NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
The moment a storm tears through Lake Grove whether it’s the Route 347 corridor or the neighborhoods near the Robert J. Henke Nature Preserve the clock starts. Water doesn’t stay where it lands. It moves through walls, settles into subfloors, and starts growing mold within 48 hours long before most homeowners even get a callback from the first contractor they called.
When storm damage restoration is done completely, not just visibly, you stop that clock. Hidden moisture gets found with thermal imaging before it becomes a mold problem. Structural issues get documented properly so your insurance claim reflects the full scope of what happened not just what was easy to photograph. You’re not left coordinating a roofing company, a water damage crew, and a mold remediator separately.
Lake Grove’s housing stock matters here too. A large portion of the village’s single-family homes were built during the 1950s through 1970s, following the boom that came with Smith Haven Mall’s opening in 1969. Homes from that era can contain asbestos insulation or lead paint materials that storm damage can disturb. Handling that correctly requires specific state and federal certifications, not just a general contractor’s license. When restoration is done by someone equipped for all of it, you don’t end up with a repair that creates a bigger problem six months later.
We’re headquartered in Bohemia, NY about 10 to 12 miles south of Lake Grove via Nicolls Road. That’s not a detail we throw in to sound local. It means when a storm moves through central Suffolk County and affects Lake Grove, we’re already positioned to reach you within the hour, not dispatching from a regional hub two counties away.
We’ve been operating for over 12 years and have completed more than 5,000 restoration projects across Long Island, Nassau County, Queens, and New York City. Our CEO Jessica Dussan and VP Leo Torres lead a team that holds a Suffolk County General Contractor license, a NYS DOL Mold license, a NYS DOL Asbestos license, USEPA Lead and RRP certifications, and current IICRC certification the standard insurance adjusters actually recognize. We’re also a government-certified Minority and Woman-Owned Business Enterprise through both New York State and New York City.
Because Lake Grove is an incorporated village with its own Building Department not just a hamlet under Town of Brookhaven jurisdiction restoration work here requires permits issued through the Village of Lake Grove’s Building Inspector. We know that process and handle it, so you don’t have to.
When you call, we respond immediately. For active storm situations, we’re on-site within the hour. The first priority is stopping further damage emergency tarping, board-up, and water extraction happen before anything else. If a tree came down on your roof or water is actively entering the structure, that gets addressed the same day.
Once the immediate threat is contained, we do a full damage assessment using thermal imaging cameras. This step matters more than most homeowners realize. What looks like surface damage after a storm in Lake Grove especially in older homes built before 1978 often has moisture sitting behind walls or under flooring that a visual inspection completely misses. We document everything, including what the camera finds, because that documentation is what supports a complete insurance claim.
From there, we manage the structural drying, mold prevention treatment, and any remediation work that’s needed including asbestos or lead assessment if the damage disturbed pre-1978 materials. We work directly with your insurance company throughout the process. Once the remediation is complete, we handle the full reconstruction: framing, drywall, roofing, siding, whatever the scope requires. Because Lake Grove is an incorporated village, we pull the necessary permits through the Village Building Department and make sure the work passes inspection. You get one point of contact from the emergency call to the final walkthrough.
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Storm damage restoration in Lake Grove isn’t a single service it’s a sequence. Emergency response and stabilization come first. Then moisture detection, water extraction, and structural drying. Then mold prevention or remediation if moisture has been sitting. Then full reconstruction, from the roof down to the interior finishes.
What makes this different for Lake Grove specifically is the age of the housing stock and the village’s regulatory environment. Many homes in the village were built during the post-war suburban expansion of the 1950s through 1970s. When storm damage opens up walls, cracks old roofing materials, or breaks through pre-1978 surfaces, there’s a real possibility of disturbing asbestos or lead-containing materials. Most restoration contractors aren’t licensed to handle that. We hold the NYS DOL Asbestos license, USEPA Lead certification, and USEPA RRP certification that this work legally requires in New York.
We also carry the full licensing stack for every jurisdiction that applies here: Suffolk County General Contractor license, NYS DOL Mold license, and IICRC certification for water damage and mold work. We bill your insurance company directly, help document the full scope of damage for your claim, and manage the Village of Lake Grove permit process so that every repair is properly certified and insurable. From a fallen tree on a residential street near the Robert J. Henke Nature Preserve to a commercial roof on the Route 347 corridor, the scope of what we handle is complete.
Yes and this is one of the most important things to understand before hiring any contractor for storm damage work in Lake Grove. Because Lake Grove is an incorporated village with its own Building Department and Code Enforcement Official, structural repairs, roof replacements, and significant reconstruction require permits issued directly by the Village of Lake Grove Building Inspector. This is separate from Town of Brookhaven permitting, which applies to the unincorporated hamlets surrounding the village.
