Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of Bergen County
Good Neighbor Podcast: Bergen
Ep. # 106 From Superintendent to CEO: How One Man Built a Window Empire in NYC
Ever wonder what happens when your apartment window gets stuck or shatters unexpectedly in the middle of Manhattan? Meet Juart Reyes from Manhattan Windoors INC, a family-owned business that's been solving the glass emergencies of New York City since 2016.
Juart shares the compelling story of how his father Angel transformed his career from building superintendent to business owner out of necessity to better provide for his growing family. What began as practical knowledge of repairs blossomed into a specialized service company handling everything from emergency glass replacement to child safety guard installation across all five boroughs.
The conversation offers fascinating insights into New York's architectural evolution, comparing the limestone buildings of yesterday to today's glass-dominated skyline. Juart explains how quality windows make a dramatic difference in temperature regulation, especially in apartments facing east or west with direct sunlight exposure. The discussion even ventures into cultural comparisons between European window designs that open multiple ways and the traditional American counterparts.
What truly sets Manhattan Windoors INC apart in the competitive construction landscape is their unwavering commitment to quality. As Juart eloquently puts it: "We have a passion for this and we'll try to do the best every single time that we go out and do a job." It's this dedication to craftsmanship over speed that has built their reputation throughout New York, with exciting plans to expand services to Bergen County in the near future.
Ready to transform your window experience or need an emergency repair? Connect with Manhattan Windoors INC at manhattanwindoors.com or call 718-719-6199 for service that prioritizes quality and customer satisfaction every time.
Manhattan Windoors INC
Juart Reyes
(718) 719-6199
info@manhattanwindoors.com
manhattanwindoors.com
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Doug Drohan.
Speaker 2:Everybody, welcome to another episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast brought to you by the Bergen Neighbors Media Group. I am your host, Doug Drohan, and today we are joined by the company Manhattan Wind Doors Inc. And it's Juart Reyes is joining us today. Dwarte, welcome to the show hello glad to be here yeah, so. So, , tell me a little bit about what your role is. You said your father owns the company.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my father owns the company's family-owned business and I just help play my part in that um, do some stuff for social media, manage some invoices. I just kind of do a little bit of everything in the company.
Speaker 2:So what is Wind Doors? It's called Manhattan Wind Doors, so I guess most of your work is done in Manhattan.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, the majority of our work is done in Manhattan. Right now. We kind of focus on doing the five in the five boroughs. We do work there commercial residential work but we're thinking about, in the close future, expanding to serving Bergen County as well.
Speaker 2:OK, hence the reason why you're on Good Neighbors, bergen. So when doors means you guys do windows and doors, so what is it like? Explain to me exactly what what you guys do? Windows and doors. So what is it like? Explain to me exactly what you guys do? You install new windows, you work with new building projects. I mean, obviously you're in Manhattan, so you probably do a lot of commercial, but you do a lot of residential as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we do. We do a lot of commercial work with these window and door repair and installations. We do like there's a lot of broken glass in New York, like people like there's like broken windows all the time we go and do that. We do like new installations for windows as well, the same thing for doors. Like we just work with all types of companies in New York and you know there's all like a lot of interesting situations that occur and you know there's all like a lot of interesting situations that that occur and you know we always try to be like quick and do a good job with it, to be there for those companies and how many, how many Tesla dealerships are in New York Might?
Speaker 2:be, a few broken windows there right now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, oh man, that is true, but yeah, no, we, we, we work with like all types of all types of companies, so nice.
Speaker 2:So what like how did your father get into this business?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so my father Angel, he started off as a superintendent in Manhattan and like while he was working as a superintendent he found a passion for construction. And like later on, when he had his third child, he kind of realized that he needed to better provide, because a superintendent isn't the best salary in New York. And he just said he wanted to open a business in the construction space and at the time he wasn't sure how to base his business. But since he had a lot of experience working with windows and doors because he was a superintendent, he decided, uh, based off of that and, yeah, like it took off from there wow, so he was a super of a building, of a, an apartment building yeah, yeah okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I lived in the city and my share, you know, I lived in I don't know how many apartments I lived in in manhattan or new queens in new york. I think there was a total of three, yeah, three, three apartments I lived in in new york city. Um, well, anyway. So I mean, I guess there's a lot that goes into it. You know I, I get anderson windows throws, like you know these door hangers on my door every or every like month. They put something in my mailbox Like are there. And you know Manhattan.
