City & County Paving Corp.’s experienced team at the Gansevoort Street job site in Manhattan’s meatpacking district.

For Mike Bavaro Jr., Co-Owner and President of Bronx-based City & County Paving Corp. (City & County), this third-generation paving business is at the very heart of his identity. “The company has been a constant in my life since I was born, so it’s more than just work; it’s part of who I am. With that, you tend to take it very seriously. You protect it. I grew up in a time where I could start doing this very young, and this work has become second nature. When you’re raised as a kid doing something, it runs deep; it’s ingrained in you.”

That passion for the asphalt paving, concrete and site work business his grandfather founded in 1942, comes through loud and clear as Mike provides a bit of history. “My grandfather came over from Italy when he was 13 years old, with no education; he barely spoke the language. He started out doing coal and ice. And then, in 1942, he latched on to asphalt—this relatively new technology—and started City & County Paving.”

Learning on the Job

Mike’s father (Mike Sr.) then ran the company for 37 years. Mike Jr. recalls fondly that he was one of those kids that always went to work with dad, joking, “Times were a little bit different in the ‘70s and ‘80s. You could put a 12-year-old kid on a job site and not go to jail. That experience was priceless. Some days, he’d put me in a truck with a driver, and I’d drive around in a dump truck as a passenger all day, or other days he’d leave me with a crew and tell the guys to keep an eye on me. Sometimes, I’d ride around going to look at jobs, or I’d be in the office with him.”

Those years as an unofficial “apprentice” served Mike Jr. well. After he graduated from high school, Mike Jr. continued his studies locally, studying engineering part time, while also working with his dad. Today, Mike Jr. co-owns the company with his second cousin, Frank Lovaglio, who also serves as Secretary/Treasurer. The two bought out Mike Sr. in 1995.

Frank, too, recalls with great affection his own early days as a teenager working alongside his grandfather and Mike Sr., eventually parlaying his experience into the successful decades-long partnership.

Frank shares, “I actually started with City & County in 1975, as the ‘coffee guy’ and a laborer, right out of high school, and worked my way up to a foreman. Just imagine the experience I have—from 17 to 63. I learned the machines and whatnot. And when Mike and I first started, he was mainly in the office. I was out in the field, running the crews and running the machines.”

Concrete Plans

City & County Paving’s main services are commercial asphalt paving and site work, which Mike Jr. explains is a combination of excavation, concrete work, and anything related to sidewalks, parking lots, curbs, and areas around new buildings, including underground drainage and lighting. Concrete work, especially Manhattan sidewalks, is a big market for the company, keeping the City & County crews very busy all year.

Mike Jr. says, “The vast majority of our work is for private property owners who generally own multiple properties, such as shopping centers, warehouses or industrial facilities. We do a lot of work for management companies, which is where much of our sidewalk work comes in, as well as the paving. We also do a good deal of work for developers and general contractors.”

Frank explains the customer-focused philosophy that guides the company in everything it does, noting how important it is to adapt to evolving needs. He says, “If you don’t change with the times in this business, you’ll go under.” He adds that perhaps the most important rule is to treat every project as if you’re doing it for yourself, stating, “Embrace sincerity. That’s how we hold on to our customers. I try to stop by each and every job so the customer will know that one of the owners is there.” He continues, “Be honest with the customer, and have a little class. People think because we’re in the construction business, that we’re going to be rough. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Have dignity. Have respect. Always present yourself as a professional.”

As a respected, time-tested family-owned company, it’s no surprise that repeat business makes up a large percentage of City & County’s projects—with some bid work in the mix. “We have customers we’ve been dealing with for 30 years or longer,” Mike says. And, with that deeply embedded commitment to providing the same level of high-quality service, there’s no end in sight.