NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
A fire in a SoHo building on Prince Street isn’t just a cleanup job. The exposed brick, wide-plank floors, tin ceilings, and original millwork that define these lofts absorb smoke at a molecular level. Paint over it without proper remediation and the smell comes back and so does the damage.
What makes this neighborhood different is the building stock itself. About 65% of SoHo’s homes were built before the 1940s, which means fire damage almost always means disturbed asbestos, lead paint, and materials that require licensed environmental handling before a single permit can be pulled. That’s not a side issue it’s the first issue.
When we complete the work right, you’re not just back in your space. You’re back in a space that’s been fully assessed, properly remediated, and restored to the character it had before the fire. No lingering odor. No hidden hazards left behind. No regulatory exposure from work that wasn’t done to code.
Green Island Group is a licensed environmental and restoration contractor serving the greater New York metro area, including Manhattan and Prince. We handle fire restoration, smoke remediation, water damage, asbestos abatement, lead removal, and mold remediation all under one contract, with one point of contact, from the first emergency call to final walkthrough.
That matters a lot in a neighborhood like SoHo, where a fire doesn’t just damage a room it can trigger asbestos filings with NYC DEP, DOB permit requirements, and Landmarks Preservation Commission review if the building sits within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District. Most restoration companies aren’t equipped for that. We are.
Our customers have specifically noted that the phone gets answered at 3am, on weekends, when it matters and that we bill insurance directly. In a neighborhood where displacement means Manhattan hotel rates, that kind of responsiveness isn’t a bonus. It’s the baseline.
The first call triggers an emergency response. We board up, tarp, and stabilize fast because in a dense Prince Street building, an unsecured fire-damaged unit creates risk for every floor above and below it. From there, the full assessment begins: thermal imaging, air quality testing, and a scope review that maps smoke migration through shared HVAC ducts, plumbing chases, and elevator shafts.
Before any permitted restoration work can begin in a pre-1987 building which covers virtually every structure on or near Prince Street an ACP-5 asbestos assessment must be filed with NYC DEP. We handle that filing as part of the scope. If asbestos-containing materials are present and disturbed, abatement happens before reconstruction begins. Same with lead. This isn’t optional in New York City, and skipping it creates legal exposure for you as the property owner.
Once the environment is clear, restoration moves into smoke and odor remediation, water extraction if firefighting efforts soaked the structure, and then structural repair and full reconstruction. If your building requires DOB permits or LPC review for exterior work, that process runs in parallel. You get one team managing all of it not four separate contractors you’re trying to coordinate from a hotel room across town.
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Fire damage restoration in Prince and SoHo covers a lot more ground than it does in a newer building. Our scope includes emergency stabilization and board-up, full smoke and soot remediation using HEPA air scrubbers and thermal fogging, water extraction and drying from firefighting activity, asbestos and lead assessment and abatement, mold prevention and remediation, structural repair, and complete reconstruction all handled in-house, all under NYS, NYC, and USEPA compliance standards.
For buildings within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District, that means understanding how LPC review affects exterior restoration timelines and what materials are acceptable for facade repair. For mixed-use Prince Street buildings with retail or gallery space on lower floors and residential lofts above, it means navigating both commercial and residential insurance claims simultaneously and communicating directly with adjusters on both sides.
The work is documented thoroughly at every stage. That documentation matters for your insurance claim, for DOB sign-off, and for any future buyer or co-op board that wants to verify the restoration was done to code. You’re not just getting your space back you’re getting a paper trail that protects the value of it.
Yes and in New York City, it’s not optional. Any building constructed before April 1, 1987 requires an ACP-5 asbestos assessment before permitted renovation or restoration work can begin. That covers virtually every building on or near Prince Street, given that SoHo’s median construction year is 1938 and roughly 65% of the neighborhood’s housing stock predates the 1940s.
