NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
Most Fire Island properties sit empty when a storm hits. By the time you find out something’s wrong from a neighbor, a news alert, or arriving to open up for the season water has already been sitting in your walls for days. That window matters more here than almost anywhere else on Long Island, because mold doesn’t wait for the next ferry, and neither does the damage spreading into your subfloor and framing.
When water extraction and structural drying happen fast, you avoid the secondary damage that turns a manageable claim into a months-long rebuild. For properties in Ocean Beach, Saltaire, or Fair Harbor where bungalow-style construction from the mid-20th century is the norm getting moisture out of older wall cavities quickly is the difference between a repair and a gut job.
For the owners renting their homes during the summer season, the stakes are even more concrete. With weekly rental rates starting around $3,000 and running well past $10,000 for oceanfront properties, every week your home sits unrestored is money you won’t get back. A fast, complete restoration handled by one contractor who manages the whole process is what keeps your summer season intact.
We’re based in Bohemia, NY about 20 miles from the Bay Shore ferry terminal that connects the mainland to Ocean Beach, Saltaire, Kismet, Fair Harbor, and most of Fire Island’s western communities. That proximity isn’t incidental. It means we can stage equipment at the terminal and board the first boat running after a storm clears, while other contractors are still figuring out how to get there.
Our CEO Jessica Dussan and VP Leo Torres have led this company for over 12 years across Suffolk County, with more than 5,000 completed projects ranging from emergency water extraction to full structural restoration. We hold a Suffolk County General Contractor license, a NYS DOL Mold license, USEPA Lead and RRP certifications, and IICRC-certified technicians on every job the full credential stack that Fire Island’s older housing stock and layered regulatory environment actually requires.
We’re also NYS and NYC M/WBE certified a government-verified credential, not a self-declared one. When customers name Jessica and Leo specifically in their reviews, that’s not an accident. Accountability here has real names attached to it.
It starts with a call any time, day or night. We’ll ask you what you know about the damage, when you last had eyes on the property, and which Fire Island community you’re in. That last part matters because access logistics differ between a Bay Shore ferry route to Ocean Beach and a Sayville ferry route to Cherry Grove or the Pines. We plan accordingly before we ever leave the mainland.
Once we reach your property, the first priority is stopping active damage. That means water extraction, emergency tarping or board-up if the structure is exposed, and a full moisture assessment using thermal imaging cameras that find water hiding behind walls and under floors the kind that looks dry on the surface but is already feeding a mold problem. We document everything thoroughly at this stage, with photos and moisture readings that hold up when your insurance adjuster reviews the claim.
From there, we move into structural drying, mold prevention treatment, and a full scope of repairs all under one license, without handing you off to a second or third contractor. If the damage uncovers lead paint or legacy materials in your older home (common in pre-1978 Fire Island construction), we’re certified to handle that too, without stopping work and sending you back to the ferry terminal to find someone else. Before any structural work begins, we navigate the permit requirements including the five-day notification to the Fire Island National Seashore superintendent required for properties within the National Seashore boundary so nothing gets done out of order.
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Storm damage on Fire Island isn’t a single problem it’s a chain of them. Wind lifts roofing. Storm surge floods the ground floor. Saltwater saturates insulation and framing. Sand works its way into building systems. And the high ambient humidity of a barrier island environment means that anything left wet stays wet longer than it would on the mainland, accelerating mold growth in ways that catch property owners off guard.
We handle the full scope: emergency water extraction and structural drying, mold remediation under our NYS DOL Mold license, roof and structural repairs, saltwater-damaged system assessment, and full cosmetic restoration to bring your property back to pre-storm condition. For oceanfront properties in communities like Fire Island Pines or Water Island where direct wave action and overwash are documented risks we also assess dune-adjacent damage with an understanding of the federal Dune District restrictions under 36 CFR Part 28 that govern what can be rebuilt and where.
If your property is in one of Fire Island’s incorporated villages like Ocean Beach or Saltaire, we work within those village-level permit processes in addition to town and federal requirements. And because most of our Fire Island customers are managing their properties remotely from the mainland or from New York City, we communicate throughout the process with photos, written reports, and clear timelines so you’re never left guessing about what’s happening at a property you can’t easily get to.
This is the question most Fire Island property owners ask first and it’s the right one to ask. There are no roads, no delivery trucks, and no way to drive a van full of equipment to any of the island’s 17 communities. Everything crew, industrial drying equipment, extraction units, materials has to come over by ferry from Bay Shore, Sayville, or Patchogue, depending on which community your property is in.
