Updated 12/1/07

Air Conditioning Installation & Maintenance

VIGLIONE HEATING & COOLING, 250 Commerce St., East Haven

Phone: 203-467-8388; Fax: 203-468-2596.

Amphibians, Reptiles, & Fishes

SLITHER & SWIM, 38 Saw Mill Rd., West Haven. 932-9436. Excellent source for food, supplies, and information on and for critturs of this sort.

Appliances

GALLO APPLIANCE, 1362 State Street, 624-5202. This locally-owned business stocks General Electric and other major brands of major appliances -- air conditioners, refrigerators, stoves, washers, dryers, and so on. They also repair their products. We have been buying from them for years and have been eminently satisfied.

Appliance Repair

ACME HOME APPLIANCE, 239-0889. Repairs most major household appliances. 

AMERICAN APPLIANCE PARTS, 1180 SHERMAN AVENUE, HAMDEN. 248-4444. Probably the best 
appliance parts emporium in the region. Carries all brands, including parts for obsolete appliances. 

COLD CONTROL, 281-0035. Specializing in refrigerator repairs. 

LANE APPLIANCE SERVICE, 234-2333. Excellent, expert, and prompt! 

Art Materials & Supplies, Framing

HULL'S ART SUPPLY & FRAMING. 1144 Chapel St. 865-4855. The most complete art supply store in New Haven. 
 

Auto Repair

MIKE'S AUTO CLINIC, 1312 Whitney Avenue, Hamden. 281-3171. Does excellent repairs on short notice.

Chair Caning

MARYANNE LANGDON, an East Rock Road neighbor, does beautiful repairs to cane chairs. Phone: 562-7161

MARRAKECH, INC, 597 East Street, 497-8176. The sheltered workshop operated by this human services provider does excellent and reasonably priced repairs to cane and wicker furniture.

Carpenters

DOM LUCCIBELLO, Carpentry & Remodeling, 25 Maplevale Road, East Haven. 467-6106.

Chimney Cleaning & Repair

THE CHIMNEY SWEEP, 248-8884, services many households in the neighborhood and does excellent work.

Computer Repair

SHORELINE COMPUTERS, 545 Main Street, East Haven.467-0191; 1-800-545-6246; Fax: 203=467-9523. <http://www.shorelinecomputers.com> Shoreline is the authorized dealer and repair center for major brands, including MacIntosh and Epson. The firm was recommended to me by the Yale Computer Center after the University had closed its own repair facility. I have used the company both for purchases of new equipment and repairs to desktops, laptops, and printers. Shoreline does very good work at reasonable prices.

STEVE WOLK/ON CALL COMPUTER, 1038 Middletown Avenue, Northford. 203-239-7399. This PC specialist will repair and custom build systems. He is a great source for replacement parts.

Electricians

DAVID PAPA. 234-234-9456. David Papa specializes in residential work. He's a genius in dealing with repairing and installing wiring in old houses. He also does fine work with telephone and computer lines. He is a solo practitioner, so contacting him requires persistance and patience.

Exterminators

BLISS EXTERMINATOR COMPANY, 624-1244. Bliss has been in business in New Haven since 1882. The company has attended to both our carpenter ant and termite problems. Not inexpensive, but unquestionably competent. (PDH)

Firewood

GENE BURBAN, Branford, 483-1204. Gene sells and delivers good quality hard woods -- oak, hickory, and ash. If you order your wood before Labor Day, he usually offers a generous discount. He will stack and store the wood he delivers for a modest fee.

JAY MEDLYN, Stony Creek (Branford), 488-3578. Jay sells and delivers good quality hard woods.

Florist

FLEUR DE LYS. 562-LILY. <fleurdelysfloral.com> <sarahflowers@hotmail.com>. Floral, garden, gifts.

Furnace Repair & Maintenance

Richard Valentino, 269-4039. Valentino is both a fuel supplier and a furnace repairman. He has done excellent work on our aged oil and gas furnaces and is adept in installing state-of-the-art thermostats

Landscaping & Garden Design

BARBARA SCHLEIN, 230-1080. This Hamden-based gardener does excellent work.

Laundromat

BUBBLE & SQUEAK, 165 Willow. 498-8537. A complete service outfit. Will do your laundry for you. Dry cleaning service. Open 7 days, 6 am to 11 pm.

Masonry

ROBERT MAX BOETTGER, North Haven, 234-1676. Boettger does large-scale work, including building and repairing chimneys. He is a first-rate craftsman, particularly when it comes to matching new and old materials.

Painters

BRUSHY PLAINS PAINTING (Mike Savinelli), 457-1113. Brushy Plains came recommended to us by friends and neighbors. The work they did for us has been highly complimented by other artisans -- which is the highest form of recommendation! (PDH)

ROBERT A. PFEIFER, 176 Ellsworth Avenue - 3rd Floor, New Haven. 562-3171 or 623-1037. Neighbor Anne Langdon passed along this glowing recommendation:

We have just had our house at 149 East Rock Rd. painted by Robert A. Pfeifer. He not only has a superb crew (careful, diligent, respectful, task-oriented so they don't drop their brushes on the dot of 4:30), but does a top-notch job of supervision. He knows what homeowners want-even picky ones, like me-and stays on top of things until the job is done to the homeowner's satisfaction. Unlike some who, after several weeks, slow down on the supervision with the slowdown of standards as the job winds down, he stays with it to the end. He is also very personable. His price is steeper than some, but he makes payment very comfortable and gives you what you pay for. I highly recommend him. (Charles Negaro & Eligio Petrelli have also used him to their satisfaction). Bob also gives discounts for interior work done in January-March.

Pharmacies

HALL-BENEDICT DRUG COMPANY, 767 Orange Street, 562-5131. New Haven's oldest drug store and a neighborhood institution. Across the street from Romeo & Caesare's.

Plumbers

ERNEST EHLE & SON, 865-6945. Ehle is based in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven. He specializes in dealing with the vintage plumbing so common in our neighborhood. He's very busy, so be persistant and patient if you want to retain his services.

Restoration Contractors

COMMON VISION/Stephen King 288-1954. Hamden-based Stephen King's Common Vision is probably the best-known restoration contractor in the area. Our experience with the firm was the the quality of the work depended on the extent to which Steve could give the job personal attention. Much of Common Vision's work is done by sub-contractors -- and how well they do depends on how well supervised they are. On the whole we were satisfied with the work Common Vision did for us, though we had to bird-dog the details to get it done right.

GARY J. MEADE, 980-2015, is a superbly skilled restoration contractor. He can also be reached at <Onthelevel338@gmail.com>

Security Systems

PACIFIC SECURITY, 562-0075. This locally-based company, headed by second generation security expert Dan Childress, installs, maintains, and monitors security systems. After bad experiences with national companies like Security Link and Rollins, we find ourselves tremendously satisfied with Pacific.

Stone Restoration

GOTHIC STONE RESTORATION <http://www.gothicstonerestoration.com/index.htm> 14 Main Street, New Haven. Phone: (203) 777-5000 Cell: (203) 641-8448. Robert Young, the master craftsman, has an international reputation as a restorer of sculpture and architecture. Much of the restoration of historic archtectural ornament on Yale's buildings has been done by him.