SJ Electric is an electrical contractor based in New York City, specializing in the Electrical Installation and redesign of all types of residential buildings. SJ Electric first came on the scene as a small but determined electrical contractor, with a team of six men doing strictly public works. “The New York City Housing Authority was our first go-around,” says Founder and Principal of SJ Electric, Bob Amabile. Bob joins me from SJ Electric’s Lynbrook office alongside his partner, Brian Kay. Bob and Brian first met when they worked together at another electrical contracting company in New York. When Bob started SJ Electric in 1995, Brian believed in his vision and came along for the ride. “After three or four years we were doing Housing Authority work as well as private work,” Bob continues, “and in 1998 we did our first high-rise building.” This project, which came about as a result of Bob’s extensive industry experience, was the beginning of what would later become SJ Electric’s specialty. “From that point forward, we started to primarily do high-rise residential buildings in the five boroughs of New York City.”
In 2008, after over a decade of early success, Brian joined Bob as partner of the company. Navigating the challenges posed by the post-recession construction industry, SJ Electric set out to establish itself as one of the only premier residential electrical contractors in the city, striving always for the finest quality. “Redesigning projects and value engineering for our clients to save them money is our forte,” Bob says. “We pride ourselves on being able to redesign, coordinate and facilitate the installation of electrical work on concrete superstructure projects in a short amount of time. Not all companies are able to do this. We do everything from service work, fire alarm, security, low voltage, data, all the job systems as well as lighting and power.” SJ Electric offer in-house engineering services too, as well as 3D Building Information Modelling that allows it to provide its clients with a digital representation of a buildings electrical systems across its lifecycle. “With electrical work,” Bob says, “there’s nothing we don’t do.” This year the company celebrated its 30th Anniversary, with Bob and Brian still leading the way.
“We pride ourselves on being able to redesign, coordinate and facilitate the installation of electrical work on concrete superstructure projects in a short amount of time.”
Reflecting on thirty years in business, Bob recalls some of the company’s milestones from along the three-decade journey. “I think we did maybe $1,000,000 worth of business in that first year,” he says, which is a small feat compared to the $100 million the company recorded in 2024. “That’s got to be a milestone, right?” He also thinks back to 2001, a pivotal year for New York City. When the Twin Towers fell, it was SJ Electric who redesigned the full electric system at Ground Zero to power it back to life after the devastating loss. “We did the recovery down at the World Trade Centre after 9/11,” Bob says, “which included all the stadium lighting and the temporary power. We were actually the first contractor there under a contract.”
When SJ Electric started out it did so as a union company, signing a Collective Bargaining Agreement with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local No.3, which established legally-binding standards for working conditions and benefits. From the outset SJ Electric’s priority was the wellbeing of its people, and this remains the case thirty years on as it upholds union agreements with both IBEW Locals No. 3 and 25. As well as higher wages, job security and enhanced career prospects, union companies ensure workers enjoy a better work-life balance and are treated fairly in the workplace. Leaning towards companies that provide such benefits in an otherwise uncertain political and economic climate may seem obvious, but the trend in North America’s construction industry tells a different story. Recent years have seen more non-union companies come in and saturate the market, and its companies like SJ Electric, a union company for thirty years with an unwavering commitment to the wellbeing of its people, that suffer the consequences.
Despite being a $100 million dollar company, SJ Electric are actively trying to recapture work that it has lost in New York. This is not a reflection of the company itself, but rather the market shift from majority union contractors to a more open shop environment. “The industry in New York has changed over the last eight years,” Bob says. “That’s been a big undertaking for us. We’re trying to get back to where we were eight years ago by recapturing marketplace that we’ve lost to non-union companies, and then move on from there. It’s not easy.” But SJ’s commitment is just that: unwavering. And so, despite the challenges posed by non-union companies, the plan is to hold strong rather than follow suit. A union company at heart, SJ Electric’s people will remain its priority no matter what the ever-changing industry throws its way.
Despite union companies holding a less fair market share than they once did, SJ Electric has been successful in securing a prestigious book of work in the high-end residential sector as well as commercial work for clients such as ESPN and Disney. “We’ve done everything from affordable housing, which we still do, all the way up to the super high-end 220 Central Park South, a billionaire-only building in New York City.” A standout project for SJ Electric due to its high-profile, location, and top-quality finish, 220 Central Park South is a high-rise residential skyscraper on the aptly named Billionaires Row. The building houses some of the city’s most expensive apartments, two of which sold for over $100 million. It is no surprise then that the building was finished to the highest electrical specification, with SJ Electric as the trusted contractors to bring it up to the high standard that prospective buyers expected as part of the hefty price tag. “We did all the apartments and condos there,” Bob says. “It was very fancy, with very high-end finishes.” It is a development that is representative of the high-end service for which SJ Electric has become known, and as one of the city’s tallest buildings, it leaves that SJ Electric stamp on the New York City skyline.
“We’re heavily involved with the Electrical Contractors Association,” Bob says, “which is a trade organization that that covers all the union electrical contractors.” Bob is the 54th elected President of the association’s New York chapter, NYECA, which places SJ Electric at the helm of the industry. This Chapter is the largest of its kind in the United States, comprising of the leading electrical contractors in New York City, Westchester County, New York and Fairfield County, Connecticut. This experience, along with a strong reputation established over three decades, carries the SJ Electric name forward into a market that is both difficult to navigate, and brimming with new opportunity. As a union company, SJ Electric remains committed to its people as it continues to find new ways to serve them. “Our electricians in the field have three pensions, full medical, dental, and eye care,” says Bob. “Our people’s children and spouses can go to college. They’re well taken care of, whereas non-union workers are paid a basic minimum wage. We’re creating a better life for the people who work for us, and we would like to continue that. So along with the IBEW and our contractors, we’re trying to figure out a way to compete with non-union companies. Ultimately our goal is to make our company strong economically while taking care of our people. We have a lot of people who have worked for us for almost 30 years, and we now have children of those people working for us.”
So, what’s on the horizon for New York’s premier electrical contractor as they move toward an industry that is brimming with equal part challenge, equal part opportunity? “I’m getting old, and Brian’s catching up!” Bob tells me in good spirit. “As the old guy, my ultimate goal is to carry on what we started and continue this through the generations.” Bob’s son, Robert, joined the management team as partner last year, while Brian’s son Christopher will be joining the team this summer once he graduates from the University of Pittsburgh. Bob’s two youngest son’s also work with the company. As such, the future of the company is still in the experienced and capable hands of Bob and Brian, but helped along by the youth, enthusiasm, and fresh outlook that their sons bring to the table. While there is significant challenge in recapturing marketplace lost to non-union companies, the hard work ethic that has placed SJ Electric at the peak of New York’s electrical contracting industry thus far, will continue to light the way forward.
