NYS and NYC M/WBE Certified Contractor
Mold doesn’t wait for you to get back from the city. In a seasonal property and Southampton has thousands of them water intrusion from a winter nor’easter can sit inside your walls for weeks before anyone notices. By the time you return in May, what started as a roof breach can turn into a full mold remediation project. Getting a crew on-site fast, even when you’re not there, is what separates a manageable repair from a months-long ordeal.
Southampton’s housing stock adds another layer of complexity that most restoration companies aren’t equipped for. A significant portion of the homes here particularly in Southampton Village, Water Mill, and the older hamlets were built before 1978. Storm damage that cracks walls or disturbs old insulation can expose asbestos-containing materials or lead paint. That’s not a standard cleanup. It requires specific state and federal certifications to handle legally and safely, and not every contractor operating on the East End has them.
What you get on the other side of a properly handled restoration is a home that’s structurally sound, dry at the wall cavity level not just the surface and documented thoroughly enough to support your insurance claim. That last part matters more than most people realize until they’re in the middle of it.
We’re based in Bohemia, right in the heart of Suffolk County. Not a national franchise. Not a call center routing your emergency to whoever’s available. CEO Jessica Dussan and VP Leo Torres have been running this company for over 12 years, with more than 5,000 completed projects across Long Island including work up and down the South Fork through multiple major storm cycles that have tested Southampton’s resilience.
We hold a Suffolk County General Contractor license, a NYS DOL Mold license, USEPA Lead and Asbestos certifications, and IICRC-certified technicians on staff. In a town like Southampton where you’re dealing with historic building stock, coastal flood zones, and a permitting environment that runs through both the Town Building Department and, for Village properties, a separate Village code that credential stack isn’t just reassuring. It’s necessary.
When you call, you’re reaching people who know this area, know what storms do to homes out here, and know how to get the job done right the first time.
The first call triggers an emergency response 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A crew gets on-site quickly to assess the damage, secure the structure with tarping or board-up as needed, and stop anything from getting worse. If you’re not in Southampton when the storm hits which is the reality for a lot of property owners out here that first response happens on your behalf, with documentation sent to you directly so you know exactly what you’re dealing with.
From there, the real assessment begins. Thermal imaging identifies moisture hiding in wall cavities, insulation, and subfloors that look fine on the surface but aren’t. This step matters especially in Southampton’s older homes, where water travels in ways that newer construction doesn’t allow. If there’s any indication of asbestos or lead-containing materials common in pre-1978 homes throughout the Village and surrounding hamlets that gets identified and handled under the proper NYS and USEPA protocols before any demolition or repair work begins.
Once the scope is clear, we move forward with repair and restoration work with permit management handled through the appropriate Town or Village building department, depending on your property’s location. Throughout the process, damage is documented in a format that supports your insurance claim including flood insurance claims under the NFIP if your property carries separate flood coverage, which many Southampton homes do. The job isn’t done until everything is dry, restored, and signed off.
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Storm damage restoration in Southampton isn’t one-size-fits-all. A coastal flood event off Shinnecock Bay hits differently than wind damage from a nor’easter rolling through Hampton Bays. A historic estate near Lake Agawam has different restoration requirements than a mid-century ranch in Riverside. We handle the full scope emergency securing, water extraction, structural drying, mold prevention treatment, asbestos and lead assessment for pre-1978 properties, structural repair, and cosmetic restoration under one roof, with one project manager accountable from start to finish.
The insurance side of the job gets the same attention. Southampton homeowners often carry both standard homeowner’s insurance and a separate NFIP flood policy, and sometimes additional coverage for outbuildings or high-value contents. Damage gets documented in a way that supports claims across multiple policies simultaneously, which matters when you’re managing the process from out of town and need someone on the ground who understands how adjusters work in this market.
We’re also a certified M/WBE contractor through both New York State and New York City, and hold SBA certifications including EDWOSB status credentials that require government-level vetting and ongoing compliance. When you’re handing over the keys to a property worth well over a million dollars, that level of verifiable accountability isn’t a minor detail.
It depends on the scope of the work, but in many cases yes. The Town of Southampton requires a building permit for any structural repair under the State Building Code. That includes work triggered by storm damage that affects load-bearing elements, roofing systems, or exterior walls. What makes Southampton more complex than most Long Island towns is the dual-layer permitting environment: if your property is within the Incorporated Village of Southampton, you’re subject to Village building regulations under Chapter A119, which are separate from the Town’s code under Chapter 123. Misclassifying structural repair as ordinary maintenance is a compliance risk that can create problems at resale or during future insurance claims.