If the assessment finds asbestos-containing materials that were disturbed by the fire pipe insulation, floor tiles, ceiling materials abatement must be completed and documented with NYC DEP before reconstruction can proceed. Skipping this step doesn’t just slow down your project later; it creates real legal and financial exposure for you as the property owner. We handle the ACP-5 filing and any required abatement as part of the restoration scope, so you’re not trying to coordinate a separate environmental contractor while you’re already displaced.
If your building is a contributing structure within the SoHo-Cast Iron Historic District which was designated by the NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1973 any exterior restoration work requires LPC review and approval before it can proceed. That includes facade repairs, window replacements, and storefront reconstruction if the fire affected street-level commercial space on Prince or nearby blocks.
This adds a layer to the timeline that most restoration companies aren’t familiar with. We account for it from the start, initiating LPC documentation in parallel with interior remediation so the exterior approval process doesn’t hold up the overall project. Interior restoration work that doesn’t affect the protected facade can typically proceed while LPC review is underway. The key is knowing which work triggers review and which doesn’t and building that into the schedule from day one rather than discovering it mid-project.
This is one of the most common concerns after a fire, and it’s a fair one. Smoke odor in a SoHo loft is particularly stubborn because the materials that define these spaces exposed brick, original hardwood floors, plaster walls are porous. Smoke particles embed at a molecular level, and surface cleaning alone doesn’t remove them. Painting over affected surfaces without proper remediation is one of the most common mistakes in fire restoration, and it’s why odor returns weeks or months later.
Effective smoke remediation uses a combination of HEPA air scrubbing to remove particulates, thermal fogging to reach areas that surface cleaning can’t access, and hydroxyl generators for deep odor neutralization. The process also includes HVAC cleaning, because in the shared duct systems common to SoHo’s multi-unit buildings, smoke travels far beyond the unit of origin. When it’s done correctly, the odor is gone not covered up.
Generally yes, but the coverage structure in a SoHo co-op or converted loft building is more layered than a standard homeowner’s policy. Most co-op buildings carry a master policy that covers the building’s structure and common areas. Individual unit owners typically carry their own HO-6 policy covering interior improvements, personal property, and liability. If you’re a loft tenant rather than an owner, your renter’s policy covers contents and displacement but not structural restoration.
The complication in many Prince Street buildings is that the line between what the master policy covers and what your personal policy covers isn’t always clear, especially in older conversions where unit boundaries and improvement ownership aren’t well-documented. We bill insurance directly and work with adjusters on both sides of that line the building’s carrier and yours to document scope accurately and make sure nothing falls through the gap. That direct billing process also means you’re not fronting restoration costs while waiting for reimbursement.
Faster than most people expect. Mold can begin developing in water-saturated building materials within 24 to 48 hours of firefighting activity. In a pre-war SoHo building with thick plaster walls, original wood framing, and limited airflow in enclosed spaces, moisture from fire suppression can stay trapped long after the visible water is gone creating exactly the conditions mold needs to take hold.
This is why water extraction and structural drying need to start immediately, not after the smoke remediation is complete. In a multi-unit building on Prince Street, unaddressed moisture in one unit can migrate into adjacent walls and floors, creating mold issues in units that had no fire damage at all. Our process addresses water intrusion and smoke damage simultaneously, using industrial drying equipment and moisture mapping to confirm that structural materials are fully dried before reconstruction begins. That step protects your unit and the units around it.
It depends on the scope, but for a SoHo loft or Prince Street apartment, you should plan for a longer timeline than you’d see in a newer or simpler building. A minor fire with limited smoke damage and no hazardous materials involved might be resolved in two to three weeks. A more significant fire in a pre-war building one that requires asbestos abatement, extensive smoke remediation, structural repair, and DOB permitting can run eight to twelve weeks or longer, particularly if LPC review is required for any exterior work.
The biggest variable in Manhattan is the permitting process. DOB permits, DEP asbestos filings, and LPC approvals all run on their own timelines, and delays in any one of them can push the overall schedule. The best way to compress that timeline is to have a contractor who initiates all of those processes simultaneously and knows how to keep them moving. We manage that regulatory coordination as part of the job it’s not something you’re left to figure out on your own while you’re living out of a hotel in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
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