The Best Moving Companies in Brooklyn

Yes, many Brooklyn apartment buildings require you to provide a Certificate of Insurance (COI) from your moving company. Otherwise, management won’t let your movers into the building on moving day.

A COI proves to your building’s management that your movers are insured and that the insurance will cover any damage the movers cause to the property while they’re moving your stuff.¹

Luckily, a COI isn’t too difficult to get. You just need to request it from your movers ahead of time and send it to your building’s management. Note that you need to request a COI for the building you’re moving into and the building you’re moving out of, so you usually need two COIs per move unless one of your buildings doesn’t require it.

You should also know that movers usually charge a fee to supply a COI. The exact price depends on the company, but it usually costs $45–$60 per COI.

Yes, most moving companies charge an extra fee if your movers have to carry your furniture up and down several flights of stairs.

Stair fees depend on a lot of factors like how much stuff you have and how many flights of stairs are in your building, and every company handles these fees differently. Many moving customers don’t expect these fees to show up on their final bill, either, which can lead to some nasty surprises if you live in one of Brooklyn’s high-rise apartments.

Before hiring your movers, ask them about their stair fees and be upfront with them about how many stairs are in the building you’re moving into and the building you’re moving out of. That way, both you and your movers know exactly what to expect.

On average, a resident of New York state pays $374.35 every month for utilities.² This figure includes electricity, internet, natural gas, water, and streaming services. This puts New York firmly in the top 20 states where utilities are most expensive.

And while utilities certainly add up to immense monthly costs in the Big Apple, they’re nothing compared to New York City’s average rent of $1,714.89.³

All things considered, it’s really no surprise that New York residents have some of the highest living costs in the US.

Parking in New York has always been notoriously bad, and believe it or not, it’s actually gotten worse during the pandemic.⁴ This means that you’ll need to make special considerations about where your movers can park since moving vans are pretty large, and they aren’t immune to parking tickets.

Before moving day, scope out the parking situation in front of your building and make a plan. Double parking might be an option if your street is wide enough for traffic to navigate around the van, but if not, you’ll need to find a place where your movers can park curbside.

It might help to talk to your building’s management beforehand and ask them where they’d recommend your movers park. They may allow your movers to park the van in a spot that isn’t usually available to the public. You could also ask one of your neighbors if they’ll let your movers use their spot.

If nothing else works, call your movers ahead of time and ask what they’d recommend. If they’ve been moving people around Brooklyn for a few years, they probably have some tricks up their sleeves.