There’s also a flood zone consideration. If your property sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area which applies to a substantial portion of Southampton’s coastal communities and the restoration cost reaches 50% or more of the structure’s pre-damage value, the property may be required to meet current floodplain management standards, including elevation requirements. We manage the permit process for every job, so you’re not left figuring out which department to call or whether your repair triggers a substantial improvement review.
Mold can begin developing within 24 to 48 hours of water intrusion under the right conditions and a closed-up seasonal property in Southampton provides nearly ideal conditions. When a home is unoccupied through the winter, there’s no one to catch a roof leak or a failed window seal early. Humidity builds, air circulation is limited, and moisture sits in wall cavities and insulation without anyone noticing. By the time an owner returns in spring, the mold growth can be extensive enough to require full remediation rather than a simple cleanup.
This is why the emergency response timeline matters so much for second-home owners in Southampton. A caretaker, a neighbor, or a property manager who spots damage can call us directly the crew responds, secures the property, extracts standing water, and begins the structural drying process even if you’re still in the city. Thermal imaging identifies hidden moisture in areas that look dry on the surface but aren’t. Catching it in the first 48 hours is the difference between a contained restoration and a project that runs months longer than it should.
This distinction is one of the most important and most misunderstood parts of filing a storm damage claim in Southampton. Standard homeowner’s insurance typically covers wind-driven damage: a tree limb through a roof, siding torn off by a nor’easter, windows blown in during a tropical storm. What it generally does not cover is flooding meaning water that enters the property from the ground up, whether from storm surge off the Atlantic, bay flooding from Shinnecock or Mecox Bay, or tidal overflow along the Peconic Bay shoreline. Flood damage requires a separate policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
The challenge is that in a real storm event, you often have both happening simultaneously. Wind drives rain through a compromised roof while storm surge floods the ground floor. Each type of damage needs to be documented separately to support claims under separate policies. We document storm damage in a format that distinguishes wind-related damage from flood-related damage, which is critical for maximizing your coverage and avoiding disputes with adjusters. If you’re not sure what coverage you carry, that conversation with your insurer is worth having before storm season not after.
Yes and this is where a lot of restoration contractors operating on the East End fall short. Homes built before 1978 may contain asbestos-containing materials in insulation, floor tiles, roofing materials, and textured coatings. They may also contain lead-based paint. When storm damage cracks walls, disturbs insulation, or damages old siding, those materials can become exposed and at that point, the job legally requires a contractor with specific state and federal certifications to handle them safely.
In New York, mold remediation requires a NYS DOL Mold license. Work involving asbestos requires a NYS DOL Asbestos license. Work that disturbs lead paint in pre-1978 homes requires USEPA Lead certification and RRP compliance. We hold all of these. Southampton has a dense concentration of pre-1978 homes including structures in Southampton Village, Noyack, Water Mill, and the older hamlets that date back generations. If your home falls into that category, verifying that your restoration contractor carries the right certifications before work begins isn’t optional. It protects you legally and keeps your family safe.
Coverage depends on your specific policy, the cause of the damage, and how the damage is documented. Most standard homeowner’s policies cover sudden and accidental damage from wind, hail, and falling trees but they exclude flooding, gradual damage, and in some cases, damage that could have been prevented with proper maintenance. In Southampton, where many homeowners carry both a standard homeowner’s policy and a separate NFIP flood policy, the total coverage picture can be more complex than it appears on the surface.
What makes a real difference is how the damage is documented from the start. Insurance adjusters work from the documentation they receive if the scope of damage isn’t fully captured, you may receive a settlement that doesn’t reflect the actual cost of restoration. We document all damage thoroughly, including hidden moisture identified through thermal imaging, and handle direct billing to insurance carriers. We’ve worked through enough Long Island insurance claims to know how adjusters approach storm damage on the East End, and that experience translates to fewer disputes and more complete settlements for the homeowner.
After any significant storm event on the East End, the number of contractors showing up in Southampton increases fast and not all of them are licensed, local, or accountable. The first thing to verify is a current Suffolk County General Contractor license, which is the jurisdiction-specific credential required for structural repair work in Southampton. You can verify this directly through Suffolk County. Beyond that, look for a NYS DOL Mold license if there’s any water intrusion involved, and USEPA certifications if the home predates 1978.
We’re based in Bohemia Suffolk County and have been working on Long Island for over 12 years. We’re not passing through after a storm. We hold every license required for full-scope storm damage restoration in Southampton, including the asbestos and lead certifications that many restoration companies don’t carry. We’re also a government-certified M/WBE contractor, which means we’ve been vetted at a level that goes well beyond a standard contractor registration. If you want to confirm who you’re dealing with before handing over access to a property, every credential we hold is verifiable.
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