Service area
Home Remodeling Contractor in Queens, NY
MMA Construction & Remodeling remodels kitchens, bathrooms, basements and whole-home interiors across Queens, with flooring, drywall and interior painting folded into the same scope. Much of the borough's housing is one- and two-family houses, many from the 1940s and 1950s, and every project starts with a site visit, a written scope and one project lead.
- One- and two-family houses, attached homes and mid-century interiors
- Permits identified and filed with NYC DOB where the scope requires them
- Landmark and flood-map lookups for the address before scope is fixed
Services
Remodeling services in Queens
Start with the room or with the whole house. Each service page explains how we plan that work in a Queens home, from compact mid-century kitchens to basement use.
- Kitchen remodeling · Queens Kitchen remodeling for Queens houses and two-family homes Compact mid-century kitchens replanned for storage and counter space
- Bathroom remodeling · Queens Bathroom remodeling for Queens houses and apartments Compact 1940s and 1950s baths re-planned around the existing drains
- Whole-home renovation · Queens Home renovation in Queens, sequenced room by room Several rooms opened, inspected and closed in one planned sequence
- Basement remodeling · Queens Basement remodeling for Queens one- and two-family houses Basement-or-cellar and Certificate of Occupancy check before design
Also in Queens
Process
How we run projects in Queens
Written scope, written proposal, permits identified up front, and one project lead from start to finish.
Conversation
You describe the home and what you want to change. We ask about budget range and timing so expectations are clear early.
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.
Design and selections
Layout, materials and fixtures are agreed in writing before work is priced in full.
Written proposal
A written price and schedule for the agreed scope. Permits and any approvals are identified at this stage.
Build
One project lead coordinates the trades and keeps you updated. Some regulated work may require appropriately licensed specialty contractors.
Walkthrough
We review the finished work with you and resolve anything outstanding.
Queens
What shapes a remodel here
Working around a second household
Close to half the borough's units, about 46%, sit in one- or two-family buildings, and in a two-family house the other unit is often occupied while we work. That changes the plan more than the finish list does: which water, gas and power shutoffs are shared, when the loudest demolition days fall, how dust is kept off a common stair, and whether a kitchen or bath stays usable for the people upstairs. We write those arrangements into the scope before the schedule is set, so the household and the tenant or relative both know what each week looks like.
Mid-century layouts and what sits behind the walls
About a third of Queens homes date from the 1940s and 1950s, and many kitchens and baths still follow their compact original layouts. The first decision is usually whether fixtures stay put or move, because moving them reaches the plumbing and can mean plans filed by a licensed engineer or architect. Houses of that age also predate 1978, so EPA lead-safe practices apply when paid work disturbs paint. People searching for a general contractor in Queens usually want one point of contact for several trades; our project lead coordinates the plumber, electrician and finish crews under one written scope.
One permit office, address-by-address checks
Every Queens address files with the NYC Department of Buildings, whatever the neighborhood is called, but two checks change block by block. LPC lists historic districts in Jackson Heights, Sunnyside Gardens, Ridgewood, Douglaston and elsewhere, and on a designated property LPC has to issue its permit before DOB acts on the filing. Flood exposure varies just as sharply: in the Howard Beach-Lindenwood statistical area, 83.5% of lots with homes are flagged on FEMA's 2015 preliminary map. We run both lookups for your address before a basement or ground-floor scope is priced.
Local evidence
Housing, permits and local rules in Queens
Research notes with sources, for planning. Not a permit determination for any property.
What the housing stock looks like
| Measure | Share of housing units |
|---|---|
| Single-family detached | 18.3% |
| Single-family attached | 9.7% |
| Two-unit buildings | 18.4% |
| Buildings with 50+ units | 23.1% |
| Built 1939 or earlier | 29.0% |
| Built 1940–1959 | 32.9% |
| Built before 1980 (approx.) | 81.8% |
Roughly 46% of Queens housing units are in one- or two-family buildings, and about a third were built in the 1940s and 1950s, a larger share than in the other boroughs covered here.
What that means for a remodel
- Two-family houses: work often happens with a tenant or relative in the other unit, so dust control, shared utility shutoffs and noise planning matter. See living at home during a renovation.
- Mid-century kitchens and baths: original layouts tend to be compact; the main decision is usually whether to move fixtures. See kitchen remodeling in Queens and bathroom remodeling in Queens.
