Written by Ajhada Gabriel:
If you have ever strolled through the New York City neighborhoods of Fort Green, Park Slope or Greenwich Village and found yourself unable to resist pausing to admire the intricate detail of a brownstone apartment, or gazed upon the unique appliqué art engraved in stair railings, front gates or bay windows—then you may have witnessed the work of Sherwin Morgan.
In the passion-filled field of historic restoration, artists like Morgan, owner of Core Solutions NYC Corporation, preserve architecture and artifacts by replicating distinguished designs or pieces, with high-caliber metals [aluminum, iron, etc.], in order to make them less resistant to disintegration. That way, certain art can live on forever, according to Morgan.
Think of historically regal architecture such as the Sistine Chapel and the Taj Mahal, or even other 16th, 17th, 18th or 19th century cathedrals, libraries and estates. Some of these buildings are hundreds of years old and must undergo restoration in order to combat wear and tear, yet still maintain the classic aesthetics and historical significance in which visitors love to relish.
This is what Trinidad and Tobago-bred, NYC-adopted, and “Yeshua” (Jesus Christ)-enthusiast Morgan does for New York City.
“The city is an old city, and by keeping these historic landmarks in their original state, it adds value to them, it adds history; it’s unique as well, '' he said. “So it’s very important to me to have these landmarks restored to their original glory.”
Morgan is devoted to restoring the brownstones of lower- and middle-class families who inherited pieces of history but cannot afford to keep them preserved—which, according to Morgan, makes him one of the few in this rare field still passionate about helping keep NYC’s historic vibe alive.
Through custom-casting, smelting, and other similar blacksmithing techniques, Morgan and his team work on classic brownstones and NYC staples like newel posts, window guards, tree guards, statues and other artifacts.
While showing the intricacies of his small workshop, in Queens, NY, he likened completing a project to solving a jigsaw puzzle.
“Piece by piece, each section you build one at a time, then you put it all together to get the final product,” Morgan said. “The whole process is very fulfilling, I would say.”
A project can take anywhere from four weeks to two years, depending on the age of the artifact and volume of the project, according to Morgan.
For one of his many undertakings, he replicated an original 1876 wrought iron stoop railing, using aluminum.
“You have to respect the architecture of the past if you wish to adequately preserve its historical roots, and Sherwin is an avatar of the better angels of restoration work,” said the client, Carlos Aguila, who was the first to trust Morgan with such a project.
As Morgan recently sat on a park bench in the West Village, where he is slated to complete his next project, he reflected on the faith, sacrifices, trials and – most pivotal – the “goodness of God '' that ushered him into the life he has today. It is a life that maximizes his God-given gifts and talents, along with artistic competence for historic preservation.
“God placed me, based on my gifts and talents, in a rare, unique, and dying art,” Morgan explained. Quoting Proverbs 18:16, he said: “A man's gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.”
After receiving a divine revelation from God that his artistry was a ticket to financial freedom—which for him equated to autonomy – Morgan established Core Solutions NYC Corporation over 10 years ago from scratch.
But before his restoration clientele featured the creme-de-la-creme of New York City’s affluence, Morgan had all the possible odds against him, except God.
While glancing at the perfectly built West Village townhouse across the street from the park where he sat, he grinned, describing his father’s tiny, grotesque house in Morvant, Port of Spain—Morgan’s hometown in Trinidad. He compared the impoverished conditions he inhabited as a child to the luxurious houses he’s now trusted to restore.
“God is good,” Morgan said with a graceful chuckle.
Elusive Dreams
Morgan grew up in a poverty-stricken household of 14 siblings in Trinidad, and his parental unit was not as stable as he wished. With a negligent father and his mother dying when he was just 17-years-old, his childhood was anything but typical.
But with the help of a familial village of older siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins, he was well-raised, nevertheless.
Replicating a newel post for a brownstone apartment may come like second nature for Morgan these days, but filling the void created by the absence of parental love is not as easily replicated.
And so, Morgan held onto the love of God more than anything.
“The hardness of his life is what I believed caused him to press on and pursue his desires, '' said Morgan’s aunt, Valerie Gabriel. “It wasn’t easy for him but God brought him out of it and that is why he is where he is now.''
Determined to escape a life of poverty, the restoration artist dreamed of emigrating to America and being in the NBA, unaware that God had totally different plans for his life.
That dream and his 19-year-old heart were quickly shattered when he was accepted to multiple colleges in the United States but was denied a student visa in the Trinidadian U.S. Embassy. All Morgan needed was the presence of a parent at the embassy and he would've been a step closer to his dream of a college education and a chance to play competitive basketball, but his father did not accompany him.
“I wanted to be a famous basketball player,” Morgan said. “But God placed me in a more niche market where there are a handful of us, (while there are) hundreds of basketball players.”
Before applying for the student visa, Morgan’s father assisted him getting a six-month visa in which he used to visit his siblings in various states, and returned to Trinidad upon its expiration.
