Bronx · Independent editorial review
Cottam Heating & Air Conditioning
In brief. Cottam Heating & Air is a 40+ year family firm founded 1984 by Gary Cottam on City Island in the Bronx, covering high-end residential HVAC in the Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester and Greenwich. DCWP HIC #0923504-DCA: Active — expires 2027-02-28. 24-hour emergency service on gas and central AC. Cross-source rating range: Birdeye 4.7/5 (326 reviews), Yelp 2.9/5 (42 reviews, unclaimed profile). Verified 2026-08-13.
Verified credentials
- DCWP HIC Active #0923504-DCA · exp. 2027-02-28
- Founded 1984
- Full sheet-metal shop
Verified against the NYC Legally Operating Businesses dataset on 2026-08-13. See how we verify licences.
Company facts
- Website
- https://www.cottamhvac.com/
- Address
- 492 City Island Avenue, Bronx, NY 10464 (per Franklin Report). DCWP record additionally lists 217 Fordham St.
- Phone
- (718) 885-3328
- Founded
- 1984 (owner Gary Cottam)
- Staff
- Twelve service personnel and lab installation crews (per Franklin Report)
- Service area
- Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester County, Greenwich
- Emergency dispatch
- 24-hour emergency assistance on gas and central AC systems
Verified credentials
- DCWP Home Improvement Contractor #0923504-DCA — Active — expires 2027-02-28 (NYC Legally Operating Businesses dataset, verified 2026-08-13).
- Full sheet-metal shop — in-house fabrication capacity for retrofit ductwork, per Franklin Report profile.
- EPA Section 608 refrigerant handling. Confirm certification type (Universal, Type I, Type II) with the dispatched technician before refrigerant work begins. Not verified centrally by DCWP.
- Certificate of Insurance — status not published on company site; request in writing before Manhattan co-op / condo work.
Services covered
- High-end HVAC system installation
- Central AC repair and service
- Gas system service (emergency)
- High-efficiency and environmentally minded system design
- Retrofit applications with in-house sheet-metal fabrication
Editor's verdict
Cottam is one of the strongest evidence stacks in the Bronx / Manhattan residential-HVAC segment. Forty-plus years in operation, a DCWP HIC that has been renewed through multiple cycles, and a full in-house sheet-metal shop with lab installation crews together describe a firm that designs and installs, not just services. Franklin Report — a well-known Manhattan editorial directory used by prewar co-op boards — carries a positive write-up. That editorial signal, plus twelve service personnel supporting the installation side, is unusual for a City Island address and materially raises the file above a typical outer-borough contractor.
The cross-source rating spread is where the file needs unpacking. Birdeye 4.7/5 across 326 reviews is the highest-volume positive signal we found for any firm at Cottam's size in this ranking. Yelp 2.9/5 across 42 reviews sits materially lower — the Yelp profile is currently unclaimed by the business, which changes how much of that number is Yelp's suppression algorithm versus unmanaged customer complaints. We do not treat one source as decisive: read the negative Yelp reviews for pattern signals and treat the Birdeye volume as the more informative consumer-side data point.
Where Cottam is a first-choice recommendation: high-end residential retrofits in the Bronx, upper Manhattan, and Westchester where ductwork needs in-house fabrication rather than sub-contracted sheet metal; and gas + central-AC emergencies where a 24-hour line is a hard requirement. Where we would ask more questions: Brooklyn or Queens jobs — the firm's stated service area does not include those boroughs, and dispatching that far is likely to affect scheduling and response.
Watch-outs
- Yelp average (2.9) is materially lower than Birdeye (4.7). Since the Yelp profile is unclaimed, ask the office directly about complaint patterns before booking a large-ticket install.
- Service area is Bronx / Manhattan / Westchester / Greenwich — do not assume Brooklyn or Queens coverage without confirming with dispatch.
- Cottam's public case-study set is residential and small-commercial; for large commercial rooftop or VRF-scale projects, ask for two references on comparable work.
Next step
Use our Find-a-Pro flow to request a quote from Cottam Heating & Air with your job details, or call directly on (718) 885-3328.