NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
The difference between a contained repair and a months-long recovery usually comes down to speed. Water that sits even water you can’t see starts growing mold within two days. In Brookhaven, where the Great South Bay keeps baseline humidity elevated year-round and older homes along the South Shore have wall systems that weren’t built to manage modern moisture loads, that clock moves faster than most people expect.
When a storm rolls through and you’re dealing with a soaked ceiling, a flooded basement, or damage from a tree that came through your roof, our goal isn’t just to dry things out. It’s to find every pocket of moisture hiding behind your walls before it becomes a mold problem. It’s to get your home structurally secured before the next weather system arrives. And it’s to document everything properly so your insurance claim doesn’t get short-changed.
Homes in the Brookhaven hamlet, along Montauk Highway, and throughout the South Shore communities near the Carman’s River corridor tend to be older many built before 1978. That means storm damage here doesn’t just mean wet drywall. It can mean disturbed asbestos insulation, cracked walls with lead paint, and materials that require specific certifications to handle legally. Getting that right from the start protects your family and protects your claim.
We’re headquartered in Bohemia right on the western edge of the Town of Brookhaven. We’re not a national franchise routing your call through a 1-800 number. CEO Jessica Dussan and VP Leo Torres built Green Island Group over 12 years and more than 5,000 completed projects across Suffolk County, and the people answering your call are the same people accountable for the outcome.
What sets us apart in Brookhaven specifically is the licensing stack. We hold a Suffolk County General Contractor license, NYS DOL Mold and Asbestos licenses, and USEPA Lead and RRP certifications which means when storm damage exposes old insulation or disturbs lead paint in a pre-1978 home near the Brookhaven hamlet or East Patchogue, we don’t have to stop work and refer you to someone else. We handle it all under one roof, with one point of contact, from emergency response through final restoration.
Our IICRC-certified technicians follow the documentation standards that insurance adjusters actually recognize, which matters when you’re navigating a claim or applying for the Town of Brookhaven’s storm damage grant program.
When you call after a storm, the first thing that happens is a real conversation not a voicemail, not a callback window. We run 24/7 emergency response, and our technicians can be on-site in Brookhaven fast. The first visit is about securing the property: tarping damaged roofs, boarding up openings, and making sure the structure is protected before anything else gets worse.
From there, the assessment phase begins. Using thermal imaging cameras, our team scans walls, ceilings, and floors for moisture that isn’t visible to the naked eye. This step is especially important in the older homes throughout the Brookhaven hamlet and the South Shore communities, where water can travel through original plaster walls and settle in areas that look completely dry on the surface. If asbestos or lead-containing materials are identified during assessment which happens regularly in pre-1978 construction we’re already licensed to address it. No project pause, no subcontractor handoff.
Once the full scope is documented, water extraction and structural drying begin using professional-grade equipment. That documentation goes directly to your insurance carrier. We bill insurance directly and handle adjuster communication, which is a significant relief when you’re also dealing with the Town of Brookhaven’s storm damage reporting process and potentially applying for municipal grant assistance. After drying is confirmed, structural repairs and final restoration bring your home back to pre-storm condition or better, with storm-hardening options available for properties that want to be more resilient before the next nor’easter season.
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Storm damage restoration in Brookhaven isn’t a one-size situation. The Town of Brookhaven spans from the Long Island Sound to the Great South Bay, and the type of damage and what’s required to fix it correctly varies significantly depending on where you live. North Shore communities like Stony Brook, Rocky Point, and Port Jefferson face wind-driven wave damage and structural impact from Sound-facing storms. South Shore communities like the Brookhaven hamlet, Bellport, Shirley, and Mastic Beach deal with storm surge, bay flooding, and the drainage complications that come with the Carman’s River corridor and the low-elevation wetlands near Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge.
We cover the full range of services: emergency board-up and tarping, water extraction and structural drying, mold remediation, asbestos abatement, lead-safe restoration, debris removal, structural repairs, roof replacement, and final cosmetic restoration. Every step is performed under our own licenses Suffolk County General Contractor, NYS DOL Mold and Asbestos, USEPA Lead, and USEPA RRP so there’s no point in the process where work has to stop because a subcontractor isn’t available or certified.
For homeowners in flood zones along the South Shore, we’re familiar with FEMA floodplain compliance requirements and the Town of Brookhaven’s Building Department permit process for structural repairs and roof replacement. If you’re eligible for the town’s storm damage grant program which offers up to $50,000 for qualifying primary residences the documentation we produce during restoration supports that application directly.