Speaker 2:One of the things you've noticed, just as a as a layman like myself, is the new buildings in Manhattan are almost all glass. You know, back in the old days, buildings were made of stone, you know, limestone or whatever it was. They built like the Empire State Building and I guess they realized, you know, ecologically or whatever it was, they built like the Empire State Building and I guess they realized, ecologically or from a climate perspective, it's more efficient to have glass than it is to be stone. That's why the city can be so hot, and there's also an aesthetic feel to having glass, the way it reflects the sunlight and the clouds and it looks like it's endless sometimes when you look up into the sky and the way it reflects the sunlight and the clouds, and it looks like it's, you know, endless sometimes when you look up to the sky and the way uh, these buildings that are made of glass, uh, so what have you guys like? How long has your dad has the company been in business?
Speaker 2:and what changes have they seen over the years?
Speaker 3:oh, we've been in business since 2016. Um, we started off just doing, uh, window door installations, but we we kind of branched off and we started doing some other things and we also like obviously grown the company since that time. It's mainly just like bringing in new, like new workers, teaching them how to do their job efficiently, and so, like these building managers that we work with are satisfied with the job and the residents as well, because that's the most important thing that the residents are satisfied with the work that we do.
Speaker 2:Right, so you're doing installation repair, but you're not doing window cleaning right?
Speaker 3:No, we do not do window cleaning at this time.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you know, know, like I was referring to the buildings that are going up that are all made of glass, I guess it's been, you know, a good business to be in, to be offering, you know, windows in manhattan these days, right?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, yeah. We get like we got all types of jobs um like all throughout, um, all throughout, like the day um a lot of emergencies, you know, like anything, anything could happen in New York City.
Speaker 2:So that's why doing these like emergency installations- yeah, yeah, and do you guys also do like showers and and things like that, or is it mostly all exterior? Um, it is most, it is mostly um all exterior what we do okay, uh, so windows doors maintenance, repair, um, like, what are the other things that you guys do that might not seem like evident from just you know, looking at your name um, yeah, we do like, uh, skylight repair replacement, which is kind of different, and we also do building like building storefront, um, which is like where we kind of um like help, like kind of build like the front of like a building out, um, if there's been like major damage to it got it, okay, okay.
Speaker 2:And then, uh, like what? Like one of the biggest projects you guys have worked on, have you done the windows and doors for a big high-rise it's been built? Or you mostly work, um, like smaller jobs. Like, have you ever had a huge construction project like the ones you see?
Speaker 3:uh, all the time in the city? Uh, no, we would love to have um like the opportunity to work on that, but we've um mostly just been working on like, like you know, like smaller, like buildings in new york.
Speaker 2:Um that storefront kind of things yeah, yeah, like stuff like that right and then apartment windows yes, yeah, that's been. That's been what we've been, uh, we've been working on so when you do apartment windows, you're looking at, you know, residential apartments, where you know most of them you have to have those uh, child guards uh, and windows. I guess, if they have a kid in the house, is that something you guys also do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, we do that we do that as well and it's's a lot of times it's like a mandatory thing. I think I'm almost 100% it's like a mandatory thing that you have to have in a lot of buildings in New York. So we obviously do installs for that, like they fall out or they're like rusted, like rusted out, like we just like make sure that it's there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, One of the things when I lived on 26th street is my apartment was so hot in the winter that I always wanted my windows open. But then you know you're in the city and you don't want your window open with the fire escape right out there, Cause somebody could just walk in. Yeah, but the worst thing was when the window was stuck and you couldn't open it Cause you know who knows how long it's been since that window was open. Are those kind of some of the service calls you get when?
