When MTZ Electronics opened on Nassau Avenue in 1991, rent in Greenpoint was affordable and the repair business was booming. In recent years, the cost of real estate has gone up 50 percent in the neighborhood. The streets surrounding the shop are now dominated by spas, tattoo parlors, and hip eateries.
As they pack up, MTZ owners Mark and Theresa Zackiewicz have been remembering their heyday — when they had 10 employees and the iPhone was still a gas bubble in Steve Jobs' head. They were more than happy to service digital equipment, but theirs was an analog world.
Mark Zackiewicz opened MTZ when he was 24 years old. The electronics-whisperer said he builds a relationship with each machine. “I basically feel it, I know what it needs, I have to take care of it and it’s really personal."
With the replaceable electronics of today, he observed, there's no feel to it — therefore, no bond. The Zackiewiczs say they'll be cleared out by the end of October because their landlord is demolishing the building and they can't afford to pay double or triple the rent somewhere else.