In most cases, yes but the details matter. Standard homeowner’s insurance policies in New York typically cover wind damage, falling trees, roof damage, and resulting water intrusion from a storm event. What they often don’t cover automatically is flooding from storm surge or rising water, which requires a separate flood insurance policy through the National Flood Insurance Program. For South Shore communities in Brookhaven the hamlet itself, Bellport, Shirley, Mastic Beach storm surge from the Great South Bay is a real and recurring risk, so understanding which policy applies to which type of damage is important before you file.
The other thing worth knowing is that how your claim is documented significantly affects how much you receive. Insurance adjusters look for thorough, professional-grade documentation moisture readings, thermal imaging results, photos, and scope of work written to industry standards. Our IICRC-certified technicians produce exactly that kind of documentation, and we bill insurance directly, which removes a major logistical burden from your plate during an already stressful situation.
Mold can begin developing within 24 to 48 hours of water intrusion under the right conditions and in Brookhaven, those conditions are frequently present. The Great South Bay keeps humidity levels elevated along the South Shore year-round, and older homes throughout the town have wall and floor systems that absorb and hold moisture longer than modern construction. That combination means the window for stopping mold before it starts is shorter here than it might be in a drier inland community.
The critical mistake most homeowners make is assuming that because surfaces feel dry, the moisture is gone. Water migrates behind walls, under original hardwood floors, and into subfloor materials and it stays there. We use thermal imaging cameras to identify these hidden moisture pockets before they become a mold problem. If mold remediation is needed, we hold the NYS DOL Mold Remediation License required by New York State law to perform that work legally a license that many contractors operating in the Brookhaven area do not hold.
The first priority is safety don’t enter areas where structural damage is visible, standing water is present near electrical panels, or the roof is compromised. Once it’s safe, document everything with photos and video before anything is moved or cleaned up. That documentation is important for both your insurance claim and any application for the Town of Brookhaven’s storm damage grant program, which can provide up to $50,000 for qualifying primary residences for health and safety-related repairs.
After that, call a licensed restoration company as quickly as possible. The longer water sits, the more it migrates and the higher the mold risk. You can also report storm damage to the Town of Brookhaven directly at 631-451-TOWN that line connects you to the town’s storm damage reporting system and can help you understand what municipal resources are available. We can be reached 24/7 and can begin emergency securing and assessment the same day, which is often the most important factor in limiting the overall scope and cost of the damage.
It does, and it’s something most homeowners don’t find out until a contractor is already on-site and has to stop work. Homes built before 1978 commonly contain asbestos in insulation, floor tiles, roofing felt, and exterior siding and lead-based paint on walls, trim, and windows. When storm damage cracks walls, disturbs insulation, or causes roof damage, those materials can become a hazmat situation that a standard restoration contractor is not legally permitted to address.
The hamlet of Brookhaven and many of the older South Shore communities within the town have significant pre-1978 housing stock. We hold both the NYS DOL Asbestos License and the USEPA Lead and RRP certifications required to legally identify, contain, and remove these materials as part of the same restoration project. That means if asbestos or lead is discovered during your restoration which happens regularly in this area there’s no project pause, no referral to a separate specialist, and no gap in accountability. The work continues under the same team, the same license, and the same insurance documentation.
The Town of Brookhaven’s Building Department requires permits for structural repairs, roof replacements, and significant restoration work and for properties in FEMA-designated flood zones along the South Shore, there are additional compliance requirements tied to the National Flood Insurance Program’s floodplain management rules. This layer of municipal process is something many homeowners aren’t aware of until they’re already mid-project, which can cause delays and complications.
We hold a Suffolk County General Contractor license, which is the specific credential the Town of Brookhaven recognizes for permitted restoration work. Our team is familiar with the town’s Building Department process and with the flood zone compliance requirements that apply to South Shore properties from East Patchogue to Mastic Beach. We handle the permit side of the project so you’re not left navigating that on your own while also managing an insurance claim and living with a damaged home.
Most can’t and that’s a real problem in a town where a single storm event can trigger water damage, mold risk, structural damage, and hazardous material disturbance all at once. The typical scenario plays out like this: a restoration company handles the water extraction and drying, then discovers mold and refers you to a separate remediation company, who discovers asbestos and refers you to an abatement specialist. Each handoff means a new timeline, new documentation, and a new contractor who wasn’t there for the previous phase.
Green Island Group is licensed for every step of that process under one roof. Suffolk County General Contractor for structural work, NYS DOL Mold and Asbestos for remediation and abatement, USEPA Lead and RRP for pre-1978 homes, and IICRC certification for water damage restoration. For Brookhaven homeowners especially those in the older communities near the hamlet, along Montauk Highway, or in the bay-adjacent South Shore neighborhoods having a single company that can move through every phase without stopping is not just more convenient. It’s genuinely faster, better documented, and less likely to leave gaps that show up as problems later.
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