A Story Written in Wood Grain

The Beginning: Summer 2009

In the summer of 2009, our founder Mike Sullivan walked past a demolition site in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Stacked by the curb were hundreds of pristine oak boards, hand-hewn beams, and old-growth heart pine flooring planks — all destined for a landfill. Some of those boards were over 100 years old, milled from trees that no longer exist in commercial forests. The heartwood was dense, tight-grained, and rich with the kind of color and character that takes centuries to develop.

Mike had spent twelve years managing demolition projects for a major NYC general contractor. He had seen this waste hundreds of times before — entire buildings worth of quality lumber tossed into dumpsters because it was faster and cheaper than sorting and salvaging. A pre-Civil War brownstone in Park Slope demolished in a day, its irreplaceable American chestnut framing reduced to landfill rubble. A turn-of-the-century factory in Red Hook crushed by an excavator, its massive Douglas fir beams snapped and discarded. Each demolition felt like a small crime against craftsmanship and common sense.

That Williamsburg moment was different. Mike was walking home, not working a job site. He had time to stop and look. He counted the boards — over 200 pieces of clear, quarter-sawn white oak, each between 8 and 12 feet long. He ran his hand along the grain. He checked for rot, for splitting, for pest damage. The wood was perfect. Better than anything he could buy at a lumber yard. And it was going to be thrown away in the morning.

He called a friend with a pickup truck. They loaded as much as they could — about 40 boards — and drove them to Mike's garage in Astoria. The next morning, Mike called the demolition contractor and asked about the rest. The contractor laughed and said he could have all of it. For free. "Saves me a dump run," the contractor said. Within a week, Mike had sourced a used Ford F-250, negotiated similar arrangements with two more demolition crews, and rented a small outdoor lot in Long Island City to store the growing pile of rescued wood.

New York Lumber did not start with a business plan. It started with a refusal to accept waste as inevitable.

The First Sale: Fall 2009

Mike's first sale was to a carpenter in Greenpoint who found him through a Craigslist ad. The carpenter needed wide-plank oak flooring for a brownstone renovation. Mike showed him the Williamsburg salvage and sold 600 board feet at $4 per board foot — about 30% less than equivalent new oak. The carpenter was stunned by the quality. He used that flooring in three more projects over the next year, referring Mike each time.

Those early sales established a pattern that would define the business: clients came for the price, but they stayed for the quality. Reclaimed old-growth lumber is not a substitute for new wood — it is often measurably superior. Tighter grain, higher density, more stable dimensions, more natural rot resistance, and a depth of color and character that new plantation wood simply cannot match. Once builders and designers worked with it, they were converted.

Growing Roots: 2010–2012

Word spread fast. Contractors, architects, and homeowners started seeking us out — not just for the eco-friendly angle, but because reclaimed wood is genuinely superior for many applications. The tight grain of old-growth lumber, the character of hand-cut beams, the patina of century-old flooring — these qualities are impossible to replicate with new materials at any price.

By 2010, Mike had established a regular circuit of demolition sites and renovation projects feeding salvageable wood to his growing stockpile. He developed a reputation among demolition contractors as someone who would show up reliably, pay fairly for quality material, and handle the logistics of removal — all things that made their jobs easier. By the end of 2010, he had informal arrangements with over a dozen contractors across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.

Revenue reached $87,000 in 2010, enough for Mike to quit his demolition management job and commit to New York Lumber full-time. He purchased a used industrial planer and set up an open-air milling station at the Long Island City lot. Now he could offer surfacing and dimensional milling — transforming rough, nail-scarred boards into clean, usable stock. The ability to process raw reclaimed material into job-ready lumber was transformative. It expanded his client base from DIY woodworkers to professional contractors who needed precision-milled material.

In 2011, the company landed its first major commercial contract: 3,200 square feet of reclaimed heart pine flooring for a restaurant renovation in Williamsburg. The architect, who had specified reclaimed wood for both environmental and aesthetic reasons, was so impressed with the quality and service that she referred New York Lumber to six other projects over the following year. That single contract generated over $40,000 in revenue and proved that the business model could scale beyond individual sales.

By 2012, Mike hired his first two full-time employees: a mill operator named Carlos Mendez, who brought 15 years of sawmill experience from upstate New York, and a driver who doubled as a salvage scout, canvassing demolition sites across the city. The team of three could now handle the full cycle: sourcing, transport, de-nailing, milling, and delivery.

The Big Move: 2013

By early 2013, the outdoor lot was at capacity. Wood was stacked to the fencing on all sides, milling had to stop when it rained, and the lack of a kiln meant the company could not reliably serve interior flooring and paneling clients who needed kiln-dried stock. Mike secured a lease on a 15,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor facility in Long Island City — a former auto body shop with high ceilings, a loading dock, and enough yard space for significant inventory storage.

The move was a gamble. Rent increased fivefold. Mike invested in a commercial kiln, an industrial re-saw, a moulder, an organized racking system, and a proper metal detection station. Total investment in the move and equipment exceeded $180,000 — funded by a combination of savings, a small SBA loan, and a line of credit from a local bank that believed in the business model.

The gamble paid off. With indoor processing capability, climate-controlled drying, and a professional presentation, New York Lumber could serve architects, design firms, and general contractors at a level the outdoor lot never allowed. Revenue crossed $500,000 in 2013 and the client base shifted from predominantly DIY buyers to a roughly even split between professional and retail customers.

Hurricane Sandy Recovery: 2014

Hurricane Sandy struck New York City in October 2012, but its impact on the lumber landscape persisted for years. Thousands of structures across the Rockaways, Red Hook, South Brooklyn, and Staten Island were damaged beyond repair and slated for demolition. Most of that demolition would be fast and destructive — wrecking balls and excavators reducing buildings to debris hauled to landfills.