We operate out of Bohemia, NY, roughly 20 miles from the Bay Shore terminal. When a storm is approaching or has just passed, we stage equipment and materials at the terminal so we’re ready to load on the first ferry that runs. Ferry service is typically suspended during and immediately after major storms, which creates a gap of 24 to 72 hours during which water damage is actively worsening inside your property. The contractors who arrive first when service resumes are the ones who planned for that gap not the ones showing up at the terminal with a van and no freight plan.
The honest answer is: it depends on what caused the damage, and on Fire Island, that distinction matters more than almost anywhere else. Standard homeowner’s insurance typically covers wind damage a storm that tears off your roof, breaks windows, or drives rain into your interior. Flood damage, meaning water that enters your home from the ground up due to storm surge or rising water, is generally covered under a separate National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy.
Fire Island properties commonly sustain both types of damage in a single storm event. A nor’easter can blow out a window and flood your ground floor in the same night. That means you may be filing two separate claims, with two different adjusters, under two different policies. We document damage in a way that clearly distinguishes the cause and source of each type of damage, which is what your adjusters need to process both claims correctly. We’ve helped Long Island homeowners navigate this process for over 12 years, and we bill insurance directly so you’re not fronting the cost while you wait for reimbursement.
Mold can begin developing within 24 to 48 hours of water intrusion and on Fire Island, that timeline is harder to beat than on the mainland. Ferry service suspensions during and immediately after a storm mean there’s often a gap of one to three days before any contractor can physically reach your property. By the time boots hit the ground, moisture has already had time to migrate into wall cavities, subfloors, and insulation.
The barrier island environment makes this worse. Fire Island’s naturally high ambient humidity means wet materials dry more slowly than they would in an inland setting. Older bungalow-style construction common across communities like Fair Harbor, Dunewood, and Seaview often has less vapor barrier protection than modern builds, which allows moisture to spread further before it’s detected. Our IICRC-certified technicians use thermal imaging cameras to find moisture that isn’t visible on the surface, because the hidden water is almost always what causes the most expensive secondary damage. Getting there fast and finding all of it not just the obvious water is what prevents a restoration job from becoming a mold remediation.
The permitting process for Fire Island is more layered than any mainland Long Island community, and it’s worth understanding before work begins. If your property is within the Fire Island National Seashore boundary which covers a significant portion of the island the Village Clerk is required to notify the National Park Service Superintendent in writing within five days of receiving any building permit application. That federal notification requirement doesn’t exist anywhere on the mainland, and contractors who aren’t familiar with it can inadvertently create compliance issues.
Beyond the federal layer, properties in incorporated villages like Ocean Beach or Saltaire go through those villages’ own building departments, in addition to the applicable town Babylon, Islip, or Brookhaven, depending on your location on the island. There are also federal reconstruction timelines to be aware of: under 36 CFR Part 28, permit applications for post-storm reconstruction must be filed within one year of the damage. Missing that deadline can affect your right to rebuild. We’re a licensed Suffolk County General Contractor with experience navigating all of these layers, so the regulatory side of your restoration doesn’t become a second job for you to manage.
Yes, and significantly. A large portion of Fire Island’s housing stock was built in the mid-20th century many homes predate 1978, which is the federal threshold for lead paint regulations. When storm damage disturbs older siding, walls, or window frames in these homes, it can expose lead paint or legacy building materials that require licensed abatement professionals, not just general repair crews. Most restoration companies will stop work when they encounter this and refer you to a separate contractor which on Fire Island means additional ferry logistics, additional scheduling delays, and more time before your property is restored.
We hold USEPA Lead certification and USEPA RRP (Renovation, Repair, and Painting) certification, which means we can handle lead paint disturbance legally and safely as part of the same restoration project. We also hold a NYS DOL Asbestos license for situations where older insulation or building materials are disturbed by storm damage. If your home in Kismet, Lonelyville, or Ocean Bay Park was built before the 1980s, this isn’t a hypothetical it’s a real possibility that a qualified restoration contractor should be prepared for before they start tearing out damaged materials.
It can, and this is something Fire Island property owners don’t always think about until it becomes a problem. Unaddressed storm damage particularly water damage that leads to mold growth or structural deterioration can affect your ability to renew homeowner’s insurance coverage, maintain your NFIP flood insurance policy, and in some cases, legally rent your property to tenants during the summer season.
For rental properties in communities like Cherry Grove, Fire Island Pines, or Ocean Beach, where weekly rates can run from $3,000 to well over $10,000, an insurer or local building inspector flagging unresolved damage before the season opens is a serious financial event. Beyond the insurance angle, properties that aren’t restored to a documented, inspectable standard after a storm can also face complications with future sales particularly as Fire Island’s real estate market has seen roughly 14% price appreciation recently, making these assets more valuable and more scrutinized than ever. Restoring your property promptly and completely, with proper documentation, protects its value, its insurability, and its income potential all at once.
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