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It was 1976 on Staten Island, NY. John Cataneo Jr. was seven years old and his brother David was 11, and they were in the basement of their home learning to thread pipe. Their father had recently left the plumber’s union to found his own plumbing company, Gateway Plumbing & Heating.

John Cataneo Sr. named the company after the Gateway National Recreation Area, just across the bay. By the age of 10, John Jr. knew all his fittings by name, and was actually more help than hindrance while Sr. loaded his service van.

Fast forward to the late ‘90s, when David and John Jr. took over the company with a focus on residential plumbing and heating in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Today, they serve New Jersey as well, and have added a large amount of commercial work to their services. The company’s reputation for quality has grown along with the firm.

“The addition of commercial work was a big change, mostly from a cash flow standpoint,” said Cataneo. “Paychecks are spread out, but it’s good work once you adapt to it. Today, half our work is commercial.”

Gateway’s biggest challenge is not finding work or recruiting and keeping employees. According to Cataneo, the biggest headwind for any service contractor in The Big Apple is getting compensated for your time.

“Our guys are paid for eight hours, but on any average day performing service work in Manhattan, we only get about 4.5 hours billable,” explained Cataneo. “That money has to come from somewhere, and it’s built into the project. That’s why we give a bid price instead of quoting hours. Some customers still ask about hourly rates. When they do, we explain, and they typically understand. That’s just life in the city.”

However, billable hours are not the only thing that complicates work in NYC. Parking, or lack thereof, can be a challenge for many urban contractors. Gateway is written between $2,000 and $3,000 worth of parking tickets each month. They hire a service that negotiates the fees with authorities, because many parking fines don’t actually apply to commercial vehicles.

“After it’s all said and done, we pay about $1,000 per month for parking tickets,” said Cataneo. “You don’t get towed unless you’re in a bus lane or in front of a fire hydrant.  So at least we have that going for us.”

Hydronic heating projects make up roughly 30% of Gateway’s work. Boiler replacements are big business. As often as not, Gateway trucks are parked in front of a historic brownstone, which occupy much of the city’s affluent neighborhoods. Here, steam is prevalent.

It was 1976 on Staten Island, NY. John Cataneo Jr. was seven years old and his brother David was 11, and they were in the basement of their home learning to thread pipe. Their father had recently left the plumber’s union to found his own plumbing company, Gateway Plumbing & Heating.

John Cataneo Sr. named the company after the Gateway National Recreation Area, just across the bay. By the age of 10, John Jr. knew all his fittings by name, and was actually more help than hindrance while Sr. loaded his service van.

Fast forward to the late ‘90s, when David and John Jr. took over the company with a focus on residential plumbing and heating in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Today, they serve New Jersey as well, and have added a large amount of commercial work to their services. The company’s reputation for quality has grown along with the firm.

“The addition of commercial work was a big change, mostly from a cash flow standpoint,” said Cataneo. “Paychecks are spread out, but it’s good work once you adapt to it. Today, half our work is commercial.”

Gateway’s biggest challenge is not finding work or recruiting and keeping employees. According to Cataneo, the biggest headwind for any service contractor in The Big Apple is getting compensated for your time.

“Our guys are paid for eight hours, but on any average day performing service work in Manhattan, we only get about 4.5 hours billable,” explained Cataneo. “That money has to come from somewhere, and it’s built into the project. That’s why we give a bid price instead of quoting hours. Some customers still ask about hourly rates. When they do, we explain, and they typically understand. That’s just life in the city.”

However, billable hours are not the only thing that complicates work in NYC. Parking, or lack thereof, can be a challenge for many urban contractors. Gateway is written between $2,000 and $3,000 worth of parking tickets each month. They hire a service that negotiates the fees with authorities, because many parking fines don’t actually apply to commercial vehicles.

“After it’s all said and done, we pay about $1,000 per month for parking tickets,” said Cataneo. “You don’t get towed unless you’re in a bus lane or in front of a fire hydrant.  So at least we have that going for us.”

Hydronic heating projects make up roughly 30% of Gateway’s work. Boiler replacements are big business. As often as not, Gateway trucks are parked in front of a historic brownstone, which occupy much of the city’s affluent neighborhoods. Here, steam is prevalent.