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Kitchen remodeling · Queens

Kitchen remodeling for Queens houses and two-family homes

MMA Construction & Remodeling plans and runs kitchen remodeling in Queens, NY, mostly in the borough's one- and two-family houses from the 1940s and 1950s. We start with a site visit, settle what stays and what moves, and put the scope and any NYC DOB filing in writing before work begins.

  • Compact mid-century kitchens replanned for storage and counter space
  • Two-family homes: shutoffs and dust planned around the other unit
  • Gas, plumbing and electrical changes, filed with NYC DOB where required
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Full kitchen with sage-green cabinets, dark stone counters, open oak shelves, a butcher-block island and a pro-style range

Scope

What a Queens kitchen remodel covers

Most Queens kitchens we plan sit inside the original footprint of a house built before 1980. The scope is written around that room and the way your household uses it.

  • Replanning a compact kitchen: cabinet runs, corner storage and a pantry wall
  • Cabinets, countertops, backsplash and hardware, ordered against exact appliance sizes
  • Range, sink or dishwasher relocation where the floor allows
  • New kitchen circuits and lighting, under a separate electrical permit where required
  • Hood selection with the duct route checked on site
  • Lead-safe preparation where older painted trim, walls or cabinets are disturbed
  • Flooring, drywall patching, trim and paint to close out the room

Process

How MMA Construction & Remodeling runs a kitchen remodeling project

Written scope, written proposal, permits identified up front, and one project lead from start to finish.

  1. Conversation

    You describe the home and what you want to change. We ask about budget range and timing so expectations are clear early.

  2. Site visit and scope

    We look at the space, the structure of the house and any HOA, co-op or condo rules that apply, then write a scope of work.

  3. Design and selections

    Layout, materials and fixtures are agreed in writing before work is priced in full.

  4. Written proposal

    A written price and schedule for the agreed scope. Permits and any approvals are identified at this stage.

  5. Build

    One project lead coordinates the trades and keeps you updated. Some regulated work may require appropriately licensed specialty contractors.

  6. Walkthrough

    We review the finished work with you and resolve anything outstanding.

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Queens

Kitchen planning points specific to Queens

  1. Mid-century kitchens are small, and the walls are original

    About a third of Queens housing units were built in the 1940s and 1950s, a larger share than in any other borough we cover. Kitchens from that era were laid out for fewer appliances, with short counter runs and one window wall. The useful question is usually how to win counter and storage space without moving walls: deeper pantry cabinets, a better corner, a wall-oven column or a relocated refrigerator. Opening a wall to the dining room is planned only once it is confirmed non-structural, since structural changes are outside our scope.

  2. A two-family house means two households on one set of pipes

    Nearly one in five Queens units is in a two-unit building. When the other floor is occupied, the kitchen schedule has to account for water and gas shutoffs that may reach both units, noise during demolition, and the stair or hallway both households use. We agree shutoff windows with you in advance, seal the work area and keep the shared route clear. If the second unit is rented and the house predates 1960, the city's lead rules for rental units also come into play, as the evidence below explains.

  3. Moving the range is a gas question first

    Many Queens kitchens cook on gas. Sliding the range along the wall or turning a counter into a cooktop island means new gas piping, and NYC DOB names rerouting gas pipes and adding outlets as work that needs a permit, filed by a registered architect or professional engineer. That filing and the inspections both go into the schedule. Keeping the range on its existing line is often the single choice that keeps a Queens kitchen remodel simpler and shorter. The other choices that move the budget are in kitchen cost drivers in New York City.

  4. House or apartment building: tell us which one you have

    In the Forest Hills statistical area, houses occupy most residential lots, but roughly two-thirds of homes are in elevator buildings. Similar splits run through other parts of the borough. A kitchen in a co-op or condo is governed first by the building's alteration agreement, its working hours and what the board lets you move. A kitchen in a house is governed by its own pipes, wiring and walls. We ask which one you have in the first conversation, because the plan starts from there.

Decisions

Reface, replace or re-plan a mid-century Queens kitchen

Many Queens kitchens from the 1940s and 1950s are compact rooms with the original layout. Three paths are open, and the layout decides between them.

  • Reface: if the layout works and the boxes are sound, refacing puts new veneer on the existing face frames, usually with new doors and drawer fronts. It will not fix a layout that does not work.
  • Replace in place: new cabinets on the same footprint suit a sound layout with worn or damaged boxes. Framed cabinets have a face frame on the box front and frameless ones do not, which changes how much of each drawer is usable.
  • Re-plan: if the aisle or counter space falls well short of the National Kitchen & Bath Association's suggestions (a work aisle of at least 42 inches for one cook, landing space of 24 and 18 inches either side of the sink), the money is better spent on a new layout.

In a two-family house, the kitchen above or below the other unit also sets which plumbing moves are worth the disruption, so we look at both floors before recommending a path.

Ready to plan a Queens kitchen?

Tell us whether the house is one- or two-family and whether anything should move. The first conversation turns those answers into a site visit and a written scope.

