General Construction & Remodeling in Staten Island A bigger, newer kind of house, remodeled within the rules of its lot
The median Staten Island home has more rooms than in any other borough, and a large share went up between 1960 and 1989. We remodel them inside, and check the hillside, tree and flood rules before anything changes outside.
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General Construction & Remodeling in Staten Island homes
In the Census Bureau’s 2024 estimates, the median Staten Island home has 5.6 rooms, against 3.8 in Brooklyn and 4.2 in Queens, and was built in 1973, the latest median of the five boroughs. Some 44.3 percent of Island homes went up between 1960 and 1989.
Most Island homes are lived in by their owners: 67.7 percent of occupied Island homes are owner-occupied, against 29.1 percent in Brooklyn. Outside the walls, the lot sets the limits: the mid-Island hills are a special natural area district, and on the East and South Shore flood maps the cost of the work is weighed against the house’s value.
Common problems in Staten Island
Houses of the 1960s, 70s and 80s
In ZIP 10314 (New Springville, Bulls Head, Westerleigh) 64.6 percent of homes were built between 1960 and 1989, and in Great Kills’ 10308, 59.1 percent. Once the walls of a house that age are open, its wiring, pipes and insulation are updated in the same pass.
Hillside lots on Todt Hill and Emerson Hill
Emerson Hill, Dongan Hills, Todt Hill and Lighthouse Hill are in Special Natural Area District 1. An addition, regrading or tree removal there goes to the City Planning Commission before a Buildings permit, unless the lot meets every exemption, such as being under 10,000 square feet with an average slope below 10 percent.
Tree rules in South Richmond
In the Special South Richmond Development District, an enlargement or site alteration on a residential lot must carry one tree credit per 1,000 square feet of lot area, in kept trees or new ones from the city’s native species list, with no regrading within eight feet of a tree that counts.
A gut renovation in the floodplain
In a special flood hazard area, the Department of Buildings compares the total cost of the alterations and repairs with the building’s market value. At 50 percent or more, the house must meet Appendix G like a new one, which for a home means raising the living space and filling in the basement or cellar.
Where we see it
- Todt Hill, Emerson Hill and Lighthouse Hill Sloped, wooded lots inside the natural area district.
- New Springville, Bulls Head and Westerleigh The Island’s largest ZIP, built mostly from 1960 to 1989.
- Great Kills and Bay Terrace Mostly 1960s to 1980s houses, more than a third of them attached.
- New Dorp Beach and Oakwood Flood-mapped blocks, where the 50 percent rule frames the scope.
- St. George and New Brighton Historic districts, where outside work needs a Landmarks permit.
Rules and paperwork
Landmarks permits on the North Shore
Staten Island’s historic districts are St. George/New Brighton, St. Paul’s Avenue–Stapleton Heights and the Farm Colony–Seaview Hospital. In them, exterior work needs a Landmarks permit, even on a side hidden from the street or in the yard, and so does interior work that needs a Buildings permit.
How a call works in Staten Island
The lot before the drawings
Before a layout is drawn, we look the lot up on the zoning and flood maps, since a special district or a flood zone decides what can change outside.
Two households, one house
In a two-family house the work goes floor by floor, so the other unit keeps its water, heat and a clean way in.
Estimates are free, and emergencies are answered 24/7.
What is included
The work itself is the same in every borough. See everything our general construction & remodeling service covers.
General Construction & Remodeling questions from Staten Island
Does a remodel on Todt Hill need City Planning approval?
Only if it enlarges the house or alters the site, such as an addition, new grading or taking down trees. A remodel that keeps the footprint and floor area and leaves the ground alone does not.
How do I know if the 50 percent rule applies to my house?
It applies only in a special flood hazard area, so start with FEMA’s flood map for the address. There, a larger alteration filing must include the building’s market value, so the cost of the work can be measured against it.
Our house is in the St. George historic district. Can we replace the windows?
Yes, with a Landmarks permit first. Window replacement is exterior work on any side of the house, and Landmarks staff can approve an application that meets the commission’s rules.
We are adding a room in South Richmond. Do the tree rules apply?
Yes. The enlargement has to meet the tree credit rate, and an existing tree counts only if nothing is built, paved or regraded within eight feet of it, so the addition is placed around the trees worth keeping.
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