Empire City Outdoor Living, LLC

This company is false.

This has been a very negative experience for the work that was suppose to happen. We are yet to have the project completed. They are scam artist and its been lie after lie. They always say they are going to come to do work and they don't show up.

I hired Alex to build an outside kitchen. The company that I hired goes by the name of Empire City Outdoor Living. He was to install a grill he took half the amount and I did it through my credit card then he tells he said that he doesn't use the credit card and he said he would refund the money. Then I wired the money to him since he didn't take credit card. He said he had a family emergencies and have given me a lot of other excuses and keeps blowing me off and now I cannot get a hold of him

He is unreliable, keeps politely making excuses for not finishing the work. You can't count on him.

Alex is a top notch con man. He seemed nice enough in the beginning promising the world and that the job would be done in a day. Try 3 months and he never came back to finish the job. I took at least 3 days off from work to meet him to finish the job and he never showed up. I read some other reviews which said the same thing. I paid in full and have an unfinished woodburning stove with no trim around it and a ripped up stone hearth. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! He would say im on my way ill be there in 30 minutes and never show up. Excuse after excuse. Ive never had a worse experience with a contractor.

So what started as a great experience has become a nightmare! Had a problem with an expensive granite counter top, was promised a replacement and they disappeared! So very disappointing!

We hired Empire City Outdoor Living the first time we met Alex. After explaining the extensive decking and pergola we wanted him to build for us, he helped us refine our design ideas and promised that when he was finished we would be blown away. Alex and his crew did exactly as promised and the end result was beyond our expectations!! Every aspect of the design was perfectly executed and we are beyond happy with the outcome.

I connected with Alex through Home Advisor. We were looking for someone creative who could build a fireplace in an older home with restrictions..limited space, existing decor and a ton of other quirks that come with older city houses. From day one, Alex seemed committed and competent. During our initial phone call and subsequent visit, he presented his ideas, samples of his work and renderings of what he could create for us. After that, my husband and I felt that Alex could deliver...and his price was competitive! So, we “signed up”. We obtained and completed all the necessary paperwork and the project began-on time. Honestly, the plan was to complete the project in five days but it lasted several weeks. However, what we ultimately got at the completion of the project is a hand crafted, custom made, “one of a kind” fireplace that fits perfectly in its surrounding. Quite frankly, in our opinion, it’s worthy of a spot in AD magazine. Alex also hand crafted moldings for an archway and baseboard which was not part of the original plan-he saw the bigger picture, recommended it and he was right. On a personal note, Alex is a colorful character with many stories and experiences. He is firm on certain do’s and don’ts when it comes to the creative process and for us, it resulted in an outstanding product. Many thanks to Alex and his crew for creating an elegant and cozy environment which we can now enjoy for years to come! Carla (aka, “the boss”) :)

great guys

Very professional clean nice work and people. I felt like they were family. I love the pergola they built for me in my backyard. They finished the project before time and always returned my calls and answered my questions.

Great team, excellent workmanship, finished product is exactly what we wanted.

First off with any major construction there are hiccups. How the contractor handles them is paramount. Three Nor'easters threw some wrenches in the works and Alex stepped up and was always in direct communication with me on the unfortunate delays. Next was the stone we picked, in the show room it was great but when it arrived, not so great. Alex did not even try to say hey this is what you picked and that's it. He took it all back and met me down at his distributor and we picked all new and different stone. Alex was great with that and put no pressure on us to keep the originals. Next was Alex's crew. They were a four man group who were friendly and trustworthy. I am a retired Police Officer so I am very cautious with who I trust. I was able to leave these guys in my home without mine or Alex's supervision without worry. They arrived and moved all the furniture out of my family room. Took the tv off the wall, covered all the floors, and did their best to seal off the room to prevent dust from traveling through the house. His crew even helped me shovel out of the third storm. On to the quality of the work, top notch. My wife who is very critical is over joyed with the finished product. We had our own ideas which some worked and some didn't. Alex guided some of those into what would work better and he was right. He stated he was willing to argue tooth and nail with my wife on some ideas. He didn't have to because I gave him the latitude he needed and it worked out better. He did add some things and didn't add them to the bill because he said to trust him. I did and it went well. Though the snow caused two lost days, the job finished three days behind schedule. Alex does not rush, which may seem to slow it down a little, it's that attention to detail, the small finishing touches that he tended to that made the delay worth it. This was a big job that spanned a 16 foot tall wall and a seperate 10 foot wide wall. Without those little details, it would have changed the look to something maybe not as extravagant. I will take that delay over a rushed job. So would Alex because he takes pride in his work and will be showing this to other clients. It should be on his website as well because it is that nice. Alex came on psalm Sunday to finish moving the furniture back, cleaning the rest of the job site, and to hang the tv so we didn't have to go another night with out the use of our family room. Who would have done that? Alex did. So through the whole job, start to finish, Alex was always professional and reliable. Communication was key, whether it was at 10pm the Sunday night before he started or any other time, he was reachable. We are going to hire him to do our outdoor kitchen in the near future . We had quite a few laughs during the job and I feel like a made a friend in Alex. So bottom line is I highly recommend Alex. Instead of just praising the finished product, I also detailed the issues that arose. In any major construction there will be

