Phil Mortillaro has let plenty of people into their apartments when they’re locked out, but he has one rule: If the locked-out person can’t produce evidence of residence – and quickly – the Greenwich Village locksmith will call the police and report a break-in.
Mortillaro, 60, has been a locksmith for 46 years, and says his skills – he claims he can easily crack almost any lock or safe – bring him customers. But his ethical standards keep them loyal. He counts plenty of jewelers and gem dealers among his regulars.
Mortillaro has shaggy gray hair, droopy blue eyes – and two ex-wives. He’s been a fixture behind the tiny counter at Greenwich Locksmiths for more than 30 years. He says school never held his attention – he dropped out before finished high school, and never attended much before then – but he’s always loved locksmithing and art.
A few years ago, he decided to combine his two loves and make a giant piece of art out of keys. He wanted to mount it on the front of Greenwich Locksmiths, to make the shop stand out as quirky and unique in the midst of the increasingly homogenized West Village. Tens of thousand of keys later, his interpretation of Van Gogh’s Starry Night causes pedestrian rubbernecking along Seventh Avenue South.
On a recent weekday afternoon, one pedestrian leaned in close for a better view. “Huh,” he said, to no one in particular, “they really are all keys, aren’t they?”