- Basements: what a basement can legally be used for depends on the building's Certificate of Occupancy. See basement remodeling in Queens.
- Older paint: For paid work that disturbs paint in housing built before 1978, EPA lead-safe rules apply. NYC Local Law 1 of 2004 also requires owners of rental units in buildings built before 1960 to presume lead-based paint is present.
Permits and licensing
Queens is one of the five boroughs, so building permits come from the NYC Department of Buildings, not a local office. DOB lists painting, new cabinets and floor resurfacing as examples of work that doesn't need a permit; more complex kitchen and bathroom work may need plans filed by a licensed engineer or architect. Contractors doing home improvement work in the city need a license from the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection.
Neighborhood names and landmark status
A neighborhood name such as Bayside or Whitestone does not change who issues building permits: across Queens that is the NYC Department of Buildings. What can differ from one house to the next is landmark designation.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission says to search the address on its Discover NYC Landmarks map. If a property is designated, an LPC application and permit are needed before the Department of Buildings can act on the DOB application. Check this before scope and schedule are discussed, not after.
For interior work in a designated building, LPC's permit page says an LPC permit is required when the work needs a DOB permit, when it affects the exterior (for example HVAC louvers and vents), or when it affects a designated interior. Exterior work needs an LPC permit even without a DOB permit.
LPC's historic-district dataset (accessed 2026-11-08) lists these Queens historic districts: Addisleigh Park, Cambria Heights-222nd Street, Cambria Heights-227th Street, Central Ridgewood, Douglaston, Douglaston Hill (with a 2007 amendment), Fort Totten, Hunters Point, Jackson Heights, Ridgewood North, Ridgewood South, Stockholm Street and Sunnyside Gardens. Districts cover specific blocks, not whole neighborhoods, and individual landmarks are designated separately, so the address search is still what decides.
Flood zones
Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, the official public source for FEMA flood hazard information, and see the city's NYC Flood Maps page for how FEMA's maps apply in New York City. Low-lying and coastal parts of the borough include mapped flood hazard areas, so check before planning basement work. Flood exposure affects whether a basement is worth finishing and which materials make sense.
Neighborhood snapshots at NTA level
Borough figures above describe Queens as a whole. For a few neighborhoods, the city's PLUTO tax-lot file gives a closer view. These figures are for DCP's neighborhood tabulation areas (NTAs). An NTA is a group of census tracts that approximates a neighborhood. Its name and edges are not official boundaries.
| NTA (DCP code) | Lots with homes | One- or two-family share of those lots | Share of homes on elevator-building lots | Lots flagged on FEMA 2015 preliminary map | Lots in an LPC historic district |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayside (QN1102) | 8,196 | 93.7% | 4.4% | 3 | 0 |
| Whitestone-Beechhurst (QN0702) | 6,352 | 94.5% | 15.9% | 119 (1.9%) | 0 |
| Forest Hills (QN0602) | 7,085 | 87.9% | 66.6% | 17 (0.2%) | 0 |
| Douglaston-Little Neck (QN1103) | 5,118 | 95.9% | 8.8% | 264 (5.2%) | 659 (12.9%) |
| Howard Beach-Lindenwood (QN1003) | 5,178 | 94.0% | 14.1% | 4,322 (83.5%) | 0 |
Two patterns matter for planning. In Forest Hills, most lots with homes are houses, but about two-thirds of the area's homes are on elevator-building lots. Advice for a house and advice for an apartment in a large building are different jobs, so state which one you have. In Bayside and Whitestone-Beechhurst, house lots dominate and almost no lots fall in an LPC historic district. The steps on this page and the brief below cover those neighborhoods. A flood flag means only that part of a lot touches the mapped floodplain, so check the exact address.
In Howard Beach-Lindenwood, most lots with homes are houses, and 83.5% are flagged on FEMA's 2015 preliminary map, against 18.2% on the 2007 map. Part of the area, Hamilton Beach, is mapped in a special coastal zoning district that limits homes to detached one- and two-family houses. Check the exact address on both maps, and ask a design professional about zoning before planning a basement or a second unit.
What a neighborhood brief should state
A neighborhood name is not a building record. Before asking anyone to price a kitchen, bathroom or basement, write down these facts for the exact property:
- The address and the building type: a one- or two-family house, a house with a store or office, or a unit in an apartment building. Co-op and condominium buildings have their own alteration rules.
