NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
Riverhead sits at the fork of Long Island, with the Peconic River running straight through its downtown. That’s not a detail it’s the reason flooding here happens repeatedly, not once in a generation. In January 2024 and again in April 2024, tides along the Peconic River reached more than four feet above normal, swallowing the River Walk, Grangebel Park, and the parking lots off Peconic Avenue. If your property is in that corridor, you already know what that looks like. What you may not know is how much damage is still happening after the water recedes.
Moisture moves. It gets into wall cavities, subfloors, and insulation in ways that look dry on the surface but are actively feeding mold growth within 24 to 48 hours. For homeowners in Jamesport, Aquebogue, or downtown Riverhead where a lot of the housing stock dates back decades that moisture also has a way of finding old materials: aged insulation, original siding, walls that haven’t been opened since the house was built. When storm damage exposes those materials, you’re not just dealing with water anymore.
When the restoration is done correctly, you get more than a dry house. You get documented, permitted, properly remediated work that holds up to your insurance adjuster, satisfies the Town of Riverhead Building Department, and doesn’t leave you with a mold problem six weeks later. That’s the difference between a cleanup and an actual restoration.
We’ve been working across Long Island for over 12 years, completing more than 5,000 restoration projects in Nassau and Suffolk Counties including communities on the East End that face the same water exposure Riverhead does every storm season. We’re headquartered in Bohemia, about 25 miles west of Riverhead via the LIE, which means our response times here are real, not a marketing claim.
What separates us from most contractors operating in the Riverhead area is our credential stack. We hold a Suffolk County General Contractor license the specific license the Town of Riverhead Building Department requires. We’re NYS DOL licensed for both mold remediation and asbestos abatement, USEPA Lead and RRP certified, and IICRC certified for water damage restoration. That combination matters in a town where storm damage regularly exposes old materials that require licensed handling before any restoration work can begin.
Our CEO Jessica Dussan and VP Leo Torres are named in real customer reviews not as titles, but as people customers dealt with directly and trusted. That kind of accountability isn’t common in this industry, especially after a major storm event when the area gets flooded with contractors you’ve never heard of.
When you call after a storm, the first thing that happens is a 24/7 emergency response. We move fast documented arrival times within an hour because in Riverhead’s coastal environment, time directly affects how far the damage spreads. The initial assessment includes thermal imaging to find moisture that isn’t visible on the surface, which is especially important in older homes along the Peconic River corridor where water can travel through walls and floors before you see any sign of it.
Once the scope is clear, our team handles water extraction, structural drying, and any hazardous material concerns mold, asbestos, or lead that the damage has exposed. If your property is in a FEMA flood zone (and many Riverhead properties along the river and Sound shore are), the documentation from this phase matters significantly. We understand the Town of Riverhead’s Flood Damage Prevention ordinance, including the substantial improvement threshold that can change your permitting requirements. We pull the right permits, carry the insurance the Building Department requires including listing the Town of Riverhead as an additional insured and keep the process moving without creating compliance problems for you down the road.
The final phase is full restoration: structural repairs, rebuilt interiors, and if needed, upgrades like impact-resistant roofing materials designed to hold up better in the next nor’easter. The job isn’t done until the work is inspected, documented, and closed out properly.
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Storm damage in Riverhead rarely fits into one category. A nor’easter that takes down a tree in Calverton can mean a compromised roof, water intrusion into the attic and walls, and mold starting behind the drywall before the adjuster even calls back. A Peconic River tidal event can mean flooded basements, saturated subfloors, and in older homes in Jamesport or downtown Riverhead disturbed asbestos insulation or lead paint that has to be handled by a licensed contractor before anything else can proceed. We’re built to handle all of it under one roof.
Our full-service scope includes 24/7 emergency water extraction and structural drying, IICRC-certified moisture assessment with thermal imaging, licensed mold remediation, licensed asbestos abatement, USEPA Lead and RRP certified work in pre-1978 homes, structural repairs under a Suffolk County General Contractor license, and storm hardening upgrades impact-resistant shingles, hurricane straps, reinforced siding for homeowners who don’t want to go through this again next season.
On the insurance side, we document each damage category correctly from the start, communicate directly with adjusters, and in many cases bill your insurance company directly. For Riverhead homeowners who may be dealing with both a standard homeowner’s policy and a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy which cover different things and require different documentation that level of hands-on insurance support is not a convenience. It’s the difference between a claim that gets paid and one that gets disputed.
This is one of the most important questions to get right before you file anything, because the answer directly affects which policy you’re dealing with. Standard homeowner’s insurance typically covers wind-driven rain damage water that enters through a compromised roof, broken window, or storm-damaged wall. It does not cover flooding from rising water, which is what happens when the Peconic River overflows its banks and water enters your property from the ground up. That type of damage falls under a separate National Flood Insurance Program policy, which many Riverhead homeowners in designated flood zones are required to carry.
