GUIDE · UPDATED MAY 2026 · RE-VERIFIED QUARTERLY
The best plumbers in Park Slope, by what you need
Picking the right plumber in Park Slope shouldn't come down to a panicked 11 p.m. search and a coin flip. The plumber you call at midnight with water on the floor isn't the one you'd call to repipe a 130-year-old brownstone, and neither is the right call for a slow drain that's been bugging you for three weeks.
Five picks, one per scenario. Each a NYC Master Plumber whose license is currently pulling city permits.
Best for brownstone restoration and old-pipe quirks
Aladdin Plumbing
$$$ · restoration scope · slower scheduling
Brownstone specialist run by the Gitli family since 1976. Pulls cast-iron stacks, replicates ornamental fittings, and works around plaster walls without destroying them. Restoration is a different skill than routine repair, and they've been doing it on Park Slope's brownstone blocks for almost fifty years. Based in Carroll Gardens (55 Garnet St), not Park Slope proper, but a longtime presence on these blocks.
- Address
- 55 Garnet St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
- Phone
- 718-783-4621
Best for 24/7 emergencies
Petri Plumbing, Heating & Drain
$$$ · 24/7 dispatch · same-day windows
Four generations of Brooklyn plumbers, with a Park Slope location at 355 Butler St (headquarters in Bay Ridge). True 24/7 dispatch with same-day windows. Their repiping process is published and handles permit pulls, useful when an emergency reveals a larger issue.
Also good for 24/7
Above & Beyond Plumbing: Advertises 24/7 coverage and holds a NYC Master Plumber license (#2403). Bushwick-based, serves Park Slope, but no local-review track record, so treat it as a backup, not a co-pick.
- Address
- 355 Butler St, Brooklyn, NY 11217 (Park Slope location)
- Phone
- 718-748-1254
- Hours
- Open 24 hours, 7 days
Best for routine work and multi-decade reliability
John Hlad Plumbing & Heating
$$ · scheduled visits · long lead times
Five decades, family-owned. PSP reviews uniformly positive over many years. Based in Greenwood Heights (11232) and serving Park Slope. Not the fastest dispatcher and not pitching restoration, but the profile for a long-term plumber relationship: the one you call for the next twenty years of small jobs. Note: the license of record is held by Joseph D'Esposito under the John Hlad company.
- Address
- 154 26th St, Brooklyn, NY 11232
- Phone
- 718-768-0689
- Hours
- Mon-Sat 8am-5pm
Best for sewer, drains, and stubborn clogs
Big Apple Installations
$$ · sewer & drain · gas/boiler too
Brooklyn's sewer-and-drain workhorse: the licensed entity is literally Big Apple Sewer & Drain, Inc. Strong on drain-clearing, sewer lines, gas piping, and Local Law 152 work. Flatbush-based but works heavily across Brooklyn (most of its city permits are Brooklyn jobs). Park Slope Parents reviewers single out the drain work; one flags occasional over-diagnosis, so get the scope in writing. Note: this is Big Apple Installations, not the unrelated Queens firm 'Big Apple Plumbing & Heating'.
- Address
- 1826 Flatbush Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11210
- Phone
- 718-934-4433
Best for water heaters and heating
Einstein's Plumbing & Heating
$$ · water heaters · warranties · 24/7
A full-service Brooklyn plumber that leans into water heaters and heating, with unusually explicit warranties: multi-year on the water heater, up to ten years on the tank. Same-day windows and 24/7 emergency coverage. Park Slope Parents reviewers cite reliable no-heat and water-heater calls, and most of its city permits are Brooklyn jobs.