Speaker 3:Yeah, we get that pretty frequently where the window needs to be lubed up or we need to part in it and it just gets so heavy to the point where it has to be fixed and yeah, we come after that, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, you know, one thing I noticed when I go to Europe is the way the windows are done in countries like Germany or France or Spain, where they open a number of different ways. It has like a handle on the side and if I turn it one way it opens up like a door, and if I turn it another way it just kind of goes vertically, kind of leans one way to let in air. Um, we don't see those in in america or in the city. Do you know why that is? Um, I know the windows I'm talking about.
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, yeah I've been here, if I know the windows that you're talking about, I think. I just think that it's because, like you know, like there's nothing wrong with these windows, just leave them be. A lot of buildings in New York, they're rather old. So you would have to do so many changes. You just use these old windows where you just sign them up, but for newer constructions, sometimes if you want to spend a little bit more, you use those type of windows.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I, you know it's definitely something I see in Europe and residential homes more than you know hotels. But I think the last hotel I was in in Spain and Barcelona had that kind of window and I always thought it was kind of cool because you could open it different ways and it opens up, you know big enough where you get to. You know walk through it if you had to, but you know I'd imagine there's also a lot of insulation, like the different kinds of windows today, the type of insulation you get. And then if the windows are facing the sun, the room can get really, really hot. So what do you guys recommend when you have an apartment where your living room, your bedroom, is facing east and you get the morning sun or the afternoon sun, if it's facing west and it gets really hot, what do you guys recommend?
Speaker 3:afternoon sun if it's facing west and it gets really hot. What do you guys recommend? Um, I like, I would say like like, if you don't have, like, if you, if you don't have shades, um, I don't know, like, I probably like put I would put an ac in in, um in that room, if I'm being honest, but it like for like insulation wise, like even in like the cold, like it just makes uh like good, like a good quality, like window just makes like a very big difference than like window with like the cold, like it just makes uh like good, like a good quality like window just makes like a very big difference than like window with that that has like poor insulation right, right and it's interesting.
Speaker 2:So again, the areas you service you mentioned, it's basically the five boroughs. Uh, you know you do a lot in manhattan but obviously you work out in queens, brooklyn, stout island, bron, bronx, and maybe someday coming across the bridge and going over the GW and hitting the Bergen County area.
Speaker 2:A lot of high rises in Fort Lee, but certainly residentially. You know there's a lot of cool things people could do, that they can think about their windows a little bit differently than what we typically see. So what, um, so what? What's the best way you know if somebody who's listening to this is in the city at this point? What's the best way to contact you guys?
Speaker 3:Uh, yeah, so we have a website. It's called Manhattan windows, um Manhattan, like you spelled, manhattan, um, and then windows, which is w-i-n-d-o-o-r-s? Uh dot com, and we also have a phone number with a lovely um like attendant and she um will pick up at any time, but her number is 718-719-6199.
Speaker 2:Okay all right, great um, is there anything you want, anything you wanted to say before we leave that? You know it's something we didn't cover that you felt is I mean, I know it's tough without your dad talking about his passion, of how we got into the business, but what is it that you guys, you know, do that might be different than a lot of your competition um, I guess, like we, like we're we're family, like we're a family-owned business, like, um, we have a lot of uh, or we have like a lot of experience in this, we do uh, like like high, like high quality, just like good job every single time.
Speaker 3:We always serve to please um, which is like not something that you see with a lot of other companies that, like they just try rushing the job, they try to put put stuff out, like we like we have a passion for this and like we'll do, we'll try to do like the best every single time that we go out and do a job.
Speaker 2:Nice and you have a big team. It's a big, a big crew.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's a decently. It's a decently big crew right now Nice.
Speaker 2:Nice, All right. Wanda, I really appreciate you coming and sharing a little bit about Manhattan Wind Doors. Again, it's manhattanwinddoors. com Currently serving the five boroughs, but coming to Bergen County in New Jersey perhaps sometime this year, and the phone number is 718-719-6199. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, of course. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnpbergencom. That's gnpbergencom, or call 201-298-8325.