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Local evidence

Queens housing, permits and landmark checks for a kitchen

Queens housing figures that shape a kitchen project (ACS 2024 1-year estimates)
MeasureShare of housing units
Single-family detached18.3%
Single-family attached9.7%
Two-unit buildings18.4%
Built 1940–195932.9%
Built before 1980 (approx.)81.7%

Across the borough, roughly 46% of housing units are in one- or two-family buildings. Whether the house is in Bayside, Ridgewood or Howard Beach, kitchen permits are issued by the NYC Department of Buildings. DOB gives new cabinets as an example of work with no permit, while a more complex kitchen can call for drawings from a licensed architect or engineer. Anyone paid to do home improvement work in the city must be licensed by DCWP, the city's consumer protection agency.

  • Older paint: about 82% of Queens units predate 1980, and EPA lead-safe rules cover paid work that disturbs paint in homes built before 1978.
  • A rented second unit: under Local Law 1 of 2004, a Queens owner renting out a unit in a building from before 1960 has to presume lead-based paint is there.
  • Historic districts: LPC lists twelve Queens historic districts, among them Jackson Heights, Sunnyside Gardens, Addisleigh Park and Douglaston. The commission's advice is to look the address up on its Discover NYC Landmarks map; the Douglaston page shows how that check works in practice.
Borough figures describe Queens as a whole. The written scope is based on your own house: its building type, its records and its landmark status.

Planning a kitchen remodel in Queens? Call or email us to talk it through and arrange a consultation.

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Questions

Kitchen remodeling in Queens: questions

Will the tenant upstairs lose water or gas during our kitchen remodel?
Sometimes, for short planned windows. In many two-family houses the units share a water service, and tying in new lines can mean turning supply off for both floors. We tell you in advance when a shutoff is needed and roughly how long it will last, so you can let your tenant or relative know. Gas changes may require an appropriately licensed plumber and are scheduled the same way.
Our kitchen is original to a 1950s house. Is it worth keeping the cabinet boxes?
Sometimes. If the boxes are sound, square and laid out in a way that works, refacing can be an option; see cabinet refacing vs replacement. Kitchens from that period are often short on drawers, deep corners and outlets, and new doors alone rarely fix that. We open a few cabinets during the site visit and give you both options in writing when both are realistic.
Do Queens neighborhood rules affect a kitchen remodel?
The permit authority is the same everywhere in the borough: NYC DOB. What varies by address is landmark designation and building type. Inside one of the Queens historic districts, the LPC address search comes before design, not after. In a co-op or condo building, the board's alteration rules often shape the plan more than the permit does. We check both for your address at the start.
Can a gas range be swapped for an induction cooktop?
Often, and it changes the trade list rather than removing work. Induction needs its own circuit, sized by a licensed electrician, and the panel in an older Queens house may need its capacity checked first. Capping the old gas line is plumbing work that requires an appropriately licensed plumber. A hood is still worth planning for cooking fumes. DOB lists adding electrical outlets among work that needs a permit, so that filing goes into the schedule.

Keep exploring

Read before you plan

Sources

  1. B25024 Units in Structure, Queens County, ACS 2024 1-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter (2025 (ACS 2024 1-year release)). Accessed 2026-11-02.
  2. B25034 Year Structure Built, Queens County, ACS 2024 1-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau via Census Reporter (2025 (ACS 2024 1-year release)). Accessed 2026-11-02.
  3. Do I Need a Permit?, NYC Department of Buildings. Accessed 2026-11-02.
  4. Renovating Kitchens & Bathrooms, NYC Department of Buildings. Accessed 2026-11-02.
  5. License Checklist: Home Improvement Contractor, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Accessed 2026-11-02.
  6. Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program Rules, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed 2026-11-02.
  7. Lead-Based Paint, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Accessed 2026-11-02.
  8. Historic Districts (dataset skyk-mpzq), NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission via NYC Open Data (rows updated 2026-06-18). Accessed 2026-11-08.
  9. Landmark Status Letter, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed 2026-11-08.
  10. Primary Land Use Tax Lot Output (PLUTO), version 26v2 (dataset 64uk-42ks), NYC Department of City Planning via NYC Open Data (26v2 (rows updated 2026-08-24)). Accessed 2026-11-08.
  11. 2020 Census Tracts to 2020 NTAs and CDTAs Equivalency (dataset hm78-6dwm), NYC Department of City Planning via NYC Open Data (2021-09-20). Accessed 2026-11-08.
  12. Kitchen Planning Guidelines with Access Standards, National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA) (2022). Accessed 2026-11-09.
  13. Cabinet Refacing: Everything You Need to Know, This Old House. Accessed 2026-11-09.
  14. Framed vs. Frameless Cabinets, Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA). Accessed 2026-11-09.

Talk to us about your kitchen project in Queens

Call or email us to talk it through and arrange a consultation.

Call MMA Construction (516) 212-9311Email us