Heating & Hot Water · Licensed Master Plumber #1879
Heating & Hot Water for New York City Homes
One licensed partner for everything that keeps your home warm and your water hot: boilers, steam systems, water heaters, and the gas lines that feed them. Austin Plumbing & Heating is an NYC Licensed Master Plumber shop — Rispoli family trade since 1968 — serving Brooklyn, Queens, and all five boroughs.
Heating in NYC is plumbing. The boiler, the gas line, the hot water — one system, one license, one shop that answers for all of it.
What We Do
Every heating service below is performed by or under the direct supervision of a Licensed Master Plumber — with DOB permits filed where the work requires them.
The Boiler Physical
A published-price pre-season boiler inspection and tune-up — $365, or $325 booked by Sept 15 — with a written condition report.
Learn more →Steam heat specialists
Banging pipes, cold radiators, flooding boilers — one-pipe and two-pipe steam diagnosed and fixed by people who actually know steam.
Learn more →Water heaters
Tank, tankless, and heat-pump water heaters — same/next-day replacement when you’re out of hot water.
Learn more →Boiler repair
No heat, leaking, short-cycling, pilot and ignition failures — steam and hot-water boiler repair with 24/7 emergency response.
Learn more →Boiler replacement
Right-sized replacements for steam and hydronic systems — high-efficiency, combi, and indirect hot water options, permitted and signed off.
Learn more →Oil-to-gas conversion
Full conversions — utility application through first fire. No. 4 oil is banned citywide as of July 2027; planning ahead beats the rush.
Learn more →Radiant floor heating
Hydronic radiant for renovations and brownstones — quiet, even heat with no radiators taking up floor space.
Learn more →Why a Licensed Master Plumber for Heating
Nearly every NYC heating system is gas-fired — and in NYC, gas piping work legally requires a Licensed Master Plumber. The boiler connection, the gas line behind it, the water heater beside it: it's one licensed trade, and hiring anyone else means the gas side of your job is either subcontracted or done illegally. See what the gas license covers →
For larger buildings, heating is also a filing obligation: annual DOB boiler inspections with real late penalties. We perform the inspection and the filing. Annual boiler inspection & DOB filing →
Brooklyn's Steam-Heat Problem, Solved
Brooklyn and Queens run on steam. The pre-war housing stock — brownstones, row houses, six-family walkups — was built around one-pipe and two-pipe steam systems that most modern contractors were never trained on. So owners get told steam “just does that”: the 3 a.m. banging, the radiator that never warms, the boiler that floods and starves week to week.
It doesn't just do that. Steam problems have causes — venting, pitch, pressure, near-boiler piping — and a plumber who understands them can usually fix in a visit what others have band-aided for years.
Deadlines That Decide Your Heating Costs
July 2027:No. 4 heating oil is banned in all NYC buildings — and DOB stopped issuing or renewing No. 4 boiler permits back in June 2024. If your building still burns No. 4, a conversion isn't a someday project anymore; it's a scheduling problem, and the closer the deadline gets, the worse the contractor and utility queues will be. We handle conversions end to end — the full oil-to-gas conversion guide →
For larger buildings, Local Law 97 adds a second clock: emissions caps that tighten sharply in 2030, with penalties of $268 per ton over the cap — and replacing aging fossil-fuel heating equipment is the retrofit the City itself points to first. If you own or manage a covered building, your boiler room is where that math gets decided.
Where We Work
Based at 802 Jamaica Ave in Brooklyn, serving all four boroughs — with the fastest response in Brooklyn and Queens:
Beyond Heating
The rest of the house runs through our plumbing side — repairs, fixtures, and sewer and drain service → — and when something can't wait, 24/7 emergency response →
Own or Manage a Building?
We run annual boiler startup/shutdown programs, multi-boiler service contracts, and heating-plant work for multifamily and commercial buildings — with the compliance filings folded in. See our building services practice →
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Who repairs steam heat in Brooklyn?
Fewer and fewer people — which is exactly the problem. Steam heating is a specialty trade that most modern plumbing and HVAC companies never learned, and misdiagnosed steam is why so many Brooklyn homes live with banging pipes and cold radiators. Steam is a core specialty at Austin Plumbing & Heating: one-pipe and two-pipe systems, venting, pressure settings, and near-boiler piping, across Brooklyn and Queens’ pre-war housing stock.
How often should a boiler be serviced?
Once a year, before heating season — that’s the industry standard and what most manufacturer warranties assume. An annual service catches combustion drift, failing safeties, and venting problems while they’re cheap, and gives you a documented condition history. That’s exactly what The Boiler Physical is: a $365 pre-season inspection and tune-up ($325 booked by Sept 15) with a written condition report.
Do I need a licensed plumber for boiler work — or an HVAC company?
In NYC, boilers and their gas and water connections sit squarely in Licensed Master Plumber territory: gas piping work legally requires an LMP, and boiler installations and many repairs require DOB permits an LMP files. HVAC companies are the right call for ducted air systems and AC. If it burns gas and heats water or makes steam, you want the license that can do the whole job — including the permit.
What does a heating service call cost?
The honest answer: it depends on what’s broken, and anyone quoting a repair price before diagnosing is guessing. What we publish is the number we can stand behind — The Boiler Physical at $365 ($325 early-bird) for pre-season inspection and tune-up. For repairs, you get a diagnosis and a written price before work begins; the drivers are parts, access, and whether the fix is at the boiler or out in the distribution system.
My heat is out — how fast can you respond?
Call (718) 835-3555 — no-heat calls in occupied homes are priority work, and we respond around the clock for genuine emergencies. During heat season, a heating failure is also a legal problem for landlords: NYC requires owners to provide heat and hot water to tenants. We diagnose, restore heat as fast as the repair allows, and advise on temporary heat if parts have to be ordered.
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Get Ahead of Heating Season
Book The Boiler Physical, fix the steam problem you’ve been living with, or replace the water heater before it fails on a Sunday. One call starts it.