GUIDE · UPDATED JUNE 2026 · RE-VERIFIED QUARTERLY
The best women-owned contractors in Park Slope, by what you need
Plenty of contractors say they're woman-owned. Far fewer "best of" lists check whether that's actually true, whether the license is current, or whether the shop is even still in business, which are the three things worth settling before a deposit leaves your hands for a brownstone or co-op renovation.
So we did the homework on each firm. Ownership we confirmed against the City of New York's list of certified Women-Owned Business Enterprises, where the city has verified it, or, for a firm that isn't certified, a clear first-party statement we can point to. The license we checked with NYC's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection: a current Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license, the consumer-protection credential the city requires for any home renovation over $200. And because a website can look alive long after the business behind it has gone quiet, we confirmed each pick is still working from its recent NYC Buildings permits, not its homepage.
Two picks, one per scenario. Each is confirmed women-owned, currently licensed, and still pulling permits this year.
Best for brownstone and landmark restoration
Burda Construction
$$$ · brownstone & landmark · woman-owned
A woman-owned general contractor on the Boerum Hill border (191 Douglass St) that has spent 30-plus years on the work Park Slope houses actually need: landmark and historic restoration, brownstone facades, stoops, historic windows, and full apartment renovations. The firm states plainly on its own site that it is woman-owned, and Yveta Burda is named as the owner. If your project is a period townhouse and you want a builder who treats the original detail as the point, this is the lane.
- Address
- 191 Douglass St, Brooklyn, NY 11217
- Phone
- (718) 222-3220
Best for residential remodels and general contracting
Prodigy Construction
$$ · remodels & GC · WBE-certified
A South Slope general contractor (294 20th St) for the everyday renovation: residential remodels, kitchens and baths, and the millwork that goes with them. It is a city-certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise, with Roxanne Napolino listed as the named principal, and it shows up where Park Slope homeowners look (a Houzz profile, a BBB home-improvement listing). This is the general-purpose residential pick when you want a woman-owned shop and a straightforward remodel rather than a landmark project.
- Address
- 294 20th St, Brooklyn, NY 11215
- Phone
- (718) 499-0302
| Plumber | Best for | Cost & availability | Verified by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burda Construction | Best for brownstone and landmark restoration | $$$ · brownstone & landmark · woman-owned | HIC license active |
| Prodigy Construction | Best for residential remodels and general contracting | $$ · remodels & GC · WBE-certified | HIC license active |
In short: Burda for brownstone and landmark restoration, and Prodigy for everyday residential remodels and general contracting. Both are confirmed women-owned, hold an active NYC HIC license, and were pulling NYC building permits within the last year.
| Contractor | Best for | NYC HIC license | Still operating (DOB permits) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burda Construction | Brownstone & landmark restoration | #1194287 (active to Feb 2027) | Yes, permits through Sep 2025 |
| Prodigy Construction | Residential remodels & general contracting | #1474973 (active to Feb 2027) | Yes, permits through Feb 2026 |
| She Can Caulk It (women + LGBTQ) | Tile, baths & repairs | #2101351 (expired Feb 2025) | Operating; confirm renewed license before hiring |
Women-owned architects and designers for a Park Slope renovation
A brownstone renovation usually starts with a designer, not a builder, and this is where women-owned firms in Park Slope are genuinely deep. These lead the design and the drawings, then work alongside a licensed general contractor on the build, plus the separately-licensed electricians and plumbers a brownstone job needs. We verify them differently from the builders above: ownership through city WBE certification or a clear first-party statement, and the credential through the New York State architect license, which anyone can confirm on the NYSED Office of the Professions verification search.
| Firm | Lead | Ownership | Credential | Park Slope work |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarah Jacoby Architect | Sarah Jacoby (RA #035724) | NYC-certified WBE (city-verified) | NY architecture license #104478, current to 2029 | Published Park Slope brownstone renovation |
Sarah Jacoby Architect is the one that clears the bar both ways. It is a New York City-certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise, the same city credential that confirms ownership for our builder picks; the firm (Sarah Jacoby Architect DPC) holds a New York State architecture license, number 104478, which we confirmed current through January 2029 in the NYSED Office of the Professions verification search, with no enforcement actions on record and Sarah Jacoby herself listed as the licensed architect (#035724); and it has a published Park Slope brownstone project. The studio is based in Long Island City but takes Brooklyn brownstone work, so treat it as Park-Slope-serving rather than Park-Slope-based.
