Greenpoint · Brooklyn Neighborhood
Glass & Glazing Services in Greenpoint, Brooklyn
Greenpoint is still mostly houses — wood-frame and vinyl-sided two- and three-families, owner-occupied, on narrow streets. We handle their windows, skylights and rear extensions, along with the shopfronts on Manhattan Avenue and the new towers at the waterfront.
Greenpoint Glass Company
Built for Greenpoint’s Frame Houses and Narrow Streets
Greenpoint has held onto its houses in a way most of north Brooklyn has not. Walk Leonard, Eckford or Humboldt and the stock is two- and three-family wood-frame buildings, many of them clad in vinyl or aluminium at some point in the last forty years, with original wood sash still in the upper floors. Most are owner-occupied, which changes who we deal with: a homeowner making a decision about their own house, not a managing agent working through an alteration agreement. Toward Newtown Creek there are brick warehouses turned into studios and workshops, and at the north end the Greenpoint Landing towers add a stretch of glass-fronted high-rise that behaves nothing like the rest of the neighborhood.
The practical problem in Greenpoint is almost always access. The streets are narrow, there are rarely driveways, and alternate-side parking decides where a truck can legitimately sit for an afternoon. Inside, a lot of these houses are railroad layouts with a tight turn at the top of the stair, so a sheet that fits the opening may not fit the route to it — we measure the stair, the landing and the door swings at the survey, not on the day. Cellar-level storefronts on Manhattan Avenue bring their own wrinkle, with sidewalk hatches and steps down to the glass line. None of it is difficult if it is planned; all of it goes wrong if it is not.
Greenpoint Services
Glass Systems for Greenpoint Buildings
Double-hung and wood-sash replacement, storm and secondary glazing, rear-extension and skylight glass, shopfronts and vestibules on Manhattan Avenue, partitions in creek-side workshops, shower enclosures, mirrors and same-day board-up. Every opening in a frame house is measured individually, because settled timber is rarely square.
Where We Work in Greenpoint
Property Types We Serve
Most Greenpoint work is on owner-occupied houses, with a steady run of shopfront and workshop jobs alongside it. The survey covers the route into the building as well as the opening itself.
Greenpoint Glass FAQs
Before Your Project Begins
Can the original wood windows in a Greenpoint frame house be saved?
Often, yes. If the sash timber is sound and only the glazing, putty and cords have failed, reglazing and reroping the existing sash keeps the original profiles and costs less than replacement. Where the timber has rotted at the bottom rail or the frames have dropped out of square, replacement is the honest answer. A middle path many owners here take is keeping the original single-glazed sash and adding interior storm or secondary glazing, which improves comfort and noise without touching the look from the street. On the Milton, Noble and Kent Street blocks inside the historic district, the look from the street is also a review question, so we check that first.
There is no driveway on my street. Where does the truck go?
We plan it before the day. Most Greenpoint streets take a truck at the kerb for a few hours if we schedule around alternate-side, and we bring the glass in on foot from there. What matters more is the route inside: railroad layouts, a turn at the top of the stair and narrow door openings all limit the largest sheet that can physically reach the room. We measure stair width, landing turns and door swings at the survey and tell you then if an opening needs to be glazed in two panels instead of one.
Do I need a permit for a new skylight or a rear glass extension?
Usually yes. Cutting a new opening in a roof or rear wall is structural work and needs a Department of Buildings filing, normally made by an architect or engineer you appoint; we install to their approved drawings rather than filing on your behalf. A like-for-like replacement of an existing skylight in the same opening generally does not need one. If the house sits in the historic district, Landmarks review is added on top of the DOB filing, and that is worth starting early because it sets the timetable for everything else.
A window broke overnight. How quickly can you make the house safe?
We board up the same day in almost all cases, which makes the opening weathertight and secure while the replacement glass is cut. For an occupied house we will usually fit temporary glazing rather than plywood where the opening is in a bedroom or living room, so you are not sitting in the dark. Once the unit is ready we come back and glaze it properly, normally within a few days for standard sizes. Call 718-758-5515 or email office@nycallglass.com.