Unfortunately, Morgan’s father was unable to assist further with his college dreams.
Now, reflecting on that traumatic trial in his life as a 40-year-old father, Morgan accepts that basketball and university were not God’s will for his life and that his gifts and talents lay in art.
A Growing Passion
As much as he admired the Kareem-Abdul Jabars and Michael Jordans of the world, Morgan said he always felt an unexplainable passion for “working with his hands,” which he later discovered stemmed from his lineage of grandfathers. His mother’s father was a master woodwork artist and his father’s old-man was a supervisor at a Trinidad foundry for years.
Morgan divulged being “blown away” when his father disclosed this fun fact to him, while he was working on a project only four years ago.
“I got to understand a lot about myself and why I love doing this type of work. I felt like I was fulfilling a part of my purpose, part of my gifts,” Morgan said.
While attending Morvant Laventille, his secondary school in Trinidad, Morgan chose to take courses in metalwork, woodwork, technical drawing (building drawing and mechanical drawing). This threw him into the world of art, building and working with different metals.
Some time after graduating, Morgan was determined to be back on American soil so he obtained another visa through a cooking gig on a vacation cruise in South Florida. However, he later moved to New York after hurricane Katrina devastated Miami, Florida—where he was stationed.
While in the Big Apple, Morgan at one point found himself in the arms of ICE—the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency— and on the verge of deportation. However, today he is an American citizen.
“I saw the hand of God upon my life; it was a humbling experience,"
Morgan said. “I was at rock bottom and God pulled me out.” He quoted Romans 8:28, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
From sweeping floors at food joints to slicing fish at a sea-food market, at the time, an undocumented Morgan did all he could to keep dinner on the table and a roof over his head. But when he felt God was telling him that there’s more in store, he began strolling through craigslist for fresh options.
On a fateful day in 2006, Morgan found a listing for metal stripping at a historic restoration company—-a high school skill he could revive and execute.
Morgan spent eight years as an employee at the restoration company.
“There I started studying this trait,” he said. “I worked late hours for no overtime, and I learned as much as possible with him (the owner of the restoration company).”
He recalls viewing that time as “school,” where he was able to adapt skills and connections that he could translate to his own company.
“While working for him (the boss at the restoration company), the type of clients he was meeting with weren't regular people, and it wasn't regular metal work we were doing, it was something unique,” Morgan said.
What was supposed to be a temporary gig, ended up changing the trajectory of his life.
Morgan noticed that the company only catered to wealthy homeowners and realized he could help the underdogs. He started picking up the company’s rejected projects and building his own clientele.
“I said, ‘You know what? I can start a business that will help people who inherited homes and do not have the money to restore (them), so I created some flyers.”
Building a Business
One day, while biking, the restoration artist brought Core Solutions NYC Corp to life.
“I was giving out flyers around Park Slope on my bicycle,” Morgan said. “ I saw a building with scaffolding on Eighth Avenue and Berkeley, so I put my flier there. Within 15 minutes, I was given a call by a general contractor; it was my first project”
Without yet having a green card (United States permanent residency), but only a Tax ID, Morgan said God intervened and Core Solutions was conceived.
The first project he embarked upon was the restoration of a 120-foot iron fence belonging to Andrew Birsh.
Describing him as “conscientious, craftsmanlike and knowledgeable,” Birsh said Morgan “was not the least bit fazed by the age and intricacy of the ironwork that needed repair.”
“Sherwin very carefully replaced fancy ironwork that had been corroded and brought the fence up to something quite like its original appearance,” Birsh said. “I was very happy with how he did.”
That project gave Morgan exposure in NYC. And while his main clientele was lower- and middle- class homeowners, his projects began unintentionally leading him to wealthy and famous property owners —“great men,” as Morgan said in reference to Proverbs 18:16.
With the confident, creative and contemplative nature that is Morgan, he views his business as the rising Core—pun-intended—of New York City’s historic restoration scene. But, as a double minority (a person of color and immigrant) he admits to being “underestimated” by many.
However, he said, the doubts only encourage him to work harder.
“I love what I do, and it's very fulfilling for me to know that I can restore a historic landmark from the 18th or 19th century, '' Morgan said. “Anything that I work on will be there for the existence of history. I can walk back to the neighborhood where my work is and have my children and grandchildren see it.”
Humbly, Morgan said he is most proud that his projects are the type of work that will exist for decades to come. On his bucket list of achievements for Core Solutions, he hopes to expand beyond New York City and restore historic architecture and artifacts all across the country and the world.
With a journey not void of tribulation, Morgan sees his life as a “miracle” and attributes his success with Core Solutions to God.
“Everything that happened to me was all God’s plan, especially my business,” he said.
“I can’t thank God enough for what he has done for me.”
CONNECT WITH CORE SOLUTIONS
Visit coresolutionsny.com to see more of Morgan's projects!
Instagram: @coresolutions_nyc_corp
Facebook: @coresolutionsny
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