I am also in a "garden-level" brownstone in downtown Jersey City. We have dual subpumps and are vigilant whenever it starts raining hard (like last night). The space itself is great and the patio in addition to shared backyard really adds alot of space.

I know there was a thread on here recently about flood insurance and whether your personal property (walls-in) is covered in the event of a flood. Someone had mentioned that they have had issues with flood claims because most of the flooding in jersey city is due to the sewer systems and not actual flooding.

In this case, I believe Homeowners would cover personal property inside the brownstone unit. Another recommendation was to make sure that your Homeowners covered any sort of subpump failure or backup.

PathH8er - what area of Jersey City are you in ? Sounds like youre doing a stellar job of preparing if you had no damage during Katrina. Good luck !

Hi Travellerman,

I notice the first few sentences of my post was edited, where I stated in sarcasm (insert sinister music and a white envelope full of money here). Possibly because I used arrows and it may have deleted. Nonetheless. There's the full story for you. Good luck.

Thank you so much PathH8Tr for taking the time to share all this information with us! I hope we are as lucky as you have been ( luck sometimes being determined by hard work and effort!)

Agreed, there are so many, one wonders how the city has approved them? . But you'll notice that if these units are newly renovated they very likely have excellent sump systems installed in the front and/or back of the property with appropriate exit piping for roof drainage, most backyards slope gradually towards their back alley too. We have two levels but a majority of our square footage is garden level. We have an exceptional sump system set up, proper exit piping, sewage pipes checked annually, (all the cost of the entire CA because it's a foundation issue, not a unit issue) but I've paid more for the things that give me comfort - wet vac, boat sump (removes water when it's very shallow, some portable sumps need an inch or more to serve their purpose) proper hoses already attached and ready with the portable sumps to do the trick. We have our entertainment system on the wall. We have a flood plan for the CA, our portable sumps prepared and ready to go with extension cords etc., we also have a generator. It's connected with a transfer switch and can keep our sump pumps, and major electrical going during a power outage. Rubber boots for the both of us. Mold proof drywall. Our CA has keys to our place, they know if we flooded it would be an issue for the CA as a whole. We also have a local contractor and neighbors who know the drill & have keys. Since we've over prepared? We've never had a problem. I love our outdoor space and ultimately paid to enjoy that outdoor space at a cost of having my lower level potentially flood because all of downtown Jersey City is essentially a flood zone! But it's a fantastic looking space and that's the trade off if we want an outdoor space that practically doubles our square footage. We haven't had a problem with water for five years - since we've mastered what works in this area (we are the only ones that didn't flood in my area during the hurricane but we helped many alarmed renters on garden levels with our many portable sumps). I believe most people who buy in this area and want more square footage & outdoor space are willing to take the risk because what other option do you have at these more reasonable prices than the city? I have a dog & a kid too so really need the outdoor area otherwise we'd go insane. Any new furniture my wife buys for the basement is the industrial looking metal type - suits the brownstone really well and if wet will just add character to the pieces. Nothing valuable can't be lifted on to a countertop if it had to. My insurance covers theft, damages for other things etc., and I don't doubt we'd be covered for some things. Put it this way - our neighbor's basement flooded and the insurance person added an extra foot of drywall coverage costs to his claim so that they could use that $$ to cover some of the costs for items not covered under the insurance. They've since prepared themselves like we have and haven't had a problem again. Don't dismiss these units if you really love outdoor space and the location - just be concerned if there's a chronic issue you may have to rectify. (We had to reslope our backyard after paying full price for a renovated unit 7 years ago, not cool but it totally helped our space redirect water during heavy rains). I have neighbors who have almost identical units to mine who have done amazing things with their backyard spaces (more $$ than us!) and have copied my over attentive approach to flooding. We all seem to do okay these days. Good luck!

Thank you PathH8Tr. I agree about loving the outdoor space and location, but don't know what to do about furnishings, kitchen, etc . especially if they can't be insured. There are so many garden level units in Jersey City and Hoboken, what does everyone do? Would love if you and others out there who live in garden units and have experience would share some tips on what they've done to make it easier to deal with. Thanks again!

It's considered basement (if you don't have a floor below you and if you are below street level in any way) and nothing will be covered other than basic utility (hot water tank) and drywall - only things that would be in a basement. I know this from experience. However, the garden units in our area can be spectacular and worth the risk if you put the work in to ensuring your materials in a flood can be protected (keep important items lifted from ground, hang television on wall and own a portable sump pump that you know how to use). "Garden Level" is a great way to advertise a basement unit in a flood zone. I love my property, it's definitely worth the outdoor space and location but we are acutely aware insurance won't cover our items and have made sure we have furniture that can accommodate the possibility of a few inches of water if the case may be. Good luck.

I am hoping that someone on this board can explain how flood insurance works for a 4 unit condo brownstone building in the downtown flood zone area. I know the building's condo association needs to carry flood insurance on the entire structure, but I'm unclear as to what I would need to carry on my individual unit. Do I carry both structure and contents, or only contents. We are considering a garden level unit. Is this considered a 'basement' for flood insurance purposes, as it is a few steps down from the sidewalk level. When I look at the FEMA website, it suggests that any basement level can only be partially insured, and that contents/ furniture and the like cannot be insured in a basement. Does anyone have experience with this or live in a garden level unit and have flood insurance that covers these items. Hopefully someone can pass along which agency insures them and any claim experience you might have. Thank you!