Contractors who skip this step or who aren’t aware that Lake Grove operates under its own village code can leave you with unpermitted work that fails inspection, can’t be certified for occupancy, and may create complications when your insurance company reviews the claim. We hold a Suffolk County General Contractor license and handle the Village of Lake Grove permit process as part of every restoration project. You don’t need to figure out which department to call or what forms to file.
In most cases, yes wind damage, falling trees, and storm-related water intrusion are standard covered perils under homeowner’s insurance policies. The August 2024 storm that caused over $41 million in documented damages across Suffolk County and earned a federal disaster declaration breaching dams in Stony Brook and Smithtown, both directly adjacent to Lake Grove resulted in thousands of valid insurance claims across the county. The coverage exists. The challenge is making sure your claim captures the full scope of damage, not just what’s visible on the surface.
That’s where documentation matters. We use thermal imaging to find hidden moisture in walls and subfloors that a quick adjuster visit would miss. We document everything before, during, and after the restoration process, and we bill your insurance company directly. You’re not writing a check and waiting for reimbursement. Nearly every restoration project we complete is insurance-funded, and we know how Suffolk County adjusters work and what they need to see.
It does, and it’s worth taking seriously. Homes built before 1978 which includes a significant portion of Lake Grove’s residential housing stock, most of it developed during the post-war suburban boom that followed the village’s incorporation in 1968 may contain asbestos insulation, asbestos-containing roofing or siding materials, and lead paint. When storm damage cracks walls, disturbs old insulation, or breaks through pre-1978 surfaces, it can release those materials into the living space.
This isn’t a reason to panic, but it is a reason to hire a contractor who is actually licensed to assess and handle it. In New York, asbestos abatement requires a NYS DOL Asbestos license. Work involving lead paint in pre-1978 homes requires USEPA Lead certification and USEPA RRP certification. We hold all three. Most general contractors and many restoration companies do not. If you’re in an older Lake Grove home and you’ve had storm damage that opened up walls or disturbed roofing materials, make sure whoever you hire can legally handle what they might find.
Mold can begin growing within 24 to 48 hours of a moisture event and Lake Grove’s humid continental climate makes that window even more critical. The village sits in a zone with hot, humid summers and cold winters. When storm-driven water gets into wall cavities, insulation, or under flooring during the summer months, the warm and humid indoor environment creates near-ideal conditions for mold growth. By the time you notice a smell or see discoloration, the colony is already established.
This is why the moisture detection step in our process isn’t optional. We use thermal imaging cameras to locate moisture that has migrated beyond the visible damage area before it becomes a mold problem. If mold is already present, we’re licensed for full mold remediation under our NYS DOL Mold license we don’t refer that out to a separate company. The goal is to find it early, treat it completely, and prevent it from coming back by ensuring the affected area is fully dried and sealed before reconstruction begins.
The Route 347 corridor through Lake Grove is one of the most heavily trafficked roads in central Suffolk County, and the residential neighborhoods that branch off it particularly in the quieter northern section of the village near the Robert J. Henke Nature Preserve are characterized by mature tree canopy. That combination creates a specific storm damage profile: wind-driven rain, falling limbs, and full tree failures onto roofs and structures are the most common issues we see after nor’easters and summer microbursts in this area.
Beyond tree damage, flash flooding is a real risk. The August 2024 storm that breached dams in Stony Brook and Smithtown Lake Grove’s immediate neighbors demonstrated how quickly inland flooding can escalate in central Suffolk County. Water intrusion through foundations, window wells, and basement walls is a frequent result of those events. Roof damage and water intrusion often occur together in the same storm, which is why a restoration company that handles both rather than one that only does roofing or only does water damage matters for Lake Grove homeowners.
After any significant storm in Suffolk County, unlicensed contractors begin canvassing neighborhoods sometimes the same day. They offer fast repairs, collect deposits, and in many cases either disappear or do work that doesn’t pass inspection. Lake Grove homeowners have seen this pattern after every major weather event, and it’s worth knowing what to check before you sign anything.
Start with licensing. For work in Lake Grove specifically, you want a contractor with a Suffolk County General Contractor license and awareness of the Village of Lake Grove’s Building Department permit process not just a Town of Brookhaven registration. For water damage and mold work, look for current IICRC certification. For older homes, verify that the contractor holds a NYS DOL Asbestos license and USEPA RRP certification. Ask for the license numbers and look them up. A legitimate contractor won’t hesitate. Green Island Group has been operating in Suffolk County for over 12 years, holds every license and certification listed above, and has named leadership CEO Jessica Dussan and VP Leo Torres who are accountable for every job we complete. That’s the standard worth holding any contractor to.
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