Day in the Life Photography: Stories and the Process of Documentation: Bronx Auto Glass

Some, like the family of 4 from White Plains NY only come to Hunts Point when the unfortunate occasion occurs that they have to replace a broken window. Others, like the couple from Connecticut spent various days without a side window, waiting for the weekend in order to be able to get a deal in Hunts Point. Regardless of where they hail, chances are that if they entered the peninsula through Hunts Point and Garrison Aves looking to get their car back to normal, Maze of Bronx Auto Glass probably flagged them down. With 5 years experience standing on that corner, 6 days a week from 9-5PM, Maze is a recognizable fixture and an unofficial gatekeeper of the neighborhood. “I know just about everybody, young and old”, he says from his curbside perch, “ I see most people going to work in the morning, and coming back home at night”.

As a “car chaser”, it is Maze’s responsibility to stop dozens of cars daily, set up a deal to fix windshields, rearview windows, and shattered side glass, and obtain a customer before someone from the competition does it first. Nelson, Maze’s brother and owner of Bronx Auto Glass and his crew of window technicians, Will and Ray, immediately get to work on giving customers quick and cheap service. They know that if a car gets just a couple more yards away that that is one less opportunity to make a decent living.

Long perceived of as a nuisance in the community, the local auto glass industry has had to change many a broken glass in order to get the respect it currently gets. “We have a great relationship with everyone, including the police, who sometimes even come to us for help”, says Maze. Traditionally, the auto glass workers of the area were thought of as part of the problem of the neighborhood. Rouge workers were thought to take advantage of locals by breaking and then fixing their car windows. There is also the perception that certain individuals used the glass workshops as fronts for other car related crimes and drug selling.

On two recent afternoons with the guys from Bronx Auto Glass, it was very apparent that the auto glass industry has been transformed much like the rest of the neighborhood, and is in fact a part of the wave of positive change that has taken place in the community in the past 10 years. Much like the organization of non-profits and schools in the area attempting to make Hunts Point a better place to live, auto glass technicians are playing their part. Although they compete for customers, they are mostly a loose team of family men who share a common goal – to provide good service to their constituents, enough so that folks come back or refer a friend. If one team of workers can’t fix your car, they walk you over to who might be able to help. “I take my job very seriously”, Maze said, “because at the end of the day I have to take care of my family. Feeding them one window at a time keeps me out of trouble and the shop open.”

Bronx Auto Glass Images

Nelson, Owner, Bronx Auto Glass.