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Part of Pre-Construction Pest Risk Mitigation, across New York City and Long Island.
What makes Manhattan different?
Manhattan’s pest problems are vertical. Apartments are stacked over shared risers, steam lines and pipe chases, and a typical prewar building has had its plumbing replaced and rerouted several times, each time leaving new openings behind the finished walls. Mice and American cockroaches travel along those routes between floors and units. Ground-floor restaurants and retail add food, drains and steady pressure from the street and the sewer.
That is why a single gut renovation is such an important moment. For a few weeks, every penetration in that apartment is visible. Closed properly, the apartment is protected from what goes on around it. Left open and covered, it inherits the building’s problems indefinitely.
What does the city already require?
Under Local Law 109 of 2022, applicants for full demolition permits and for work involving 50 percent or more of a building’s floor area must certify that a licensed exterminator has been retained to treat the premises for rodents, as required by the Department of Health. That requirement deals with the rats and mice already there. It does not design out the routes the next population will use. Pre-construction mitigation is the step that does.
The city also designates Rat Mitigation Zones where rodent activity is highest. In Manhattan these are Chinatown, the East Village and the Lower East Side, and Harlem. Projects in those neighborhoods face the most pressure, though no part of the borough is immune.
What we focus on in Manhattan projects
- Risers and pipe chases. Penetrations between floors and between units closed, coordinated with any required fire-stopping in rated assemblies.
- Kitchens and baths. Every opening behind cabinets, vanities, tubs and toilets closed before finishes cover it.
- Radiator and steam pipes. Oversized floor openings sleeved or plated.
- Ground-floor and cellar work. Floor drains, sewer cleanouts, slab penetrations and wall bases in restaurant and retail build-outs.
- Alteration agreements. Language for boards and managing agents so each renovation leaves the building better protected, not worse.
Cockroach and mouse allergens are recognized asthma triggers, and New York City’s Local Law 55 treats entry points in apartments as conditions to be corrected. Closing them during construction is the most effective time to do it.
Working with Graduate
We review plans, walk the space at the right stages and give the architect, contractor and managing agent a clear list of what to close and how. The full service is described under pre-construction pest risk mitigation. Projects in other boroughs are covered under Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx.
Common questions
Why do Manhattan apartments get pests from other apartments?
Because kitchens and bathrooms are stacked floor over floor and served by shared risers and pipe chases. Mice and American cockroaches follow those routes between units, so a clean apartment can still be reached from a neighbor, a basement or a ground-floor restaurant.
Does New York City already require pest control during construction?
For certain work, yes. Under Local Law 109 of 2022, permit applicants for full demolitions and work involving half or more of a building's floor area must certify that a licensed exterminator has been retained to treat the premises for rodents. That treatment addresses the existing population; designing out future entry is a separate step.
Can this be written into a co-op or condo alteration agreement?
Yes. Many boards already control renovation scope through the alteration agreement. Adding a requirement that penetrations be closed and checked before walls are covered is one of the most effective ways a building can stop every renovation from leaving a new route open.
We are building out a restaurant. Does this apply?
Very much. Food service spaces concentrate the plumbing, drains and wall cavities American cockroaches exploit, and they sit on the ground floor where rodent pressure from the street and sewer is highest. Floor drains, wall bases and chase openings are worth getting right before equipment goes in.
Which neighborhoods have the most rodent pressure?
The city designates Rat Mitigation Zones where activity is highest, and two are in Manhattan: Chinatown, the East Village and the Lower East Side, and Harlem. Projects there benefit most, but every borough has buildings with chronic pressure.
How does an engagement work?
A plan review, then a walk-through after rough plumbing and electrical but before insulation and drywall, then a final check before cabinets and finishes. We coordinate with the architect, the contractor and, where relevant, the managing agent.
Pre-Construction Pest Risk Mitigation in Manhattan
Start with a free consultation
A consultation is a phone call with us about your problem. You tell us what you are seeing, where in the building, and how long it has been going on, and we tell you what it most likely is and what it will take to fix. There is no charge for the call.
Work like this starts with a paid on-site inspection. We go through the building, find how the problem is getting in and why it is staying, and give you a written plan and scope of work. The inspection fee is quoted before the visit and is credited toward the job if you go ahead.
Call (631) 212-9601Schedule an inspection
Answered at any hour.