Usually, technological change supplants entire product categories. Automobiles replaced horse-drawn buggies; refrigerators replaced iceboxes. The following enterprises, by all estimates, should have gone the way of the Edsel. Yet, through foresight, dogged perseverance and an uncanny ability to adapt, they continue to serve customers, functioning as mini-monuments to days gone by.
And just like any movie theater, how PJ Cinemas performs mostly depends on what's playing.Typewriters were his entire business until the mid-1980s, when he began working on fax machines and personal computers. By the late '80s, TTS transitioned to selling and servicing computers.United Skates of AmericaWhile Dvorak said United Skates offers entertainment from a previous generation, he said the company's marketing efforts are firmly planted in 2011, employing social media and web advertising to reach its core audience - children and teenagers between the ages of 5 and 16.More than 20 years and six moves since he opened Infinity, Ostermeier has weathered a storm that wiped out many competitors. Even if many customers would rather download than head downtown for tunes, many make the trip to Massapequa Park to get, not necessarily the latest, but the hardest to find music.Jim Dvorak, CEO of United Skates, said his business, which opened in 1978, is still as popular as ever despite a perceived decline in interest in roller skating.Roller rinkSome independently owned theaters remain on Long Island, such as PJ Cinemas in Port Jefferson Station.Tyepewriter repairTTS is a treasure trove of parts obtained from stores that went out of business. "In the last 15 years, when most of the typewriter repair shops closed, I would be there to take their unwanted parts, buy them or have them donate them to me," he said.Typewriters may be old hat to most, long surrendering their place on the desk to desktop computers. But judging from TTS Business Products (founded in 1979 as Typewriter Technical Service before dropping the "Typewriter" in the 1980s), they've never entirely vanished.VCR repairSo he renamed the business AA All Electronic Repair Service. And when Mile says all electronics, he means it.In addition to installing and servicing computers, TTS ships typewriter ribbons all over the world, including to New Zealand, Australia and Canada.When Joe Ostermeier decided he couldn't find his kind of record store, he used his business and financial education to open his own."As long as there are horses, there are going to be horseshoes," she said.To compensate for the decline in the number of moviegoers, Solomon said theaters, especially the larger multiplexes, have raised prices."As it turned out ... it was a forgery," Casillo said. "It was typed on a typewriter that hadn't been on the market yet in the early 1960s.""People have written the obituary many times for the typewriter," said owner Tony Casillo. "It refuses to die.""It's not because skating isn't popular [that you don't see as many roller rinks]," Dvorak said. "Property values have gone up so high that rink owners can't afford the real estate. We've been here in Seaford since 1978 and our landlords have worked with us on the rent, so we're able to stay. It's just a very expensive business to get into."Infinity offers a large inventory of classical, jazz, rock and rhythm and blues and, in addition to walk-in business, sells through mail order."Almost every office has one or two typewriters," Casillo said. "I have customers around the country."Susan Gwen grew up around horses in upstate Greene County. So when opportunity knocked for her to own a business in the equine industry, Gwen jumped in feet first."Within 10 years of when I started, the handwriting was on the wall," Casillo said. "It's not about repairing a computer. It's about integration, making machines talk to each other."The former telecom engineer from Albania repairs reel-to-reel tape recorders, tube-driven amplifiers and radios, phonograph turntables (remember those?), televisions, camcorders and of course, VCRs.And speaking of shoes, Blue Ribbon carries thousands of different styles, from basic steel at $5 a pair, to pricier titanium models that can cost as much as a pair of Adidas."We're probably Long Island's birthday capitol," said Karen Palermo, vice president of United Skates. "We're a big destination for children's birthdays, and now we have parents who skated here when they were kids, bringing their children here for birthdays."His favorite typewriter: The IBM Selectric. "It's the most sophisticated piece of machinery I've ever come across," he said. "It's a phenomenal piece of machinery."There are only a couple dozen farriers here, including a handful of folks who shoe horses part time, and Gwen counts each one as a customer.Phil Solomon, owner of PJ Cinemas since 1982 and a venerable movie buff, has been selling tickets at the front of the theater for years, eager to provide assistance to those individuals who can't make up their minds on what to see. With the advent of new ways to enjoy movies, including the saturation of regional multiplexes on the Island, Solomon has seen the industry he grew up with change drastically over the years.PJ CinemasInfinity Records, which Ostermeier opened in 1990 with a partner, provides "the proper music that people want at the right prices," and the store has been going strong in Massapequa Park.Blacksmith storeRecord store"If a product does well, we do well," Solomon said."People bring in a VCR and they get surprised when they find out I can fix it," Mile said. Oh, and just in case you didn't think this repairman was a real throwback, he makes house calls, too.He also has become an expert on the old-school machines. He was once asked to authenticate a letter purported to be between President John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe in advance of an auction.Before the days of Loew's and Island 16, Long Island was a haven for several independent movie theaters where theatergoers could enjoy a film for well under $11-plus a ticket.TTS Business ProductsWhen Ardian Mile bought his electronic repair business in East Meadow in 2000, it specialized in fixing video cassette recorders. In fact, the shop on Hempstead Turnpike was called 60 Minute VCR. But since the VCR has been replaced by the DVD player, Mile didn't think that made much sense, especially since he can fix DVD players and just about everything else as well.Now 11 years later, Gwen is still behind the counter at Blue Ribbon Farrier Supplies in Center Moriches, one of the last remaining places on the Island where blacksmiths can shop for the tools of their trade. Whether they need a tack hammer, nippers, rasps or any other farrier-specific item, smithys can go to Blue Ribbon for all of their horseshoeing needs.Blue Ribbon Farrier Supplies"Back in the '60s, there were no ancillary markets - no VCRs, no DVDs, no cable television," Solomon said. "With each new technological advent, people would say, 'This will be the demise of the movie industry.' Quite honestly, that hasn't happened, but they've all taken a chunk out of the business."AA All Electronic Repair Service"That's how I stay competitive," Solomon said. "I don't have the facilities or resources that these larger theaters have, but I'm clean, I'm safe and I'm cheap, which means I have a loyal following." He charges $5 for a matinee.Before skate parks for skateboarders became all the rage among children and teens, roller rinks were the happening place to go to engage in four-wheeled fun. While roller rinks, and roller skating in general, have declined in popularity over the last 20 years, United Skates of America in Seaford is still one of the few places Long Islanders can go to strap wheels on their feet and let loose.For aesthetic and practical reasons, typewriters remain on some desks today, requiring repairs and replacement parts, which is where Casillo comes in."For every discipline there's a different shoe," Gwen explained. "And every one is a custom fit."Infinity Records
Infinity offers a large inventory of classical, jazz, rock and rhythm and blues and, in addition to walk-in business, sells through mail order.
