Q&A with Lenny Shiller
On May 7, the Park Slope Civic Council will open the doors to one of the neighborhood’s true hidden treasures: Lenny’s Garage, home to an extraordinary collection of classic cars, trucks, and stories gathered over decades by longtime Park Slope resident Lenny Shiller.
The garage itself is remarkable, but so is the building that holds it. It was built as an oven to the California Pie Company and later a truck repair shop before Lenny took it over and made it his own.
We spoke with Lenny about how it all began, how the collection grew, and why he is opening it up for the Civic Council.
The building itself has an incredible history. How did you come to own it?
This building really has its own life story. It was built as an industrial oven for California Pie Company, and after that it was a truck repair shop run by two older Italian men, Frank and Nino, who really knew their trade. When I heard they were retiring, I moved very quickly. I put an offer on the table within a few days because I knew this was not the kind of place that comes along very often.
Where did your love of cars begin?
My grandmother had a 1936 Chevrolet Master Coach, and when she gave up driving, I begged her for the car because I wanted to keep it in the family. She was worried it wasn’t safe because there was a problem with the steering, but I finally convinced her. I drove it back to Brooklyn, found a replacement steering box, and put it in myself. That was really the beginning of everything for me. At that point I became a backyard mechanic. I didn’t know all that much, but I picked up knowledge from other mechanics, and I learned a lot from the manuals.
Did you always imagine the collection becoming this large?
My original theme was to have one car from every year from 1936 through 1959, because I had the ’36 Chevy and I grew up with cars from the ’50s. But what started out as a small collection just sort of morphed into more than I had expected. Then I realized the garage was looking more and more like a museum, so I thought I should have some earlier cars too, from the ’20s and ’30s. It just kept growing from there.
Your cars have had a life far beyond the garage. How did they end up in so many videos, films, and parades?
Over the years, people in production started to find me when they needed period cars or something distinctive. The most famous video I did was probably the B-52s’ ‘Love Shack’, featuring the Green 1965 Chrysler 300 Convertible. My yellow 1954 Yellow Chrysler Convertible was also in Santana and Rob Thomas’s ‘Smooth,’ and I had cars in Beck’s ‘Devils Haircut’ and other videos too. I’ve done work connected to Mariah Carey, Bobby Brown, and a lot of others. The soda truck was in a number of movies, including Enemies, A Love Story, Malcolm X, Pollock, and Bridge of Spies. The ice cream truck was even used in Gravesend. And the cars have been in parades all over Brooklyn too, often through my role as the President of the Antique Automobile Association of Brooklyn, a position I’ve held for the last thirty years. At a certain point, I just became somebody people would call.
What does the garage mean to you now?
When I’m working, I like to be here alone. I have solace here. I love being here. There’s always something to do, obviously, with so many cars. But I’ve also opened it up for people over the years. I’ve done open houses here, fundraisers, and community events. My daughter got married here. I had to clear out the whole middle of the place, but it was a fantastic wedding. So it’s both. It’s a place where I like to be on my own, but it’s also been a place I’ve been happy to share.”
Why did it feel right to open Lenny’s Garage for the Park Slope Civic Council?
I was touched when someone described the collection as a local treasure, because I suppose that’s what it has become. I’ve opened the garage for events before, and I’ve always liked the idea that people can come in and see something they would never otherwise expect to find here. Most people have no idea what’s behind the door until they walk in. So if this gives neighbors a chance to experience it and at the same time support the Civic Council, that feels like a very good reason to open it up.
