Uniondale mixes two very different kinds of property. Its residential streets hold about 32,000 people in roughly 8,300 housing units, mostly single-family houses. On its eastern side, the former Mitchel Air Force Base, which closed in 1961, now holds Nassau Community College, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the Cradle of Aviation Museum and part of Hofstra University's housing and recreation facilities. Since the 2010s, the Census has also counted the former East Garden City area as part of the Uniondale CDP.
The land under all of it is the old Hempstead Plains, a flat glacial outwash surface, and the community has no surface water of its own. Water problems here mostly come from rain on hard surfaces, plumbing, roofs and winter freezes. The Restoration Job is a referral service that does not perform restoration. Call (888) 317-9980 and we will put you in touch with an independent provider that covers Uniondale.
How the call works: when you call (888) 317-9980, The Restoration Job connects you with an independent restoration provider that serves Uniondale. That provider inspects the damage, explains the scope and quotes the work. The Restoration Job doesn't perform restoration itself. Read our referral disclosure.
Paved Plains and Summer Cloudbursts
More than ten thousand years ago, meltwater from the glaciers spread sand and gravel across this part of Nassau County and formed the Hempstead Plains. Mid-century suburbanization and commercial development covered most of it with houses, highways, parking lots and large building footprints. Uniondale sits at about 52 feet above sea level, and with so much pavement, a hard summer thunderstorm can move a lot of water toward storm drains at once.
When the drains fall behind, water ponds in low driveways and runs toward basement doors, garage entries and window wells. Clearing leaves from gutters and curb inlets before storm season, and keeping downspouts pointed away from the foundation, reduces how often that runoff reaches the house.
Single-Family Homes: Basements, Water Heaters and Washing Machines
In the residential parts of Uniondale, the everyday causes of damage are familiar: a water heater that rusts through in the basement, a washing machine hose that bursts, a toilet supply line that cracks, or a roof that lets go during a nor'easter. A few habits help:
- Know where your main shutoff valve is and make sure it turns
- Replace rubber washer hoses with braided ones every few years
- Put a drip pan and a water alarm under the water heater
- Check the attic after strong wind-driven rain
If water has already spread, the job shifts to extraction, removing wet materials and drying the structure. A provider handling water damage repair can also coordinate the rebuild once everything is dry.
Student Rentals and Multi-Tenant Buildings Near Hofstra
With Hofstra's north and south campuses and Nassau Community College nearby, part of Uniondale's housing is rented, sometimes to several students sharing one house. Leaks in rentals raise questions about who is responsible. The owner generally handles the building and its repairs, while tenants need their own renters coverage for belongings. Tenants should report a leak in writing right away and take photos; owners should get drying started quickly, because delays can turn a manageable repair into a mold problem.
Office buildings, hotels and event venues around the Coliseum and Mitchel Field have their own risks: sprinkler line breaks, rooftop drain clogs and HVAC condensate overflows that can affect several floors. Commercial drying often happens in phases so occupied parts of a building can stay open.
Coastal Storms Felt Inland
Uniondale is miles from the South Shore bays, but major coastal storms still reach it through wind, rain and power outages. During Sandy in 2012, Nassau Community College served as one of the county's emergency shelters, and the Long Island Power Authority reported more than 900,000 customers without power. Long outages can stop sump pumps and leave a house unheated, which makes both basement flooding and frozen pipes more likely in a late-season storm.
A battery backup or generator-ready sump pump is worth considering if your basement has taken on water before. After high winds, look for missing shingles and damaged flashing, and call for storm damage cleanup if water is coming through the roof or a broken window.
Mold Risk in Damp Uniondale Basements
Nassau County averages about 46.7 inches of precipitation a year and has humid summers, so damp materials do not dry well on their own, especially below grade. Mold can take hold on drywall, carpet pad and stored cardboard within a few days. Dehumidifiers, air movers and moisture readings until the framing and floor reach normal levels are what keep it from developing. If a musty smell lingers after a leak has been fixed, that is a sign hidden moisture remains and the area should be checked.
Where Callers in the Uniondale Area Are
The same line also serves nearby communities such as:
- Hempstead
- Garden City
- East Meadow
- Roosevelt
- Westbury
- Merrick
Uniondale Water Damage Questions
Is Uniondale at risk from tidal flooding?
Uniondale is an inland community at about 52 feet of elevation with no bays or creeks inside its boundaries, so tidal flooding is not the usual concern. Heavy rain, sewer backups, plumbing failures and storm wind are the more common causes of damage. To check the official flood designation for a specific property, search the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center.
My upstairs neighbor's leak damaged my unit. What now?
Tell your landlord or property manager right away, in writing, and photograph the ceiling, walls and anything that got wet. The building owner usually handles the structure, while your renters policy, if you have one, covers your belongings. Do not wait for the parties to agree on fault before getting the water dried, since delay usually makes the damage worse.
Can a business near Mitchel Field stay open during drying?
Often, yes. Restoration providers commonly isolate the wet area with plastic barriers, run drying equipment around the clock and schedule noisy work outside business hours. Whether that is practical depends on how much of the space is affected, whether there is contamination and what your landlord and insurer require.