T.F. O’Brien Cooling and Heating is a product of hard times. In 1934, Thomas Francis O’Brien, like many people, struggled to find work. So, as his grandson Kerry O’Brien puts it, he grabbed his toolbox and headed out. This turned into a commercial refrigeration repair company. In the 1950s, Thomas Francis O’Brien Jr. added appliance repair and then HVAC.
Today, the firm provides HVAC services to residential and light commercial customers, having dropped the refrigeration and appliance repair businesses long ago. T.F. O’Brien moved into a facility in New Hyde Park in 1967. In 2014, the company moved into a bigger facility in the same town. It’s still a family business. In addition to Kerry, the firm’s president, there’s brothers Christopher and Thomas, Kerry’s wife Lisa and son Patrick, as well as nephew Casey. There are between 35 and 40 other employees working there most of the time.