RVC's Greenfield living a legacy in Lynbrook

His NGL Group celebrates 50 years in business

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At the Nov. 21 Lynbrook village board meeting, longtime Rockville Centre resident Jeffrey Greenfield and his business, NGL Group LLC., were honored by Lynbrook Mayor Bill Hendrick and the board of trustees for reaching a 50-year milestone.

“The NGL Group has served the community well as a driving part in our business community,” Hendrick said. “We express our pride and appreciation to NGL Group for the many civic and economic benefits that our community has enjoyed over the years because of [its] presence in our business community.”

After working in real estate in the Bronx, Greenfield’s father, the late Martin Greenfield, purchased an insurance company, known as Ebin, Newman & Greenfield and moved it to Lynbrook in 1966 for one reason: Telephone service was cheaper.

“It was all built around the phone charge,” said Jeffrey, who is now the company’s managing member.

To keep the phone number his business used in New York City without paying an exorbitant fee, Martin Greenfield decided to move the company to Lynbrook, where the New York Telephone Company was headquartered at the time.

“New York Telephone used to charge by miles from the central office,” Jeffrey Greenfield explained. “So being closer to the central office was cheaper, and that’s why my father picked Lynbrook.”

Martin Greenfield’s business flourished in Lynbrook. He died in 2008, but Jeffrey has helped carry on the legacy and sustain the business to the five-decade mark. The company represents clients in insurance claims on homes, automobiles, apartments, restaurants, schools, hotels and more.

“I’m very proud to be leading the business for 50 years,” Greenfield said. “And I look forward to many more years in business in Lynbrook.”

Greenfield said he has been able to keep the company his father built strong because it hinges on great customer service. He added that the firm’s customer retention rate is among the highest in the industry and that itguide its clients before, during and after a loss is incurred, and helps them with the decision-making process.

It all started for Greenfield in the insurance industry when he came home after graduating from Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., with a degree in business administration and political science in 1974. As he helped his father with the business, Greenfield recalled, he learned to like the insurance industry because it’s all about helping people and meeting different business owners and homeowners.

Greenfield became a managing partner in 1980. His business partner, Ken Hehir, joined the firm in 1986, making partner in 1995.

“I think it’s quite an accomplishment that we are proud of in this day and age,” Hehir said of the 50-year milestone. “We’ve enjoyed helping our fellow Long Islanders in protecting their most valuable assets.”

Hehir, who was once the president of the Tri-County Insurance Agents Association, said he moved to Lindenhurst from Worcester, Mass., in 1979. He said his partnership with Greenfield has flourished through the years because they both have many of the same goals, with their top priority being their clients.

Greenfield’s work in Lynbrook and Rockville Centre hasn’t gone unnoticed, Hehir said. On top of his many accomplishments, Greenfield has been the chairman of the Nassau County Planning Commission for the last six years and a member of the NCPC for the last 12. He also has served as vice president of the Lynbrook Chamber of Commerce for the last decade and was a volunteer firefighter in Rockville Centre.

“Jeff’s community involvement is second to none when it comes to local business owners,” Hehir said. “He thrives in working with local communities. It is his passion.”

Greenfield has also served as president of three major insurance organizations— the Council of Insurance Brokers of Greater New York, the Downstate Insurance Associations Council and the Professional Insurance Agents of New York State.

The family tradition of being in insurance lives on for Greenfield in his son, Mitchell, who works in cyber liability insurance in Louisville, Ky., for a business called Humana Public Company. “I’m very pleased to have him in the business,” he said. “I wish he was in my business, though.”

Greenfield said he was humbled by the recognition by the village board, and that he looks forward to continuing to help the community of Lynbrook in the future.

“I was very appreciative of the mayor’s recognition and the village board and their support,” he said. “We’ve been an integral part of the business community for all of our years in Lynbrook.”