- Address
- 127 42nd St, Brooklyn, NY 11232
- Phone
- 718-215-9664
| Plumber | Best for | Cost & availability | Verified by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aladdin Plumbing | Best for brownstone restoration and old-pipe quirks | $$$ · restoration scope · slower scheduling | DOB license active |
| Petri Plumbing, Heating & Drain | Best for 24/7 emergencies | $$$ · 24/7 dispatch · same-day windows | DOB license active |
| John Hlad Plumbing & Heating | Best for routine work and multi-decade reliability | $$ · scheduled visits · long lead times | DOB license active |
| Big Apple Installations | Best for sewer, drains, and stubborn clogs | $$ · sewer & drain · gas/boiler too | DOB license active |
| Einstein's Plumbing & Heating | Best for water heaters and heating | $$ · water heaters · warranties · 24/7 | DOB license active |
In short: Aladdin for brownstone restoration, Petri for the 2 a.m. call, John Hlad for the long routine relationship and smaller everyday jobs, Big Apple Installations for sewer and drain, Einstein's for water heaters and heat.
What should you know about Park Slope brownstone plumbing?
Most Park Slope brownstones are 100 to 140 years old. The original cast-iron drain stacks they were built with were rated for 80 to 100 years of service. A meaningful number of buildings in the neighborhood are running on stacks that are at or past end-of-life, even when nothing has visibly failed yet (A Good Plumber on Brooklyn brownstone plumbing).
The pipes were built for 100 years. Most brownstones are older.
When a main cast-iron stack fails in a multi-unit brownstone, every floor is affected. The signs to watch for: recurring drain backups across multiple fixtures, slow drainage on multiple floors, sewer odor in the basement, or visible corrosion and scale at exposed stack joints. Any one of these, taken individually, can have a simpler explanation. Two or three together is a stack approaching failure.
For a full repipe or other code-flagged major work, get quotes from both Aladdin (the brownstone lens) and Petri (scale and permit-handling). They're the two picks here equipped for that scope, and the work warrants two estimates.
NYC plumbing code requires a licensed Master Plumber for any work touching gas lines, water-main repipes, or fixture relocations (NYC Plumbing Code 2022). DOB permits are required for substantial work. A handyman or unlicensed plumber doing code-restricted work is a code violation and may invalidate your homeowner's insurance if something goes wrong later.
This is why the licensed-Master-Plumber filter we ran every recommendation through isn't bureaucratic theater. The license is a real signal: earning it requires seven years of supervised plumbing experience including two as a registered journeyman, plus written and practical exams, plus current liability and workers' comp insurance (NYC DOB Master Plumber license requirements).
What does a plumber actually cost in Park Slope?
Nobody local publishes real numbers, so here's the going rate. These are current Brooklyn and NYC ranges, not quotes from the five plumbers above, so always ask each for their own price. Old-building work runs to the high end: a brownstone with original cast iron and tight access costs more than a new condo with everything exposed.
- Service call / diagnostic visit: about $75 to $200, usually credited toward the job if you book (PlumbingNYC). Ask for that number before you commit.
- Hourly rate: roughly $150 to $250 an hour for a licensed master plumber, more for union shops (PlumbingNYC).
- Water heater replacement: about $2,000 to $3,500 for a standard gas tank installed, or $2,400 to $4,500 and up for tankless, plus a roughly $130 city permit (PlumbingNYC, May 2026).
- Clogged main drain or sewer line: $150 to $400 to snake a standard line, $400 to $800 for hydro-jetting, $200 to $600 for a camera inspection (Empire Sewer & Water).
- Local Law 152 gas inspection: the citywide gas-line check most small buildings owe on a four-year cycle runs about $600 to $850 for a two- or three-family brownstone (CountBricks, Feb 2026). If it turns up a leak, the repair is a separate and much bigger job: the city permit alone is $130 to $280, but an all-in gas-line repair with expediting and Con Ed coordination has run $3,800 to $4,500 (HeatingHelp).
Rates as of May 2026. The biggest swing on any of these is access and age, and a 130-year-old Park Slope brownstone has plenty of both.
Frequently asked questions
- Do Park Slope plumbers charge a service call fee?
