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Robert Ripps book
History of Tribeca Buildings
Nosy Neighbor: What’s going on at 132 West Broadway?
J. wrote: Longtime reader and resident, first time emailer! Very curious if you have ever done any stories/background on 132 West Broadway. It’s…so strange.”
Well this taxpayer of a building, just north of Duane, has been on my list from the beginning, and not days after J. wrote did I walk by and see the door open and close, so I rang the buzzer. A gal came down right away to chat, and a couple of guys working inside chimed in as we talked. No one wanted me to use their name or take pictures, but I learned this:
The business, Telephone Sales & Service Company, is a third-generation, family owned telecom company that installs intercoms, low-voltage security systems, fire alarms and other communication systems to commercial buildings, including NYC schools. And they are the only company in the city that provides that service. They have no digital footprint.
The woman I spoke to was indeed the third gen: her great grandfather started a business that delivered ice; her grandfather then bought this business — back when they installed phones that had a crank — in 1933. The family moved to Long Island two generations ago, but moved back to the West Village.
To think that a company is still operating in this town after nearly a century — and right here in Tribeca. And everyone in there seemed proud to do it. It warmed my heart.
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I walk right by this place on my treks to work every day. Periodically, the doors are open. On the inside of the door used to be a list of admonitions about smoking — like “No Smoking” in thirteen different languages.
Evidently, it’s not cool to smoke in 132 West Broadway.
this is a marvelous story. thank you.
Passed by on the bus the other day and was wondering about this space. Couldn’t find much online. Thanks for the info!
I wish they would have left the graffiti on the front of their building. It actually looked great. I took photos of it and glad now that I did. There was something very NYC-cozy about it (to make up for it see the graffiti by the skate park on the LES – fabulous).
I too ducked in there once looking to find something dramatic in nature but like you, I found a mom-and-pop shop that just quietly keeps doing their business every day. Makes me miss Lance and Ivy at Lappin Paoli and the long list of other small businesses that have since shuttered.
We should thank them for not selling out to a bank for an ATM location!
We have always been convinced that it was Dick Cheney’s undisclosed location.
No digital footprint in 2025? Interesting…
We have always been convinced that it is or was Dick Cheney’s ‘undisclosed location’
Afraid not.
A wonderful family to adapt and succeed for so long. Thank you for all your commitments to preserving the histories and spirit of Tribeca.
Thanks to the folks at 132 for painting out the recurring graffiti on their facade. For some reason it seems to attract it, always an eyesore when it does. Bravo!
It does say telephones and intercoms on the sign so that’s what I always assumed that’s what it was. But so cool to learn more about it and always happy to know of a family owned business that is still operating, continuing their part of NYC history.