George Hubbard: Life on both sides of the bay

At 7:15 a.m., every Monday through Saturday, George Hubbard is awake in the home in Greenport he shares with his wife Kathleen, a teacher’s aide at Greenport School. The house was built by his grandfather in the 1920s, and it’s where Mr. Hubbard has lived his whole life.

Now 65, he’s worked on Shelter Island for 45 of those years.

For years, before his mother passed away in 2023, Mr. Hubbard would go first thing in the morning to her place to check in, to ask how her night had gone and if she needed anything. He’s kept the morning ritual and memories of his mother by rising at the same time, going to the 7-Eleven for a Nestle’s Chocolate Milk and a copy of Newsday. He catches an early North Ferry boat and reads the paper during the crossing.

At a little past 8, he’s opening Hubbard’s Repair Shop, officially listed as being on North Ferry Road, but it’s down the block on Jaspa Road, part of a lot that contains the Shelter Island Brewery, Maria’s Kitchen and the Repair Shop. He owns the lot, and with retirement coming in the spring, he said, Maria Schultheis is planning on buying it.

Mr. Hubbard works by himself, with his nephew Cliff Harris, a New York City firefighter, lending a hand at times. Opening up Monday through Saturday, the first task of the day is turning on the air compressor that runs the power tools, which he keeps off all night so the neighbors’ sleep won’t be disturbed by the sound. 

Then it’s a daily round of inspections — the shop is the only New York State Inspection Station on the Island. He does oil changes, and works on tires. “Lots of tires,” he added, with a smile.

There are few people who have such deep roots on both sides of the bay. His father, George Sr. owned a Shell station and garage in Greenport in the days when every gas station had spaces for a mechanic on duty, spaces now mostly occupied by mini-marts.

He and Kathleen raised their four daughters in the village — Jessica and Lauren live on the Island now with their families — and he’s been involved in Greenport Village politics for years.

He served 16 years on the Village Board, eight of those as mayor. He lost the mayoralty in March 2023 in a three-way race; he and Rich Vandenburgh were defeated by Kevin Stuessi.

“It was hard to swallow at first,” he admitted, speaking about the election. “I’m proud of what we accomplished,” adding that during his administration taxes were kept low, and money was found from other sources to fund services. “But the new guy has raised taxes.”

Upstairs in the office over the shop there’s a window looking out at the lot. It was crowded with cars serviced and waiting for customers to drive them away, and others set to go up on the lifts. Looking out, he said, “I started at age 12, working for my father on scooters and go-karts.” 

Remembering his apprenticeship, he said, “I learned from him and by doing.”

The desire to open his own auto repair shop never left him, even after his father sold the Greenport station and he began taking the ferry in 1979 to the Island to work for King Terra Marine, constructing bulkheads, docks and swimming pools.

A bear for work, he also had a part-time job with Hap Bowditch’s repair operation on Midway Road starting in 1981, eventually working full time.

Then, in 2006, Mr. Hubbard decided to be his own boss, buying the vacant Auto Tech building on Jaspa Road from Bill Southwick, and went out on his own.

He’s kept a loyal customer base on the Island throughout the years, even as the industry has changed. Speaking about car repairs, he said, “It’s mostly dealers now who do the work,” noting long-time warranties from dealerships can be up to 10 years and/or 100,000 miles. Plus, cars and the things that make them run “have become so complicated,” he said, that dealerships will always have an edge over the independent shops.

One example of how the industry as a whole and the Island housing situation has changed on Shelter Island is that his nephew David Neese, who has a passion for cars, worked at the shop for a while, but after graduating with a degree in computer science, found a job in that profession in Ohio.

“There was no future here doing this, and finding housing was impossible,” Mr. Hubbard said.

Still, there is a living to be made, he added, doing what he does. His advantage is service. “People will come by after hours and leave the keys in their cars and notes on what’s needed,” he said, and anyone who comes once, comes back and a first-name basis is established.

People don’t change, for the most part, he said, although he sees a few more stressed-out customers than in past years. “Some people will call every half hour — ‘Is my car ready? Is my car ready?’ — and I have to tell them it will be. Or coming in and saying that their daughter has to leave for college in 30 minutes and needs an inspection and an oil change. I’ll tell them I’ll do it as quick as I can.”

But those are the rare cases. “People are good. I love at Christmas when customers come in with cookies.”

He and Kathleen took their first vacation in nine years after the Greenport election last year, a cruise to the Caribbean. In his retirement, he’s planning to spend more time with his grandchildren, eight boys and one girl. “That’s something I’m really looking forward to.”