Remodeling a house in Tottenville

What this page covers

This page is for owners of one- and two-family houses in Tottenville who are planning kitchen, bathroom, flooring or whole-house interior work. Structural work, additions, exterior and site work are not planned services. Service availability has not been established.

Neighborhood data

Two housing ages, two kinds of brief

About 92% of units are in one- or two-family buildings. Compare the Great Kills-Eltingville area, also on the South Shore, where most units date from the 1960s to the 1980s. This area has a large pre-1940 group and a larger post-1990 group, with relatively little in between. Each group needs a different first conversation.

Landmarks Preservation Commission

Individual landmarks: check before you plan

City lot data lists 19 tax lots with individual landmarks in this NTA, and 11 of them have a one- or two-family building class. None of its lots is tagged as being in a historic district. So designation here is house by house, and a neighbor's status tells you nothing about yours.

LPC says to search the address on its Discover NYC Landmarks map. If the house is designated, LPC says its permit is needed before DOB can act on a DOB application. LPC also lists interior work that needs its permit, including work that needs a DOB permit and interior work that changes the outside, such as new vents or louvers.

Special district

South Richmond rules for trees and grades

City Planning's background paper on Staten Island special districts lists Tottenville among the neighborhoods of the Special South Richmond Development District. City lot data tags 5,859 of the 6,225 lots in this NTA with it. The Zoning Resolution names keeping natural topography and trees undisturbed among the district's purposes. It defines a site alteration to include removing trees of six-inch caliper or more, regrading, excavating, filling and drainage changes, whether or not a DOB permit is needed.

The South Richmond rules were amended effective November 2, 2023, after a March 2023 City Planning proposal. Tree removal and grade changes are still regulated, with stricter rules on larger plan review sites and in designated open space; ask City Planning or a registered design professional before removing a tree or regrading the lot. For an interior project, the practical point is access. Don't plan a path, a debris container or a material drop that requires removing a tree or regrading part of the yard without checking first.

Flood maps

Check the exact address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center and the city's NYC Flood Maps page. If it is in a special flood hazard area, DOB's rule asks every alteration application to state whether the work is part of a substantial improvement, meaning work whose cost reaches 50% of the structure's market value. Ask a design professional before fixing a large scope.

A brief for a Tottenville house project

1. Note the year the house was built and which group it falls into.
2. Check LPC's map for the address and the flood maps, and keep both results.
3. List rooms, what stays and what changes. Mark anything that would need a new exterior vent or opening.
4. Describe how materials and debris would reach the house without touching trees or grades.
5. Ask bidders to price the same brief. See how to compare remodeling estimates and whole-home renovation: what first.

Scope examples: home renovation, kitchen remodeling, bathroom remodeling and flooring and painting.