Two more women-led Brooklyn design names are worth a look, with a caveat: we list them, but we have not been able to confirm both Park Slope work and formal women-ownership the way we did for Jacoby, so verify those details yourself before you rely on them. Elizabeth Roberts Architects is a long-established, well-regarded Brooklyn brownstone-renovation architect (woman-led; its public portfolio leans Cobble Hill and Manhattan, so confirm Park Slope availability). Nesta Studio (Larysa Sendich, whose own Park Slope brownstone has been published in Domino) leads full renovations as an interior designer; note that interior design is not a state-licensed profession in New York, so there is no license to verify, only a portfolio.
The women-and-LGBTQ-owned shop to know: She Can Caulk It
If you came here for an LGBTQ-owned option, the honest answer is that there is essentially one in the neighborhood worth naming: She Can Caulk It, a women-and-LGBTQ-owned shop based in Park Slope that does tile, finish carpentry, bathroom renovations, and general repairs, and that makes a point of training women and LGBTQ workers in the trades. Park Slope neighbors recommend it, and it is the rare firm that fits both the women-owned and the LGBTQ-owned brief at once.
One caveat keeps it out of our verified picks above, and we won't paper over it: as of our June 2026 check, the firm's NYC Home Improvement Contractor license (#2101351) reads expired in the city's records, with a lapse date in February 2025, even though the number is still shown on its website. A lapsed HIC does not mean the business is gone (it is clearly still operating), but it does mean we cannot tell you the consumer-protection license is current. If you hire She Can Caulk It, ask them to confirm a renewed, active HIC in writing first, and check the DCWP license lookup yourself. The moment that license reads active again, this is a pick, not a caveat.
Who else is certified, and why they aren't picks
Park Slope and its bordering ZIP codes have more certified women-owned construction firms than the two above. Most did not make the list for a simple reason: their work skews commercial, specialty, or design, not the homeowner renovation this guide is about, or we couldn't confirm a current working footprint. They are real, city-certified WBEs, listed here so you have the full picture:
| Firm | What they do | Why not a homeowner pick |
|---|---|---|
| Triangle General Contractors (Red Hook) | Commercial general construction, roofing, waterproofing | Commercial and institutional focus, not individual-homeowner renovation |
| BA Global Construction (Kensington) | Public-sector and institutional renovation | States its own focus is public-sector work |
| Lima Contractors (Park Slope) | Painting and wall covering (certified WBE and MBE) | Specialty trade; confirm scope and a current license for a home job |
| Ace Ironwork (Park Slope) | Structural and ornamental ironwork | Specialty trade, not general renovation |
| Siris Coombs Architecture (Windsor Terrace) | Architecture and design | Designs the project; you still hire a separate licensed builder |
If your project is commercial, or a specialty job like ironwork or a paint-only refresh, two or three of these are worth a call. For a kitchen, a bath, or a brownstone renovation, start with the two verified picks at the top.
Why is the verified list this short?
Because the data that makes verification possible is uneven, and it's worth understanding how before you trust any "best women-owned contractors" list, including this one.
- Women's and minority ownership is well-documented. NYC Small Business Services runs a M/WBE certification program and publishes the certified firms in an open, queryable record, with the ownership dimension, trade, and address. That is why we can say "city-certified WBE" and mean it, rather than repeating a website.
- LGBTQ ownership is not tracked by the city at all. There is no NYC LGBTQ business certification. LGBTQ-owned firms are certified, if at all, as an LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE) by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, whose directory is not published as open data. Combine that with how rare LGBTQ ownership is in the building trades, and a verifiable "LGBTQ-owned contractors" list collapses to the single shop above.
- Retail-facing and certified don't always overlap. Many certified WBE construction firms chase government and commercial contracts, not homeowner renovations. And many of the smaller, genuinely homeowner-facing women-owned shops never pursue certification at all, so they don't appear in the city's list and have to be found through neighbor recommendations and then license-checked one by one.
The result is a short, honest list rather than a padded one. We would rather name two contractors we verified three ways than twenty we didn't.
How do you verify a contractor's HIC license?
In NYC, the credential that protects you as a homeowner is the DCWP Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license. It governs the renovation contract, carries a public complaint and disciplinary record, and is required for any residential work over $200 on a one-to-four-family home. New York has no statewide general-contractor license, so for hiring a residential renovator, the HIC is the one to check first.
To check it: search the DCWP license lookup (or the NYC Open Data "Issued Licenses" dataset behind it) by business name or license number, and confirm the license reads Active with a future expiration date. Confirm, too, that the name on the license matches the exact company you are hiring, not a similarly-named firm. Every pick on this list was matched, by business name, to an active HIC record, and each address and phone shown here comes from that same authoritative city record.
