N-4Borough · Queens
Heat, hot water and pipes in Queens
Queens heat and plumbing start, for many residents, in a one- or two-family house, where the owner runs the boiler and the tenant’s unit still falls under the city’s heat rules.
In Queens the largest group of homes is in one- and two-family houses. Rent a floor of one, or own one with a tenant? Read the two-family house sheet first. Apartment dwellers split between elevator buildings, matched by the co-op or condo high-rise sheet, and walk-ups, matched by the prewar walk-up sheet.
How are Queens homes split by building type?
Houses lead. Counting units in City Planning’s PLUTO 26v2, we get 887,894 Queens homes, 39% of them in one- and two-family buildings.
| DCP category | Units | Share |
|---|---|---|
| One and two family | 346,067 | 39% |
| Multi-family elevator | 213,505 | 24% |
| Multi-family walk-up | 199,371 | 22% |
| Mixed residential and commercial | 124,573 | 14% |
Just over half of Queens units, 52%, sit on lots holding one to five homes, and about 40% are in buildings recorded as finished before 1940. DCP notes the year field is right to the decade. These are home counts, not head counts.
Does any Queens tap water still come from wells?
No. DEP’s groundwater page says the southeast Queens system, 67 supply wells at 43 stations bought from the Jamaica Water Supply Company in 1996, served part of Queens until 2007 and has not operated since. The 2025 water quality report says the city still holds its permit. Queens taps now get the upstate Catskill, Delaware and Croton supply; the tap water page explains what that means for hardness and lead.
When is each Queens district due for a gas piping inspection?
It depends on the district: 4, 6, 8 and 9 are sub-cycle C (2026 and 2030); 11, 12 and 14 are sub-cycle D (2027 and 2031). Queens has 14 community districts, and the DOB Local Law 152 schedule gives each a four-year turn. Houses with one or two families are exempt; the Local Law 152 page covers who files.
| Sub-cycle | Queens districts | Neighborhoods (DCP) | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1, 3, 10 | Astoria, Jackson Heights, Howard Beach | 2024 / 2028 |
| B | 2, 5, 7, 13 | Sunnyside, Ridgewood, Flushing, Queens Village | 2025 / 2029 |
| C | 4, 6, 8, 9 | Elmhurst, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Richmond Hill | 2026 / 2030 |
| D | 11, 12, 14 | Bayside, Jamaica, the Rockaways | 2027 / 2031 |
District names follow DCP’s profiles. DCP also counts Rikers Island, legally in the Bronx, as part of Queens district 1.
Why do Queens basements back up?
Grease, storms and older pipes. DEP’s 2019 plan to prevent sewer backups singled out Queens Community Boards 12 and 13 for an elevated number of backups, mainly from grease, and reached 55,000 households there. DEP’s 2024 report adds that older combined sewers are mostly in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, and the CEQR manual notes parts of Queens on separate sewers or septic. The house sewer to the street is the owner’s. More on sewer backups.
Is Queens in the free lead line program?
Parts of it. DEP’s 2025 report says the free replacement program expanded that year to eligible properties in the Bronx and Queens, and its 2025 plan identifies more Queens and Brooklyn neighborhoods for later phases. Owners must wait for DEP’s letter; there is no sign-up list.
Who does what here?
| Situation | First call | After that |
|---|---|---|
| Tenant in a two-family house, no heat | The owner upstairs or downstairs | 311, then HPD inspects |
| Owner with a cold radiator | Your licensed heating pro | DOB yearly inspection not required at 1–5 families |
| Apartment building boiler check due | Building owner’s licensed inspector | DOB boiler records |
| Sewage in the basement | Keep clear of it | 311; the owner’s licensed plumber |
| Gas smell, even faint | Leave and bring others | 911 and your gas utility, from outdoors |
Look up your own building
- HPDONLINE · HPD complaints, violations and the registered owner for a Queens building
- DOB gas piping lookup · your building’s sub-cycle and due year
- DEP lead page with service line map · what city records say your service line is made of
- ZoLa · zoning, year built and units on your lot
- 311 · report a sewer backup or no heat, or order a lead kit
Questions people ask
Could my Queens tap water come from the old Jamaica wells?
Not today. DEP says the groundwater system has not operated since 2007. The city keeps a permit, but the 2025 report says that water has not reached customers in many years.
My Rockaway building is in district 14. When is the gas inspection?
District 14 is in sub-cycle D: 2027, then 2031. One- and two-family houses are exempt, and post-2016 buildings wait ten years.
Is a backwater valve required in Queens?
Only in designated flood hazard areas, according to DEP’s reading of Plumbing Code section 715.1. Elsewhere it is optional. A licensed plumber fits one, and the basement sinks and toilet stay unused whenever it is shut.
Who pays to fix the sewer line under my front yard?
The property owner. DEP says owners are responsible for the water and sewer lines from the building to the city mains in the street, and the repair needs a licensed plumber.
How this plate was drawn
Every figure traces to a DEP report or page (groundwater, 2025 water quality, 2025 lead plan, sewer backups in 2019 and 2024), to DOB’s Local Law 152 schedule, to CEQR, or to City Planning’s August 2026 tax-lot file, all checked 11 Nov 2026. Housing shares are our calculations. We found no Queens count of septic homes, lead lines or heat complaints, so none is given.
Sources
- NYC DEP — Groundwater Supply System · southeast Queens wells, 1996 purchase, last use 2007 · checked 11 Nov 2026
- Water quality report for 2025, published by DEP · groundwater permit status, Queens lead expansion · checked 11 Nov 2026
- DEP — A Plan to Prevent Confirmed Sewer Backups (2019) · grease backups in Community Boards 12 and 13 · checked 11 Nov 2026
- Buildings Department — gas piping inspection schedule · Queens districts by sub-cycle · checked 11 Nov 2026
- DEP — lead line replacement plan, 2025 edition · future Queens phases · checked 11 Nov 2026
- Planning — PLUTO 26v2 data dictionary · categories, Rikers Island servicing · checked 11 Nov 2026
- Planning — Queens community district profiles · neighborhood names · checked 11 Nov 2026
- CEQR Technical Manual ch. 13 · separate sewers and septic in Queens · checked 11 Nov 2026
Borough sheet N-4 · revised 11 Nov 2026