Bronx Auto Parts shop to be setting of reality show airing in spring 2012

Bronx Auto Parts shop to be setting of reality show airing in spring 2012

Joe Ferrer, owner of BS & F Auto Parts on Bronx River Avenue, sits in the back area of his shop with a phone up to each ear, simultaneously buying, selling, haggling, giving orders and doing pretty much everything it takes to keep his auto parts business thriving.

But Ferrer also has a knack for marketing. He puts a lot of time, money and effort into television and radio advertisements, which he writes and stars in himself.

So when he was working with Frank Mosca, a City Island-based producer on a television commercial, the two came up with the idea of making BS & F the setting for a reality show. And now, Ferrer is on the verge of becoming a star ,not just in the automotive world, but in reality T.V.

“Hard Parts: South Bronx” starring Joe Ferrer and his staff at BS & F begins taping in December and will air in spring 2012 on the SPEED cable network. It will chronicle the day-to-day operations of the shop, which is just south of Westchester Avenue. Tension will come from Ferrer’s quest to find the most obscure, difficult-to-obtain auto parts for his customers.

The footage the pair used to pitch the program showed Ferrer trekking to a junk yard to obtain a special car part.

“I have a different style of doing things,” Ferrer said. “In the show we try to find the impossible part to get, and people are going to see how it is to run a business in the south Bronx.”

Ferrer wants the show to both promote BS & F, and open doors for him in show business.

“I’m hoping it could lead to other things, maybe being a T.V. host. It’s something I’m interested in,” he said.

Ferrer was born and raised in Pelham Gardens. He learned the automotive business from his late father, who ran a shop in Manhattan for 40 years. They opened BS & F together in 1980.

And despite the fact he already appears, to the outsider, as busy as humanly possible at work, Ferrer said having a camera crew in the already cramped store will not be a problem.

“I’ll handle it,” he said. “I multi task well.”

BS & F stock warehouse manager Hector Andujar said the thought of being a regular on reality television was exciting.

“I think it’s great,” Andujar said. “I can’t believe it, I’m shocked.”

As for what viewers can expect, he said there will be a lot of tense moments.

“It’s a lot of work. It’s a high-strung business,” Andujar said.

Ferrer and Mosca shopped the show to different networks for over a year before SPEED bit.

Mosca said Ferrer’s personality will be what drives the program.

“He doesn’t put down the phone, he’s a 100 miles per hour.”

Mosca also said that “Hard Parts” will be a chance to put the Bronx on display to the rest of the country. SPEED is more popular in areas where Nascar takes precedence over the Yankees – Red Sox rivalry.

“You’re talking about people who don’t know the Bronx. We’re stepping out of our element,” Mosca said. “But I think anybody who can appreciate someone who puts in hard work.”

Bill Weisbrod can be reached via e-mail at wweisbrod@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3394.