between 3rd and 4th Streets closed before the pandemic. First Vito, the middle of the three brothers, retired and moved to Florida. Then Angelo, the oldest, died suddenly. That left John, the youngest, by himself. He threw in the towel a little before the pandemic. I found most of the other shops around here to be more expensive. I tried a new one on 5th Ave. Then they closed for five months during the pandemic. Their landlord made them pay all the rent. After they reopened, business wasn't good and they closed. A friend that had also been a regular at The Park Slope Barber recommended Artisan. Run by a bunch of Eastern Europeans. Between Windsor Place and Prospect Avenue in Windsor Terrace. They can be overly solicitous.

Dixon's Bicycle Shop. The friendly neighborhood institution.

Brooke's Appliance. Two brothers taking care of all your vacuum cleaner needs.

Prints Charming. With the framing shop on 7th Ave near Flatbush now closed, this is our framing shop.

J.K. Flynn Company is a high-end art restoration firm. He does work for museums. His prices are also high-end. I had some art from my grandmother that needed restoration. It had no monetary value. I spent a lot of money. The art still has no monetary value.

Artist & Craftsman Supply. Within walking distance, we have the best artist supply store in the city.

This is the only local place I know that uses a wet wheel to sharpen your scissors (and knives). I asked one of the two trucks that drive around, and he uses a dry wheel. There is a good reason why you only want your scissors and knives sharpened on a wet wheel. Scissors and knives were tempered when made. Without the water the metal overheats and loses its temper. Then it won't stay sharp for very long. Open 10-6 weekdays only. They now have a website.

Cluster Jewelry. I wanted to sell some jewelry. My Christie's contact sent to to here. They are well established in the high-end jewelry business.

I used J & Y to recover some chair seats. Most of his work is for interior decorators, but he welcomes walkins. At the corner of 15th St. No website, but they have a Yelp Page.