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Commercial · Institutional · Government
Cleared First 🡢 Stripped Fast 🡢 Turned Over Clean.
CRE performs commercial interior and selective demolition — office strip-outs, retail and restaurant gut renovations, healthcare and laboratory teardowns, and conversions — across New York City, Long Island, Westchester and the Tri-State area. We resolve the hazardous-materials question first, so demolition starts on schedule and your GC gets a clean, safe, ready-to-build space. When the space has to be rebuilt afterward, CRE does that too.
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Asbestos, lead and PCB-containing materials are identified and handled before demolition.
Freight elevators, hoisting, loading docks and after-hours windows.
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Dust, noise and protection are controlled per building rules.
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Turnover is documented and ready for your GC's next trade.
Interior demolition is the controlled removal of non-structural elements inside a building — partitions, ceilings, flooring, millwork, fixtures and systems — to prepare a space for renovation, build-out or conversion. In older New York buildings it starts with an asbestos survey and, where needed, abatement, because demolition cannot safely begin until those materials are identified and controlled.
The difference between a smooth strip-out and a stalled one is almost always sequencing: environmental clearance, building rules, permits and logistics, then demolition. CRE manages that sequence under one contract.
Offices, retail spaces and restaurants are stripped to shell or to a defined demising condition so the next tenant's build-out can begin. Clear scope and a firm turnover date matter most.
Converting warehouse to office, office to lab or retail to restaurant means removing existing systems and finishes. Older buildings usually need environmental work first.
After a fire or water event, damaged finishes and building materials are removed so the space can be dried, remediated and rebuilt. Environmental screening protects the crew and the claim file.
Laboratories, kitchens, data rooms and industrial spaces are decommissioned and cleared at lease end or before sale, including disconnection coordination and regulated-waste handling.
| Item | Why it matters | Typical action |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos-containing material | Floor tile, mastic, plaster, insulation and fireproofing are disturbed by demolition. NYC expects a survey first | Survey, then licensed abatement |
| Lead-based paint | Painted surfaces and steel create lead dust and fumes when cut or demolished | Test; control or abate |
| PCB-containing materials | Pre-1980 fluorescent ballasts and some caulks and mastics can contain PCBs | Sample; handle as regulated waste if confirmed |
| Mercury-containing items | Lamps, thermostats and switches are universal or hazardous waste | Remove intact; recycle or dispose |
| Moisture and mold | Water-damaged walls and ceilings may hold mold | Assess; remediate under protocol |
| Fuel, refrigerants, suppression agents | Systems may hold regulated substances | Licensed recovery and disposal |
We walk the space with your GC or owner, review drawings, existing surveys and building rules, and define what is removed, what stays and where demolition stops.
Survey results drive the sequence. Asbestos and lead are abated or controlled first; PCB ballasts, mercury lamps and other regulated items are removed and handled as the rules require.
We book freight elevators and loading windows, install dust partitions and floor protection, protect risers and shafts, and set noise and vibration controls per building rules.
Partitions, ceilings, flooring, millwork and fixtures come out in a defined order after verified MEP disconnects. Elements that stay are protected, not sacrificed for speed.
Debris is bagged, staged and removed daily through approved routes to licensed carters and permitted facilities, so floors stay workable and the building stays happy.
We clean to the agreed condition, walk the space with your GC, close punch items and hand off with the documentation: filings, clearance reports and disposal records.
| Item | Typically handled by | CRE’s role |
|---|---|---|
| Asbestos survey and DEP notification | Owner retains investigator; licensed contractor files notification | We coordinate the survey and manage the abatement filings |
| DOB work permit and job filing | Owner’s registered design professional or GC of record | We provide the demolition scope and documentation the filing needs |
| Building rules, certificates of insurance, elevator and hoist bookings | GC and property manager | We comply, schedule and supply insurance certificates |
| MEP disconnects | Licensed electrician, plumber, mechanical contractor | We sequence demolition around verified disconnects |
| Debris hauling and disposal | Demolition contractor | We use licensed carters and permitted facilities |
Debris out; shell surveyed and cleared
Rough-in and inspections by licensed trades
Drywall, ceilings, flooring and finishes
— the rebuild
Selective demolition leaves a clean, surveyed shell, and the rebuild starts there: framing, rough-in by licensed trades, drywall, ceilings, flooring and finishes, in a sequence set before the first wall comes down.
Planning demolition and reconstruction together avoids a common failure: taking out more or less than the rebuild needs. CRE scopes both, so demolition removes what is damaged and nothing more, and the rebuild picks up on the same schedule.
One contractor manages the survey coordination, the abatement, the demolition and the documentation — and answers for the schedule. Your GC has one call to make.
The most common cause of a stalled strip-out is finding regulated material after demolition has started. We find it first, in writing, before it costs you days.
No gap between the clearance and the first swing, and no handoff between separate companies to explain delays.
NYS DOL Asbestos Handling License #[LICENSE NUMBER] · Fully bonded & insured · OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER-trained crews [CONFIRM]
Build-back after demolition, planned together with the teardown.
Survey coordination, DEP filings and licensed abatement ahead of demolition, under the same contract.
Lead-painted surfaces and steel handled before demolition begins.
PCB ballasts, mercury equipment and other regulated items removed and manifested correctly.
Sequencing, filing and closeout support for owners and GCs on complex projects.
Demolition logistics are local. In Manhattan, freight-elevator schedules, loading-dock windows and building rules set the pace. In Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, loft and industrial conversions are common and floor loads and access vary.
On Long Island, in Westchester and across the Tri-State area, projects follow local permitting and carting rules. We plan around the building and jurisdiction in front of us.
Beyond the five boroughs
Yes. Before work that could disturb building materials, a DEP-certified investigator has to determine whether asbestos is present, and asbestos requirements must be satisfied before certain DOB permits can issue. We coordinate the survey as the first step of every demolition scope in an older building.
It depends on the scope, the building and how the project is filed. DOB permits and job filings are normally made by the owner’s registered design professional or the GC of record, and asbestos requirements must be met first. We coordinate the environmental prerequisites and supply the scope documentation the filings need.
Yes, with controls. Work is typically scheduled after hours or in phases, with dust partitions, noise and vibration limits, protected routes and daily debris removal, following your building’s rules. We confirm requirements with property management before mobilizing.
By scope and conditions: area and ceiling heights, what is being removed, building access and hoisting, work hours, debris volume and whether abatement is required first. A site walk and drawings let us give a firm number. We do not quote by square foot without seeing the space.
Our focus is interior and selective demolition. Whole-building and structural demolition involve separate DOB filings, engineering and protection requirements. Contact us with the details and we will tell you plainly whether it is a fit. [CONFIRM]
Debris is removed daily through the building’s approved routes and taken by licensed carters to permitted facilities. Regulated items — fluorescent lamps, ballasts, refrigerants and similar — are separated and handled under the applicable rules, and disposal records are included in your closeout package.
Yes. CRE performs commercial reconstruction as well as demolition, so the teardown and the rebuild can be scoped and scheduled together. If your GC handles the build-back, we hand over a clean, cleared space and the closeout documents.
— Get a Quote
Send drawings, an existing survey and your target turnover date. We will respond with scope questions and a plan the same business day.
Call 24/7
(000) 000-0000
CRE serves commercial, institutional and government properties. We are not able to take residential projects.