What should you ask a women-owned contractor before hiring?
The diversity question is one filter. These five separate a real licensed shop from a risky handshake, woman-owned or not:
- Do you hold a current NYC HIC license, and what's the number?
- Are you a city-certified WBE, or is the woman-owned description a first-party one?
- Do you carry general liability and workers' comp insurance?
- Will you pull the DOB (and, if needed, Landmarks) permits for this work?
- Have you done Park Slope brownstone or apartment renovation specifically, and can I see a line-item estimate?
Frequently asked questions
- How do you find a women-owned contractor in Park Slope?
- Two places, used together. First, the City of New York's Small Business Services keeps a public, searchable list of certified Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBEs), where ownership has been verified by the city rather than self-claimed. Filter it to construction trades and Brooklyn ZIP codes (11215, 11217, 11231, 11238). Second, the neighbor networks (Park Slope Parents and the Brownstoner forum) surface the smaller, retail-facing shops the certification list can miss. Then confirm whichever name you find holds a currently-active NYC Home Improvement Contractor license before you sign anything.
- What does WBE certification actually verify?
- A Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE) certification from NYC Small Business Services means the city has confirmed the business is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by one or more women, with documentation. It is an ownership verification, not a quality rating or a license. A firm can be a certified WBE and still need a separate Home Improvement Contractor license to legally renovate your home, which is why we check both. The certification is the strongest proof of ownership available, stronger than a claim on a website.
- Are women-owned contractors more expensive?
- No. Ownership does not set the price; scope, trade, and the state of your building do. A woman-owned firm and a comparable firm bid the same project on the same factors: square footage, structural complexity, finishes, and how much an old Park Slope building hides behind the walls. Get a line-item estimate and compare like for like, exactly as you would with any contractor.
- Are there LGBTQ-owned contractors in Park Slope?
- Very few, and only one we can point to with confidence: She Can Caulk It, a women-and-LGBTQ-owned shop based in Park Slope that does tile, finish carpentry, bathroom renovations, and repairs. The scarcity is structural, not an oversight. New York City certifies minority and women ownership (M/WBE) in an open, queryable record, but it does not certify LGBTQ ownership at all. That is handled separately by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, whose directory is not an open dataset, and LGBTQ-owned firms are genuinely rare in the building trades. Confirm any such firm's current license yourself before hiring.
- How do I verify a contractor is really women-owned?
- Look the business up in the NYC Small Business Services certified-business list. If it appears as a certified WBE, the city has verified the ownership. If it is not on the list but claims to be woman-owned, treat that as a self-claim: it may well be true (many small, legitimate shops never pursue certification), but it is not independently confirmed. In that case, ask who owns and runs the company, and weigh it as one factor rather than a guarantee.
- Do I still need to check a women-owned contractor's license?
- Yes, every time. Ownership and licensing are separate questions. Any home-improvement work over $200 on a one-to-four-family home in NYC requires the contractor to hold a Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) license from the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, the consumer-protection license tied to your contract and complaint recourse. Search the DCWP license lookup by business name, confirm the license reads Active with a future expiration, and confirm the name matches the exact company you are hiring. We did this for every pick on this list.
How did we vet these contractors?
Three filters. Ownership: we started from the NYC SBS certified Women-Owned Business Enterprise list, where the city has confirmed the ownership, and, for a firm that isn't certified, from a clear first-party statement we can cite. The license: we matched every pick, by business name, to a NYC DCWP Home Improvement Contractor license reading currently active in the city's public license records, with a 2027 expiration. Each address and phone shown here comes from that record. Still operating: because a website is no proof a contractor is still in business, we confirmed each pick against its recent NYC DOB building-permit record, with filings as recent as 2025 (Burda) and 2026 (Prodigy). Where a firm fit the brief but its license read expired (She Can Caulk It) or we couldn't confirm it was still operating, we said so rather than listing it on reputation alone. The women-owned architect pick is verified on a parallel track: ownership by NYC WBE certification, and the credential by a New York State architecture license confirmed active (current through January 2029, no enforcement actions) in the NYSED Office of the Professions verification search.
This isn't a hands-on test, and nobody pays to be on this list. For a fuller renovation comparison that isn't filtered by ownership, see our guide to the best general contractors in Park Slope. Written by Victor S., founding editor of The Park Sloper. Park Slope is our neighborhood and the only one we cover. Last refreshed June 6, 2026; next refresh September 2026.