David Brooks returned to New York City to take over his father's s shop, Just Bulbs. The stove prides itself on selling every type of light bulb. Photo by Andrew Schwartz.

By Ashley Welch

Running a business in New York City was never something David Brooks planned on doing. Born in Queens, he left his hometown for St. Louis at 24 to study law. He met his wife Faye there and they were practicing tax law in 1981 when Brooks received a call that his father, Philip, was ill. He had a decision to make: return to New York to take over his father’s light bulb store or stay in St. Louis and let the shop fall by the wayside.
He chose the former.
“We packed our stuff and moved to the city,” he said. “It was a bit traumatic and a huge change in lifestyle.”
Brooks, 57, planned on practicing law in New York, but due to a number of circumstances, including his father’s declining health, it was not possible. But he does not regret his decision, joking, “The happiest lawyers are former lawyers.”
Just Bulbs opened in 1980, though Philip has been in the light bulb business, selling door-to-door, since 1942. The shop prides itself on selling every type of light bulb, including incandescent, halogen, fluorescent, mercury, sodium and metal halide. The store also stocks projection lamps, lighting for photo and stage, specialty bulbs for medical and scientific use and light bulbs for automotive and aviation applications, among others. In addition, Just Bulbs offers lighting consultations, repairs and cleanings.
Brooks said that this wide selection of common and specialty products, along with a strong sense of customer service, is what makes his business thrive.
“We have the right solution for every situation,” he said. “Some people come in here and know exactly what they want, but a lot of people aren’t sure what it is that they need, so they come in and talk to us. We know what questions to ask to help them find exactly what they’re looking for.”
Just Bulbs employs nine staff members, many of whom have over 20 years of experience in the light bulb industry and are ready to answer any lighting-related questions. He admits that running a business is hard work, but it is rewarding. The store is open seven days a week, nine hours a day, and he puts in most of those hours himself.
“It’s challenging because you’re always on call,” he said, “but being your own boss, you don’t have to answer to anyone—if you make mistakes, they’re your own mistakes.”
In 2007, Just Bulbs moved to its current location on the Upper East Side from its previous home on Broadway and 22nd Street. Brooks said he was surprised by the warm welcome he received from the other shop owners in the area.
“All the businesses here are like a small community,” he said. “We all know each other and get along and give each other discounts. It’s a nice feeling.” 

This is great, I thought. I’ll never have to paint—or clean—again! All right, it’s a slight exaggeration, but still, it was a red-letter (a clear, crisp crimson) day when Reveal lit up my life. And it was just as stunningly a black one when I recently realized that GE was no longer offering Reveal incandescent bulbs in my needed 100 watts. I won’t belabor the general phaseout of incandescent bulbs, which, as you doubtless know, is not particular to any specific make but rather a function of rules and regs and the greening of America.

Yes, Reveal comes in the now de rigueur compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, but I found its lackluster light yellower than its incandescent version. I tried another brand’s Daylight, which I was assured was crisply cool. Indeed it was—to the point where my apartment had all the charm of a gas station at 3 a.m.

What’s a girl to do but turn herself over to Just Bulbs, which carries—please sit down to avoid injury while plotzing—over 30,000 different bulbs. Yes, that’s a three with four zeroes.

“Why didn’t I hoard my bulbs when I had a chance?” I moaned to David Brooks, the encyclopedically informed owner of this truly one-of-a-kind shop at 220 E. 60th St. “I don’t like CFLs.”

“People like what they like,” he shrugged amiably, having heard it all before—including from those who count their hoarded stash and actually calculate if they have a lifetime supply: Let’s see, if I live another 23 years and run the bulbs for an average of three hours a day…

Silly people—step with me into the Sunshine (a 3,500-degree Kelvin hue that Brooks thinks would make me happy). Yeah, look at me, I’m talking Kelvin now, and lumens, too (simply judging bulbs by wattage is for weenies—i.e., what I was until about five minutes ago). Walk into this compact but stocked to the rafters store and you too can not only become conversant in all things luminary, you will find whatever you’re looking for.

Need a special “ping pong frosted”? Find it the European bulb collection. The “vertical pigtail”? But of course; it’s in the Victorian/Edison series, along with the “flickering flames,” which perfectly replicate a gently wavering candle without the open flame hazard.

Look: This is a 32-year-old business that monthly tends to Gracie Mansion’s chandeliers. Among the challenges there, the lighting must not only be ecologically sound, of course, but also historically accurate for the 100-year-old crystal fixtures. Do you think they can handle our apartments? Count on it.

And please don’t think all the wares extremely rarefied. Brooks obviously takes great pleasure in his strings of “party lights”—tiny bulbs that are brilliantly colored and/or whimsically shaped (a 12-foot string of flamingoes, anyone? Just $14.99).

Oh, I almost forgot, my fellow 100-watt Reveal fans. Brooks quickly honed in on the best sub for us: the 5,000-hour incandescent Chromalux (“the original,” he noted); $7.50. A CFL version is about $6; $15 for dimmable.

As usual, I’ll need a return trip to make my final decision—see you there?

—Laura Shanahan