NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
A kitchen renovation in New York City isn’t just about new cabinets and a fresh countertop. It’s about finally having a space that functions the way your life actually does where the layout makes sense, the storage is real, and you’re not working around a 1940s galley design that was never meant for the way people cook today.
The older your building, the more layers there are to peel back. In Manhattan co-ops and pre-war buildings from the Upper West Side to Harlem to the East Village, opening a kitchen wall often means finding galvanized pipes, outdated wiring, or materials that need proper handling before a single cabinet goes up. When your contractor knows how to deal with that without stopping the job, your timeline stays intact and your budget doesn’t balloon.
And when the project is done right permitted, board-approved, and built to last you’re not just living better. You’re sitting on a meaningfully more valuable apartment in one of the most competitive real estate markets in the country. In a city where moving costs can run 8 to 10 percent of your purchase price, a kitchen that finally works is one of the smartest investments you can make.
We’ve been doing restoration and remodeling work across New York State since 2012 more than 5,000 completed projects, including kitchens in Manhattan co-ops, Brooklyn brownstones, and Queens condos. We’re based out of Bohemia in Suffolk County, connected to the city via the LIRR, and we work in New York regularly enough to know the DOB filing process, the co-op board approval dance, and exactly what tends to hide behind the walls of a pre-war apartment.
We’re also a certified Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise through New York State not a self-reported label, but a credential that requires actual vetting. That kind of accountability carries over into every project.
What sets us apart in this market is simple: we’re a licensed restoration contractor and a full kitchen remodeler under one roof. Asbestos, mold, water damage if it shows up mid-renovation, we handle it in-house. No subcontracting the surprise. No stopping the job while you wait for someone else to come assess it.
It starts with a conversation about what you actually want layout, function, finishes and an honest look at what your building will and won’t allow. In New York City, that second part matters as much as the first. Before any work begins, your co-op or condo board needs a complete alteration agreement package: architectural drawings, contractor insurance certificates, a detailed scope of work, and sometimes an independent engineering review. We prepare all of it. You don’t have to figure out what your managing agent needs that’s handled.
Once board approval is in hand, the DOB permit process moves forward. Most full kitchen renovations in New York require an ALT2 filing, which means stamped architectural plans from a licensed PE or RA and full code compliance before demolition starts. We manage that filing from submission through final inspection. What you get before any of this happens is a 3D design preview so you’ve already seen your finished kitchen, approved every detail, and confirmed the layout works before a single cabinet comes down.
Construction follows a clear sequence: demo, rough plumbing and electrical, inspections, cabinetry, countertops, appliances, and finish work. Work happens on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. in line with building rules, elevator holds are scheduled in advance, and common areas are kept clean throughout. When it’s done, you get a final walkthrough and a kitchen that was built the way it was designed no deviations, no last-minute substitutions.
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A kitchen remodel in New York City touches more trades and more regulatory layers than almost anywhere else in the country. We cover all of it: design, permitting, demolition, plumbing, electrical, custom cabinetry, countertops, tile, appliance installation, and final finishes. One team, one point of contact, one timeline. You’re not coordinating between a designer, a GC, a plumber, and an electrician who’ve never worked together before.
For apartments in older Manhattan buildings the kind you find along Riverside Drive, Central Park West, or throughout the Upper East Side the kitchen renovation scope often includes more than what’s visible. Lead paint compliance, asbestos abatement if original flooring or pipe insulation is disturbed, gas line upgrades for modern appliances, and electrical panel work to support today’s kitchen loads are all within our licensed scope. We don’t subcontract the complicated parts out. We handle them directly.
If your renovation is tied to an insurance claim a burst pipe from the unit above, a kitchen fire, water damage that finally made the old layout impossible to keep we bill insurance directly and manage the claims process on your behalf. That’s a capability most kitchen remodelers in this city simply don’t have, and for a lot of New York City apartment owners, it’s exactly what makes a stressful situation manageable.
In most cases, yes and the type of permit depends on what you’re changing. If your kitchen renovation involves moving or upgrading plumbing, electrical systems, gas lines, or ventilation, you’ll need an ALT2 filing with the NYC Department of Buildings. That filing has to be prepared and submitted by a licensed Professional Engineer or Registered Architect, and work can’t begin until the plans are approved. Skipping this step isn’t just a code violation it can result in stop-work orders, fines, and serious complications when you go to sell your apartment down the road.
