Water Damage Restoration in the Bronx

Water damage risks across the Bronx

Apartment buildings

In a building with dozens or hundreds of units, a failed riser, a broken toilet supply line or an overflowing tub can damage a whole line of apartments. Building staff need to shut the riser quickly, and the owner, the board and each resident’s insurer may all be involved.

Co-op City and other large cooperatives

Co-op City has 15,372 apartments in 35 high-rise buildings and seven townhouse clusters on former marshland along the Hutchinson River. In co-ops like these, the proprietary lease decides what the cooperative repairs and what each shareholder covers with an HO-6 policy.

Cloudbursts and combined sewers

When the remnants of Ida hit on September 1, 2021, the Major Deegan Expressway flooded through Kingsbridge and dozens of cars were abandoned in the water; the Bronx River and Hutchinson River parkways also closed. Low ground near the Deegan floods partly because Tibbetts Brook, which flows out of Van Cortlandt Park, was long ago buried and sent into the sewer system. The city is working to “daylight” the brook to relieve the sewers.

Coastal neighborhoods

City Island, Throgs Neck, Edgewater Park, Silver Beach, Locust Point, Soundview and Hunts Point sit along Long Island Sound, the East River and Westchester Creek. Low areas there are in FEMA flood zones and flooded in Sandy in 2012.

Winter in older Bronx buildings

Many Bronx apartment buildings are heated by steam from a central boiler. Radiator valves and air vents wear out and leak or spit hot water, and a failed valve in an upstairs unit can soak the ceiling below. In a hard freeze, pipes along exterior walls, in unheated stairwells and in vacant apartments are the first to split. Report heat and radiator problems to the super quickly, before a small drip becomes a ceiling leak. See burst and frozen pipes.

Who to call first

Then call a restoration company to extract the water and dry the structure. See ceiling and apartment leaks and sewage backup cleanup.

Renters, co-ops and homeowners

• Renters: the landlord repairs the apartment and the building; renters insurance covers your belongings. Report leaks in writing. In buildings with three or more units, city law also requires the owner to fix mold and its causes. See our landlord and tenant guide.
• Co-op shareholders: check the proprietary lease and house rules, and carry an HO-6 policy for your improvements and belongings.
• Homeowners: in one- to four-family houses, you are responsible for your plumbing and your sewer connection out to the city main. A backwater valve helps if your basement backs up in storms.

Hiring a restoration company in the Bronx

• Ask for the company’s NYC home improvement contractor license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
• Many co-op and rental buildings require a certificate of insurance before work. Ask the managing agent.
• Ask for daily moisture readings and photos for your insurer and the building.
• For mold over 10 square feet, New York requires a licensed mold assessor and a separate licensed remediator.

ZIP codes we take calls from in the Bronx

Calls are accepted from every Bronx ZIP code below. If you are not sure, call anyway: the team will tell you right away whether it can help.

• 10451
• 10452
• 10453
• 10454
• 10455
• 10456
• 10457
• 10458
• 10459
• 10460
• 10461
• 10462
• 10463
• 10464
• 10465
• 10466
• 10467
• 10468
• 10469
• 10470
• 10471
• 10472
• 10473
• 10474
• 10475