- Most do. Typically $75 to $200 for a visit, often credited toward the work if you book, and more for emergencies or after-hours. Those are general NYC ranges, not per-plumber prices we've confirmed, so always ask what the visit costs before anyone gets in the truck. In a neighborhood where everything's gotten pricey, a plumber who quotes the call fee up front is telling you something good about the invoice to come.
- Can a handyman do plumbing work in a Park Slope brownstone?
- Not legally for anything touching gas, water-main repipes, or fixture relocations. Those require a NYC-licensed Master Plumber. A handyman can replace a faucet or clear a simple drain. Code-restricted work done unlicensed can void your homeowner's insurance and create real liability.
- How do I tell if my brownstone's cast-iron stack is failing?
- Watch for recurring drain backups across multiple fixtures, slow drainage on multiple floors, persistent sewer odor in the basement, or visible corrosion at exposed stack joints. Any one alone is ambiguous; two or more together, get a Master Plumber to scope it with a camera.
- Are these plumbers all licensed and insured?
- Yes. Every plumber here holds a current NYC DOB Master Plumber license, which we confirmed is active in city permit records (each pulled DOB permits in 2025-2026). Insurance is separate: ask for a current Certificate of Insurance (general liability and workers' comp) before booking work over $1,000.
- Why didn't you include another plumber I've heard of?
- We limited this list to plumbers appearing in at least one of our three sources (Park Slope Parents, the Brownstoner forum, or the top-5 results for "Park Slope plumber") who also hold a current NYC DOB Master Plumber license. Know someone who fits? Tell us via the home-page question form.
- How often is this list re-verified?
- Every 90 days. We re-check NYC DOB license status, refresh the source links, and re-read Park Slope Parents and Brownstoner for new signal. The "Updated" date at the top of the page reflects the most recent pass.
How do you verify a NYC plumber's license?
You can verify any NYC plumber's license yourself in about thirty seconds.
- Go to the NYC DOB license lookup: a810-bisweb.nyc.gov/bisweb/LicenseTypeServlet
- Search by business name or last name: Choose "Master Plumber" from the occupation dropdown
- Verify the license is current: Status should read ACTIVE. The license number should match what they put on their invoice or business card
- Ask for proof of insurance: Email a current Certificate of Insurance before any work over $1,000. Reputable plumbers have this on hand and send it without friction
If a plumber resists step 4 or can't be found on the DOB list, that's the signal. Walk away.
What should you ask when calling a plumber?
A short list of questions that filter quickly for fit:
- Are you a NYC-licensed Master Plumber, and what's your license number? They should answer immediately. If not, end the call.
- Do you carry general liability and workers' comp insurance? Both, not one or the other.
- Have you worked on Park Slope brownstones specifically? Ask for one street they've worked on recently. If they can't name a block, they're not a brownstone specialist.
- Will permits be pulled for this work? Required for repipes, gas-line work, or fixture relocations. If they say "we don't usually pull permits," they're doing it wrong.
- What's the diagnostic visit cost, and does it apply if I book the work? Typically $75 to $200 in NYC; most apply it toward the job if you book.
How did we vet these plumbers?
Two filters. Community signal: every plumber here turns up where Park Slope neighbors actually trade names. That means Park Slope Parents, the Brownstoner plumbing forum, and the shops competing hardest in local search. The license: every name was matched against the NYC DOB Master Plumber roster and confirmed currently active in city permit records. Each has pulled permits in 2025-2026. Only a licensed Master Plumber can legally touch a gas line, a repipe, or a fixture move in NYC, and hiring an unlicensed one can void your insurance.
This isn't a paid, hands-on test, and nobody pays to be on this list. Written by Victor S., founding editor of The Park Sloper. Park Slope is our neighborhood and the only one we cover. Last refreshed May 22, 2026; next refresh August 2026. If we got something wrong or missed a plumber you trust, send us a note.