Mike saw both a crisis and an opportunity. He reached out to FEMA contractors, NYC Emergency Management, and local community boards, offering to salvage lumber from Sandy-damaged structures before they were demolished. The pitch was simple: let us remove the reusable wood first, at no cost to you, and you will have less debris to haul away. Multiple agencies agreed.

Over the course of 2013 and 2014, New York Lumber recovered over 180,000 board feet of lumber from Sandy-damaged structures. The salvage included massive quantities of old-growth heart pine and Douglas fir from turn-of-the-century beachfront buildings, antique oak from bungalows and cottages, and heavy timbers from waterfront commercial structures. Much of this wood had survived a hurricane, decades of salt air, and a century of structural service — testament to the extraordinary durability of old-growth lumber.

The Sandy recovery effort was physically grueling and logistically complex. The team worked in flood-damaged neighborhoods with limited access, unstable structures, and tight timelines. But it was a defining period for the company. It established New York Lumber's reputation as a serious operation capable of large-scale material recovery. It deepened relationships with municipal agencies and emergency management organizations. And it produced some of the most extraordinary reclaimed lumber the company has ever handled — wood with stories as dramatic as the city it came from.

Expanding the Mission: 2015–2019

The period from 2015 to 2019 was one of steady professionalization and expansion. In 2015, we launched our apprenticeship program, partnering with local workforce development nonprofits to create a paid training pathway for aspiring woodworkers. The first cohort of four apprentices began a two-year program covering species identification, milling operations, grading, safety, and sustainable material practices. The program has since graduated 34 woodworkers, many of whom have gone on to careers in carpentry, furniture making, and construction management.

In 2016, Sarah Chen joined as Sustainability Director, bringing a Columbia environmental science degree and experience with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Sarah formalized our environmental tracking, developed the material passport system that accompanies every order, and began publishing annual sustainability reports. Her work transformed our environmental mission from an implicit value to a documented, measurable, and communicable practice that resonated with architects, LEED consultants, and environmentally conscious clients.

In 2017, we established a dedicated deconstruction division under the leadership of Tom Whitfield — a licensed contractor with 15 years in the demolition industry who had become convinced that selective dismantling was both more sustainable and more economically viable for projects with high-value timber. Tom's team carefully takes buildings apart piece by piece, maximizing wood recovery rather than reducing everything to rubble. Their first project — a 1920s warehouse in Sunset Park — yielded 42,000 board feet of Douglas fir beams that sold out within three months.

We added transportation services covering Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Our consulting service grew organically as architects and project managers realized we had deep expertise not just in lumber, but in sustainable material sourcing and circular construction practices. By 2018, we had processed our one-millionth board foot of reclaimed lumber. The team grew to 14, the delivery fleet to three trucks, and our client list to over 400 active accounts.

In 2019, we celebrated our tenth anniversary with the company's first annual open house at the Long Island City facility. Over 300 visitors toured the yard, watched milling demonstrations, and attended talks on reclaimed wood and sustainable construction. We partnered with Pratt Institute on a sustainable design studio, providing materials and mentorship to architecture students working on projects incorporating reclaimed lumber.

The COVID Pivot: 2020

When COVID-19 shut down New York City in March 2020, the construction industry ground to a halt — and with it, both our supply (demolition stopped) and our demand (projects were paused or cancelled). For the first two months, revenue dropped by over 70%.

We adapted quickly. We launched contactless ordering and curbside pickup. We built an online inventory system that allowed clients to browse available stock, check dimensions and species, and place orders remotely. We expanded our delivery radius and offered small-lot delivery — something we had previously required minimums for — to serve the wave of homeowners undertaking renovation projects while working from home.

The pivot to home renovators proved to be significant. As millions of New Yorkers began working from home, demand for home office upgrades, accent walls, built-in shelving, and custom furniture surged. Reclaimed wood — with its warmth, character, and story — was exactly what people wanted in spaces where they were now spending 40+ hours a week. By the end of 2020, revenue had recovered to within 15% of 2019 levels, and our retail client base had expanded significantly.

Today and the Road Ahead

Today, New York Lumber has processed over 2.4 million board feet of reclaimed wood. That represents roughly 18,500 trees that didn't need to be cut, over 3,200 tons of CO₂ offset, and nearly 1,000 tons of material diverted from landfills. Our team has grown to 22 people. Our facility processes an average of 380,000 board feet per year. Revenue exceeded $3.2 million in 2024.

But numbers only tell part of the story. What drives us is the knowledge that every board we rescue extends the life of a material that took decades or centuries to grow. Every beam we salvage from a demolition site is a beam that does not need to be cut from a living forest. Every flooring plank we mill from century-old heart pine carries forward a history and a quality that new wood simply cannot replicate.

Looking ahead, our goals are ambitious. We are actively advocating for policy changes in New York City that would require material salvage assessments before demolition permits are issued — making deconstruction the default rather than the exception. We are expanding our apprenticeship program and partnering with additional trade schools. We are investing in equipment that will allow us to process larger volumes more efficiently. And we are working with researchers and policy makers to build the data infrastructure that the reclaimed materials industry needs to scale.

We believe the reclaimed lumber industry is at an inflection point. Rising awareness of climate change, tightening environmental regulations, growing demand for sustainable building materials, and the simple economic logic of reusing quality materials rather than discarding them are all converging to create a moment of opportunity. Our goal is to be at the center of that shift in New York City — and to help make reclaimed the standard, not the exception.