History

This story of success begins in 1920 at the start of the Irish War of Independence. At the age of 7 my great grandmother Julia King migrated to the United States with her family from Ireland. Because immigrants could not afford to move inland once they arrived in America, they settled close to ports. The Kings decided to settle in New York City where a large Irish immigrant population has formed its own community in Sheapsedbay. As a farmer my great-great grandfather was accustomed to physical labor he worked on public work projects. My great-great grandmother worked as a domestic servant. In 1931, Julia King befriended Maria, an Italian immigrant while working in the garment who introduced her to her brother Giorgio Pezzella, who currently worked as a butcher. They were married later that year and had their first child Rose in 1932 and their second child, my grandfather, Arthur in 1936. Julia struggled to keep a job while raising the two children and Giorgio was laid off shortly after Arthur’s birth. Due to the harsh circumstance provided by the Great Depression, money was extremely tight. The family lived off of can beans because Julia made sure both of her children attended Catholic school. Education was her main priority. My great aunt Rose was known for her beauty and at a young age caught to attention of Italian mobster Toni. They were soon married. Because of my great uncles connections, he was able to get my grandfather a job as a restaurant manager for Pegasus at the Meadowland Race Track. He was able to earn a substantial living. He soon married Virginia Pagano and had two sons Steven and Gary, who is my father.

Growing up in a low-income household was a story my dad heard from his father very often. From an early age, my dad was determined to be successful. He got his first job at age of 9 delivering newspapers door to door in his neighborhood before he went to school. On the weekends, he accompanied his father on wallpaper jobs and by the age of 13, he had started his own wallpaper and painting business, which funneled into a handyman specialist by the time he entered high school. During the school year, my dad was quarterback of the football team and captain of the swim team, but spent his weekends doing home repairs. However, schoolwork was never my dad’s forte and often joked that he had ADD that was never diagnosed. He knew what he was good at and that was working with his hands. When it came to putting things together my dad had a natural talent and could master every project without reading the directions. He even had a job working at a bike store because the owner could not believe how quickly he could put bikes together without reading the manuals. My dad could never explain his innate talent. He says he sees everything mechanically and his mind starts putting things together.

After graduating high school, he attempted going to college but found the lectures and reading assignments torturous. Family members criticized him for not continuing his education and repeatedly told him he would never be able to support himself or a family. Determined to prove them wrong, he started working at his brother’s architecture firm. One day on a job site, he met a project manger named Greg who worked for a small mechanical engineering company. They immediately bonded over HVAC units and my dad convinced Greg to give him a job as his project coordinator. My dad laughs when he talks about that day because he can remember the nervous look on Greg’s face. Afterward, Greg told my dad that he liked his confidence after all he was only 18 years old and had NO mechanical experience at all, but told my dad he liked his enthusiasm and the company was new to the industry so they were desperate for employees. Talk about LUCK and being at the right place at the right time. Remember that naturally talent I spoke of earlier, well my dad was able to absorb multiple facets within the engineering field and obtained a tremendous amount of hands on experience – exposure he would have never gained sitting in a classroom. He never took short cuts and learned every aspects of the business from the bottom up. My father learned that sometimes luck brings opportunities but he always tells me, “It’s what I do with the opportunity that will determine how much luck is really involved.” Success does not have to be defined by how much money you make, but can be defined by how you have used your talent to be successful. Fast-forward 27 years later and my dad is the sole owner of a successful and competitive mechanical company in New York City. When asked if the 9 year-old paperboy would ever have dreamed of his success, he proudly answers “Absolutely”.