Professional personable quality workmanship and dependable

Alex is the best contractor ever! I have a 180 year old historical house that he totally got. He designed the perfect fireplace for my house. It looks like it has always been there. Absolutely no pressure to sign up with him. In fact, after he visited my home we exchanged at least a dozen emails over the design before a contract was agreed upon. I did my homework first. His product is first class, his design talents are incredible, and he is the consummate professional. His crew is also great. And, the price was very fair. I can’t say enough about him except that I felt a friend was leaving when he was done. He included me in every step of the design, was always on time, called every day. He is a perfectionist and did the construction of the mantle and stone work himself. I am thrilled with the finished product and can’t recommend him enough. Love him!

Superior product and friendly professional service from Alex and crew.

Alex is a pleasure to work with! He and his staff were very respectful of the rules of our building and very clean. The attention to detail was fantastic and Alex regularly communicated what needed to be done to get the results we were looking for. We were very informed throughout the whole process, so that nothing was a surprise.

quality, value, and service are most important to me. when you first meet Alex you can get a sense of his passion. he lays out the options and tries to give a good idea of the pros and cons. the fireplace transformed our living room. the stonework brought out all the colors in the room. this is the result of Alex' experience and passion. he is a good guy, with a good product, quality product and the results were amazing.

Alex is great! Professional, friendly, and offers great advice on how to step up around The wood burning stove. I did not have him do the work yet, I had a personal issue and had to put it on hold. But I look forward to the very near future having him do the work.

Professional and wonderful to deal with.

They were very professional,and went the extra mile to make the job safacitory.

Alex R. lied to my wife and I repeatedly. We paid him half of the project cost the day we agreed. He then strung my wife and I along for 3 months. Excuse after Excuse, Lie after Lie. We took countless days off from work to be there to let him into our house, only to be stood up no less than 20 instances. Finally, he agreed to waive the balance and finish the project. Ohhhh but wait........that was a lie also. Nearly 3 months to the day he said he was on his way to complete the project, but would need to be paid in full. Yea right! Unreliable, unprofessional. Please spend your hard earned money with a company that actually appreciates your business. I call into question the authenticity of all the "5" reviews because the "1" review sounds exactly like my experience with this company. Don't listen to Alexs' response to the "1" reviews, they are 100 percent accurate. If anyone needs proof I have pages and pages of saved texts. Feel free to reach out. Just trying to save others hard earned money and valuable time.

Alex was a consummate professional who knows the gas fireplace world inside and out!!

Alex was very knowledgeable and really listened to what I was looking for in my wood burning stove. He helped pick out the right stove for the house which is as we now know very important. He was true to his word and even came back after the project was complete, to show me how to work the stove and get the most out of my burns. He also helped with another fireplace that we have in our home, His workers were very polite and were very good with putting coverings over the furniture and floors. I would certainly recommend them to anyone who is thinking of having a wood burning stove/fireplace installed. They were GREAT!

First I want to thank Alex and his crews for being polite, courteous, and most of all professional. There were never any problems, only solutions to any eventuality that always comes up in any construction problem. They were all addressed and done in a timely fashion without exploding our budget. Someone once said, "If you have integrity nothing else matters, and if you do not have integrity nothing else matters." Next to the definition for the word integrity should be a picture of Alex and his crews. My only regret is that I can only give them 5 stars. Oh! What the heck.I'm the customer and the customer is ALWAYS right so I'll give them a 10. Would I recommend them..................you do the math. Thanks again guys.

Alex truly listened to what I was looking for in my fireplace . He then executed on it giving me a “show stopper” of a fireplace that I will enjoy for years to come. Worksmanship was excellent. 👍. I’d certainly refer him to others. OtttjttL