Local mechanic sets up shop

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After two years’ vacancy, the defunct gas station at 206 N. Central Ave. opened as Johnny’s Corner in July, an auto repair shop run by a local man with a long history of fixing cars in Valley Stream.

John Neenan, 49, is the managing partner at the shop. He used to work at the location when it was AJ’s Automotive, a private gas station and auto repair shop. Neenan said he started working on cars when he was 16. He “bounced around” for a number of years, trying different jobs, including a 10-year stint in the Navy, where he worked on vessels and at naval propulsion and auxiliary plants.

“I figure if the Navy could trust me with their million-dollar equipment, somebody should have no problem with their little car,” Neenan said.

He wanted to get back to doing business in Valley Stream after several years working at a shop in Lynbrook, he said, because of the relationships he had with customers. He said he wanted to work where he lives, and hoped that former customers would spot his trademark blue Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale convertible outside the new place and know he’s back in town. He converted some old tires into planters near the street corner and put flowers in them (an addition that a village official told him elicited a complaint from someone who thought there were “too many colors,” Neenan said.)

The site’s property owner had spoken about adding a gas station and store at the location the future, but for the time being, it’s a trusting relationship with clientele that Neenan wants to build. “I’m the guy you see at the grocery store,” he said. “I’m not screwing anybody over.”