Serving Great Kills and Bay Terrace Attached rows and harbor flood zones in Great Kills
Great Kills has the highest share of attached houses of any Staten Island ZIP, and its harbor-side streets sit in the mapped coastal flood zone.
- English and Russian spoken
- Licensed & insured
- 24/7 emergency service
- Free estimates
- Financing options available
Local homes
Homes in Great Kills
In ZIP 10308, attached one-family houses outnumber every other type of home. Building peaked in the 1970s, so an original boiler, water heater or panel here is due for a close look.
- 38.2% of housing units in ZIP 10308 are attached one-family houses, the highest share of any Staten Island ZIP
- 79.8% of occupied homes in this ZIP are lived in by their owners
- 27.3% of its housing was built from 1970 to 1979, the largest share of any ten-year span
Figures are U.S. Census ZIP-level estimates (ZIP 10308); ZIP lines do not follow neighborhood lines exactly.
What goes wrong here
Party walls in attached rows
Attached houses are the largest group of homes in ZIP 10308. In a row, water from a neighbor’s roof or leaking line can travel along the party wall and show up in your house first, so the source is traced before anything is opened.
Harbor streets inside the V Zone
After Sandy, FEMA’s preliminary maps put the northern edge of Great Kills Harbor in a V Zone, at risk of storm waves of three feet or more, and in places the zone takes in the first inland rows of homes.
Salt air off the marinas
Great Kills Harbor is ringed by marinas, and Sandy damaged all six of them severely. The salt air that works on boats is just as hard on exterior paint, railings and outdoor AC condensers nearby.
Services Great Kills homes call for
- Plumbing in Staten IslandOriginal supply lines and water heaters, and leaks that come through a shared wall.
- Heating in Staten IslandBoilers and furnaces that have run since the house went up.
- Flood Pumping & Water Removal in Staten IslandPumping out a harbor-side basement after a storm or a sewer backup.
- Basement Finishing & Waterproofing in Staten IslandA backwater valve and sump before a basement near the water gets finished.
- Custom Homes & AdditionsDormers and rear extensions on detached lots.
Local programs and rules
Flood standards arrived in 1983
The city adopted FEMA’s flood maps and flood-resistant construction standards in 1983. Most housing in ZIP 10308 is older, so harbor-side basements often hold equipment below today’s flood elevation. Check the current zone before moving a boiler or finishing a basement.
Program details are for information; ask the agency that runs each one what applies to your home.
Getting to you
Working on an attached row
We keep the work on your side of the property line, protect the shared wall, and talk with you before anything is opened on the party side.
Estimates are free, and emergencies are answered 24/7.
Around the neighborhood
Great Kills Park, one of the federal parks of Gateway National Recreation Area, wraps around Great Kills Harbor. The city built it mostly on fill from the 1930s and handed it to the National Park Service in 1972.
Questions from Great Kills homeowners
Can a leak in my attached house be fixed without my neighbor?
Usually, when it starts on your side of the party wall. If water is coming through the shared wall or foundation, the source may be next door, and you will hear that before any wall is opened.
How do I protect a finished basement near Great Kills Harbor?
Stop the water first: NYC DEP notes that a coastal surge can push sewer water back through basement connections, so start with a backwater valve, then a sump with battery backup. Below the flood line, pick finishes that can get wet and dry out.
My house went up in the 1970s. What should I replace first?
Whatever is still original and carries water, gas or power: the water heater, boiler or furnace, supply lines and an old panel. A walk-through shows which still have life left.
Free estimate
Get a free estimate in Great Kills
Tell us what is going on at the house. A person reads every request, and emergencies are answered 24/7.