If you’re doing a more limited scope swapping cabinets without moving plumbing, replacing appliances in the same location a Limited Alteration Application (LAA) may apply instead. The honest answer is that most full kitchen remodels in New York require the ALT2 route. We walk you through exactly what your project requires before any work is scoped or priced, so there are no permit surprises mid-project.
Co-op board approval is a separate process from the DOB permit, and it has to happen first. Before your managing agent will let a contractor set foot in the building for renovation work, you need a signed alteration agreement. That typically means submitting architectural drawings, a detailed scope of work, proof of contractor insurance that meets your building’s specific coverage requirements often $1 million to $2 million per occurrence and sometimes a refundable damage deposit.
The review process can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months depending on your board and managing agent. Getting it wrong missing a document, submitting drawings that don’t match the scope, or using a contractor whose insurance certificate doesn’t meet the building’s specs means starting over. We prepare complete, board-ready packages specifically designed to get through that process cleanly the first time. We’ve done this in Manhattan buildings across multiple neighborhoods and know what boards typically flag before submission.
The range is wide, and it’s important to understand what drives the cost in New York City specifically. A modest cosmetic update new cabinet fronts, countertops, and appliances without moving plumbing or electrical can run $35,000 to $60,000. A full gut renovation with layout changes, new plumbing locations, electrical upgrades, and custom cabinetry typically falls between $60,000 and $120,000. High-end projects with premium appliances, custom millwork, and structural changes can exceed $150,000 to $200,000.
What often catches people off guard is the regulatory layer on top of construction costs. ALT2 filing fees, architect or engineer fees, and co-op board submission costs can add $8,000 to $14,000 to your total budget and that’s before demolition starts. Permit and board-related costs alone often represent 5 to 10 percent of the overall project budget. A contractor who quotes you a number without factoring those in isn’t giving you an accurate picture. We build the full cost into your estimate upfront so you know what you’re actually looking at.
It’s more common than most people expect especially in pre-war Manhattan buildings, where original floor tiles, pipe insulation, and ceiling plaster frequently contain asbestos-containing materials. Mold is also a regular finding in kitchens that have had slow plumbing leaks behind walls for years without anyone knowing. In a typical kitchen renovation, discovering either of these materials means stopping the job while you locate and hire a separate abatement contractor adding weeks to your timeline and real money to your budget.
We’re a certified restoration and abatement contractor. When asbestos or mold shows up mid-renovation, we handle it in-house under the same project and the same timeline. There’s no pause, no separate contractor to vet and schedule, and no gap in accountability. This is one of the most practical differences between a contractor with a restoration background and one that only does cosmetic remodeling and in a city where pre-war buildings are the dominant housing stock, it matters on a regular basis.
The construction phase of a full kitchen remodel typically runs four to eight weeks once work begins. But in New York City, the pre-construction phase is where most of the time goes. Board approval and DOB permitting together can take six to twelve weeks depending on your building’s review process, the complexity of your scope, and how quickly the Department of Buildings moves on your filing. If your board requires multiple rounds of revisions or an independent engineering review, that timeline extends further.
Work in most New York co-op and condo buildings is restricted to weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. no evenings, no weekends. That affects how quickly the construction phase moves compared to a single-family home renovation. The realistic total timeline from first consultation to finished kitchen including design, board approval, permitting, and construction is typically four to six months. We give you a clear project schedule at the start so you know what to expect at each stage, not just when it’s convenient to share that information.
Yes and this is actually a significant part of what we do in New York City apartment buildings. Water damage from a pipe burst in the unit above, kitchen fires, and mold discovered during renovation are all situations where the work is partially or fully covered by a homeowner’s insurance policy. Navigating that process while also managing a renovation is genuinely overwhelming, and most kitchen remodelers aren’t equipped to handle the insurance side at all.
We bill insurance companies directly and manage the claims process on behalf of the homeowner. We document the damage, communicate with the adjuster, and make sure the scope of covered work is captured accurately so you’re not leaving money on the table or fighting the insurance company on your own while also trying to get your kitchen rebuilt. In a city where shared plumbing systems mean one neighbor’s problem can become your renovation, having a contractor who handles both sides of that equation makes a real difference.
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