- What the Certificate of Occupancy, if there is one, says about each floor, especially the basement or cellar.
- The result of an LPC Discover NYC Landmarks map search for the address.
- The address's status on both FEMA's 2007 effective flood map and its 2015 preliminary map, if any work is planned at basement or ground level.
- Who lives in the building during the work, including a tenant or relative in a second unit.
- Items that change the outside of the building, such as vents, windows and doors, listed separately from interior finishes.
Neighborhood pages and what this page covers
A separate page exists for Douglaston, because two LPC historic districts and shoreline flood flags there change what needs checking. Bayside, Whitestone and Forest Hills are covered here instead of on their own pages: the research found nothing specific enough to justify one. Their permit authority is the same NYC Department of Buildings, none of their lots with homes is in an LPC historic district, and their lot data appears in the table above.
Little Neck is covered by this page. It shares DCP's Douglaston-Little Neck statistical area with Douglaston, but the area's two LPC historic districts and all 264 home lots flagged on FEMA's 2015 preliminary map are in two of its six census tracts. City lot data for the other four tracts shows 3,379 lots, and none of their home lots is tagged in a historic district or flagged on either FEMA map. The Douglaston page matters only if your address is inside one of its districts. Either way, search the address on LPC's map and the flood maps.
Before you hire
Before you hire in Queens
Whoever you hire, check these before you sign. They apply to us too.
- License and complaints: New York City requires a DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license for work costing more than $200 on a residential building. Check it by calling 311 or with DCWP's license check, and ask 311 for a "Business Background Check".
- Written scope and contract: signed by both of you, with a copy before work starts. It should list what is included and excluded, each allowance in dollars, how changes are priced and approved, and who files which permits. DCWP advises paying no more than 25% upfront, never in cash.
- Insurance: ask for the contractor's certificate of insurance.
- Two-family houses: agree in writing which unit's water, gas and power will be off on which days, and how the occupant of the other unit is told.
Permits
Who issues building permits
Permits for the five boroughs are issued by NYC DOB. Listed plumbing work requires a Licensed Master Plumber, and contractors need a NYC DCWP home improvement license.
Talk through your remodel in Queens
Call or email us to talk it through and arrange a consultation.
Questions
Remodeling in Queens: questions
Do you remodel Queens apartments as well as houses?
Does my Queens neighborhood need its own planning checks?
What should I have ready before a Queens site visit?
Blog
Planning articles
- Whole-home planning · Draft Renovating a two-family home: separate the two project briefs Two units mean two sets of rooms, decisions and occupants. Writing them down separately, with a third list for what the units share, keeps the scope readable for everyone who prices or plans it.
- Whole-home planning · Draft How to prepare a useful renovation photo brief A short, organized set of photos and captions explains how you use a room and what you want answered. It starts a conversation; it is not a survey or a condition report.
Sources
- 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.
- 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.
- Renovating Kitchens & Bathrooms, NYC Department of Buildings. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- Do I Need a Permit?, NYC Department of Buildings. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- License Checklist: Home Improvement Contractor, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- NYC Flood Hazard Mapper, NYC Department of City Planning. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- FEMA Flood Map Service Center, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- NYC Flood Maps, City of New York. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program Rules, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- Lead-Based Paint, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- Basements and Cellars, NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Accessed 2026-11-02.
- Landmark Status Letter, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Permit Types, NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission. Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Historic Districts (dataset skyk-mpzq), NYC Landmarks Preservation Commission via NYC Open Data (rows updated 2026-06-18). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- 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.
- PLUTO Data Dictionary (23v1.1), NYC Department of City Planning (2023-05). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- 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.
- The Newest New Yorkers 2026, Chapter 1, NYC Department of City Planning (2026). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Zoning Resolution Article XIII Chapter 7: Special Coastal Risk District, NYC Department of City Planning (chapter last amended 2021-05-12; sections to 2024-12-05). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Zoning Resolution Section 137-21: Residential Use (Special Coastal Risk District), NYC Department of City Planning (2024-12-05). Accessed 2026-11-08.
- Hiring a Home Improvement Contractor, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Accessed 2026-11-09.
- Check License Status, NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection. Accessed 2026-11-09.
- Q&A: Alterations in a Co-op, The Cooperator (cooperatornews.com). Accessed 2026-11-13.
Planning a remodel in Queens?
Call or email us to talk it through and arrange a consultation.