The problem is that a single storm event can produce both types of damage simultaneously and documenting each correctly from the start is what determines whether your claims get paid or disputed. We separate and document wind damage versus flood damage during the initial assessment, which gives your adjuster the clear, category-specific evidence they need. If you’re not sure what flood zone your property is in, the Town of Riverhead maintains flood zone maps, and we can help you understand how your property’s designation affects your coverage.
Mold can begin developing within 24 to 48 hours of water intrusion and in Riverhead’s humid coastal climate, that window is not theoretical. The moisture that lingers in wall cavities, under flooring, and behind insulation after a storm event creates exactly the conditions mold needs: warmth, organic material, and sustained dampness. What makes this particularly relevant for Riverhead homes is that older construction common in the Jamesport and downtown Riverhead areas tends to have more pathways for water to migrate invisibly before it shows up on the surface.
By the time you see discoloration on a wall or smell something off, mold has typically been growing for several days. That’s why the thermal imaging assessment during the initial emergency response matters so much. We identify hidden moisture pockets that standard visual inspection misses, which allows the drying and remediation process to start in the right places not just the obvious ones. If mold is already present, licensed NYS DOL mold remediation is handled in-house, without needing to bring in a separate contractor.
For most structural repairs anything beyond cosmetic fixes like repainting or replacing a few shingles yes, you’ll need a permit from the Town of Riverhead Building Department. This includes work on roofing systems, exterior walls, windows, and any structural framing that was damaged. The permit process also requires contractors to carry specific insurance documentation, including liability coverage of at least $2 million and $1 million per occurrence, with the Town of Riverhead listed as an additional insured. Not every contractor operating in the area after a storm carries this documentation, which can stall your project or create liability gaps.
If your property is in a FEMA flood zone which applies to many homes along the Peconic River and the Sound shore in Calverton and Baiting Hollow there’s an additional layer to understand. The Town’s Flood Damage Prevention ordinance includes a “substantial improvement” rule: if your repairs exceed roughly 50% of your home’s pre-damage market value, the entire structure may need to be brought into compliance with current floodplain building standards. This can significantly change the scope and cost of your project. We’re familiar with these requirements and handle permitting as part of the restoration process.
The first thing to do is document everything before anything gets moved or dried out. Take photos and video of every affected area walls, floors, ceilings, the exterior, and any personal property that was damaged. This documentation is the foundation of your insurance claim, and the more thorough it is, the less room there is for disputes later. If it’s safe to do so, shut off electricity to any areas where water is present and move valuables out of standing water. Do not run fans or open windows in a way that could spread contaminated water to unaffected areas.
Then call for emergency restoration help immediately not in the morning, not after the weekend. Every hour that water sits in your home is an hour closer to active mold growth and deeper structural saturation. Our 24/7 emergency response is designed for exactly this situation. When our team arrives, we’ll do a full assessment including thermal imaging for hidden moisture and begin water extraction and structural drying the same visit. The sooner that process starts, the more of your home’s structure and materials can be saved rather than replaced.
It can and in Riverhead, it comes up more often than most homeowners expect. A significant portion of the housing stock in Jamesport, downtown Riverhead, and Aquebogue was built before 1978, which is the federal threshold for lead paint risk. Homes built before the mid-1980s may also contain asbestos in insulation, floor tiles, roofing materials, or siding. When storm damage cracks a wall, disturbs old insulation, or compromises aged exterior materials, it can expose these substances in ways that require licensed abatement before any restoration work can legally proceed.
This matters because most general contractors including many franchise restoration companies are not licensed to perform this work. New York State requires a separate NYS DOL Asbestos License for asbestos abatement and a NYS DOL Mold License for mold remediation. USEPA Lead and RRP certification is required for work in pre-1978 homes. We hold all of these credentials and handle hazardous material assessment and abatement in-house. If your storm damage exposes old materials, you won’t be left to find a separate licensed contractor it’s part of the same restoration process.
Most storm damage restoration jobs in Riverhead are insurance-funded, and the claims process is where a lot of homeowners run into problems not because their damage isn’t covered, but because the documentation wasn’t organized in a way that made it easy for the adjuster to approve. We’ve completed more than 5,000 restoration projects across Long Island, and a large portion of those involved direct coordination with insurance carriers. We document damage by category from the initial assessment, separate wind-related damage from flood-related damage for properties with dual policies, and communicate with adjusters directly on your behalf.
In many cases, we bill the insurance company directly, which means you’re not fronting the cost and waiting for reimbursement. For Riverhead homeowners navigating both a standard homeowner’s policy and a National Flood Insurance Program policy which have different coverage triggers, different documentation requirements, and different adjuster processes having a contractor who understands both is a real advantage. The IICRC-certified documentation we produce is also recognized by insurance carriers as professional-grade evidence, which reduces the likelihood of a dispute over the scope or legitimacy of the work performed.
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