Meet the Team - Wendell Restoration Yonkers

Meet the Yonkers Team Behind Wendell Restoration Yonkers

When water is pouring through a ceiling in Yonkers at 2 a.m., the person who shows up matters as much as the equipment they bring. Our crew has worked together for years across Westchester and the Bronx, and we’ve seen just about every way a house can get wet. From burst pipes in Crestwood to sewage backups in Getty Square, the team below is who you’ll actually talk to, text with, and see at your door. We’re background-checked, uniformed, and we answer to Blake.

Our People

Blake Sorensen – Owner & Lead Restoration Technician

Blake has run Wendell Restoration Yonkers since the location opened, and he’s still the first one to pull on boots when a big water loss comes in. He holds IICRC certifications in water damage restoration and applied structural drying, and he’s the one who trains every new technician on psychrometric drying, which is just a fancy way of saying he tracks the air’s moisture level so we know when your home is truly dry, not just surface-dry. Blake will happily explain why a dehumidifier stays running even after the floor feels dry to the touch. He’s also the reason every job gets a written price before work starts, a written guarantee, and a free second visit if the repair fails. Outside work, Blake coaches his son’s Little League team in Bronxville and swears the only thing harder than drying a 100-year-old Yonkers basement is teaching an 8-year-old to bunt.

Maria R. – Senior Service Coordinator

Maria is the voice you’ll hear when you call at 11 p.m. on a Sunday or 6 a.m. on a holiday, because our phones are answered by a live person 24/7, not a voicemail or a phone tree. She’s been with Wendell Restoration Yonkers for over a decade and knows every technician’s schedule, every piece of drying equipment in our inventory, and which Dri-Eaz dehumidifier is available right now. Maria is also the one who texts you a live arrival time you can track, so you’re not staring out the window waiting on a vague four-hour window. She grew up in Woodlawn Heights and can tell you which Yonkers side streets flood first in a heavy storm. When she’s not dispatching crews, Maria runs a Saturday baking club with her niece and makes a tres leches cake that our techs talk about for weeks.

Darnell W. – Senior Lead Technician

Darnell has spent 14 years in restoration and is our go-to for the jobs other companies walk away from. He holds IICRC certifications in water damage restoration and mold remediation, and he’s the technician we send when a Yonkers homeowner has already had one company out and the problem came back. Darnell specializes in hardwood floor drying using Injectidry systems, which pull moisture out from under the boards without tearing the floor out. He’s got a dry sense of humor and a habit of naming the dehumidifiers on big job sites. Ask him about the time a customer in Park Hill thought the equipment was haunted because it clicked on in the middle of the night. When he’s not on a job, Darnell restores vintage motorcycles in his uncle’s garage, which he claims is easier than dealing with a finished basement with carpet over concrete.

Kevin T. – Apprentice Technician

Kevin joined the crew two years ago and came to us through the Westchester County trades program. He’s on his way to IICRC certification and works under Blake and Darnell on water damage and mold remediation jobs throughout Yonkers. Kevin handles equipment setup, moisture mapping with thermal imaging, and daily photo documentation so you get before-and-after updates by text while we dry things out. He’s the one who will text you at noon and again at five, because you should never have to guess what’s happening in your own house. Kevin grew up in Beech Hill and still lives with his parents, which means he gets first call on the 5 a.m. dispatches. He’s also our resident expert on the coffee order for every technician on the team.

One Standard, Every Job

Every Wendell Restoration Yonkers job runs through the same system, whether it’s a small sink overflow or a three-story water event. We call it The Relay Standard: book in a tap, get a live arrival time, receive photo updates by text, approve a written price before any work starts, and pay from a digital invoice texted to your phone. The number on the screen is the number you pay. That standard is backed by our 365-Day Done Right Promise, stated in writing on every job. If it’s not done right, we make it right. And if a repair fails, the second visit is free. Wendell is part of the Relay Home Co. family, and each location is independently owned and operated, but the standard doesn’t vary. Our Yonkers crew uses the same professional equipment, Dri-Eaz, Phoenix, XPOWER, B-Air, and Injectidry, deployed under IICRC, RIA, and IFA practices, that you’d find on a large commercial loss site. We don’t have a junior team for smaller jobs. You get the same people, the same gear, and the same written guarantees on every call.

Written by Blake Sorensen, Owner at Wendell Restoration Yonkers, serving Yonkers and surrounding Westchester County since 2006.