Boro Park Snapshot: Economy Leasing
The center of Boro Park, feet away from the huge trucks that ferry Korn’s bread across the region and in the fulcrum of world renowned shuls and yeshivas within blocks, may not be the best place to headquarter a car leasing company.
But Yishai Porgesz and his partner Yossi Rubinstein who own Economy Leasing, are perfectly fine with the setup. They have
many customers who never step foot in their office, located at 1503 44th Street
— because they are out of state.
Economy Leasing gets customers from as far away as
California, Arizona and Florida — “we have numerous customers from there,”
Porgesz told boropark24.com’s Heshy
Rubinstein in an interview. These long distance lessees are even willing
to swallow the extra $1,000 in shipping costs.
One unusual request they got in recent days came when New
York state’s coronavirus outbreak was wreaking enormous havoc, killing a
thousand people a day and hospitalizing tens of thousands. Florida at the time
enacted a ban on New York license plates entering the state.
One customer called Economy in desperation, saying that he
was getting hateful glares and slurs because of his Empire State license
plates.
“Within two or three days,” Porgesz said, “we had Florida
plates delivered to him. And today he is driving my car with Florida plates.”
Porgesz was originally a bookkeeper in Manhattan’s Diamond
District, followed by a stint keeping the books at a used car dealership. A
dozen years ago, he decided to strike off on his own and go into the car
leasing business himself. A string of satisfied customers followed. Including
our own Heshy Rubinstein.
“I have to say that I myself have already taken eight cars
by Economy Leasing,” Rubinstein said, listing off the type of vehicles he had —
including a red Toyota 4-runner, a green Jeep Wrangler and a white pickup truck.
“And I have to say,” Porgesz rejoined, “that whenever Heshy
takes a car a lot of others follow him.”
“This is what I always say,” Rubinstein agreed. “Whenever I
take a certain car, many, many other people in Boro Park and other areas follow
and come into Economy and say, ‘I want the same car he has.’ I am very
satisfied with his cars.”
Such an endorsement, Porgesz and Kanner say, comes from years
of working hard and doing everything to make customers feel like kings. They
discovered that when it comes to a long-term investment such as a vehicle,
people are willing to pay a little extra to have someone answer their phone
when they need service.
“The main thing people look for when it comes to car leasing
is service,” Porgesz asserted. “They don’t want to touch a car dealership or
deal with a car dealership. They’re ready to pay a little bit more for my
service. I know what my customers need and I get it for them, without them
having to leave their home.”
Which also explains the out of the way office.
