I'm on York, south side, about half way between Grove and Barrow.. the street was a friggen 6-8 foot raging river during Sandy - not exaggerating. Seriously, you needed a jetski or boat if you had any desire to leave. I had moved my car up to the area you are talking about prior to the storm and it was saved.. not sure how much they took in the basements there though.

Just to clarify for the OP, there's 3 different kinds of flooding here.

1- Rain seeping or running in from the surface or ground

2- street flooding where it comes in your front door

3- Sewer flooding where the sewers fill either by rain or storm surge and come in through your plumbing or foundation.

In my experience, much of the basement flooding in Downtown is #3. There certainly are areas where with 2-3 inches of rain the streets become ponds, but there's far more where the sewers are filled to within a couple of feet of the street, so foundations and check valves are tested to the limit.

Sandy had relatively little rain for us, but we all got salt water in our basements. No, I didn't taste it! So the fact that the street itself didn't flood during Sandy or Irene doesn't mean the basement stayed dry. And yes, I believe 3 ft below grade unit is called a basement. More than 50% below grade is a cellar and is usually not legal for primary habitation.

I work in lending and my company financed a few buildings within a couple blocks of there, all of which sustained flood damage in the tens of thousands.

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HA! awesome! I wish I did that when I owned in the pencil factory. Every time it was a big rain I was headed to CH-Martin for towels and buckets... Don't miss that!

My mother-ish advice (humor me in my old age)--if you've weighed all things and decided you want this then you know the risks. Heck, my sisters live upstate and were slammed by Irene flooding and no one expected that! College friends live in CA and have been quaked and burned out. Stuff happens.

Thing is, it's that kind of "stuff" that can flood you here. It's not always the great Biblical Waves of water that hits us, but the gross "stuff" that rises up from the sewers. It'll cost you, but maybe get the kind of supplemental insurance that will cover you. Be aware your regular apt insurance won't do this.

So...garden like crazy, enjoy the neighborhood and keep your go bag handy.

Use patio furniture.

I have a friend who lives on York right across from VVP, in between Barrow and Jersey. She stayed with us during Irene and we walked her home the morning after. On our way we saw many people in garden apartments on her block taking out wet stuff and pumping water out. Luckily, her unit was fine. It was also fine in Sandy, because her building has a sump pump.

So really, it depends. Find out if the building has a sump pump or french drains. Then look at the walls of the unit. If there was flooding they didn't replace the whole walls, just the wet parts, so look for seams or differences in paint on the walls to see if they were fixed or replaced. That's how we noticed past water damage in a ground floor unit on 4th street.

If after all your checking into things you're still concerned, pass on that unit. The piece of mind will be worth it.

Just decorate with Ikea furniture, if it gets ruined its cheap Enuff to buy again. Good luck!

You obviously want it. Just get it and prepare for inevitable regret. I hope you don't have pets, or mind that your belongings won't be covered at all with homeowner's or flood insurance. Enjoy!

Hey guys,

It's not a purchase, this is a rental.

I understand that basements on that block were flooded, but would this count as a "basement"?

I'm meeting with landlord today, and will ask very directly about what happened during Sandy.

It's an otherwise really nice spacious apartment and I'd hate to miss the opportunity if it's only a mild risk of flooding.

Any other insights on that block?

BTW? If it's a purchase shouldn't there be a seller's disclosure?

@tommyc_37: another thought on this: why don't you request the seller to guarantee that the unit did not flood during Sandy *in writing*? If they're not willing to put it in writing, then that tells you something is off. If they lie, then the writing will allow you to take legal actions in the future if needed.

@tommyc_37: My friend has a half-basement (is that the right term? Sorry, I may have the terms confused) - the lowest level is about 3-4 steps down from street level, where her main floor is ~10 steps up. She said the water in the lowest level (I guess it's "garden level") was up to her knees during Sandy.

I remember the little house at the south corner of York and Barrow was definitely flooded. That house has a garage / storage, and I remember seeing the gates up and the owner / caretaker trying to air dry everything after Sandy.

BTW, I think if any of those apartments are "recently" renovated, then it's a sure sign that it was flooded.

Even if it was not flooded, think about the potential sewer backup during bad storms - are you ready to deal with that???

It's a big decision, and it can affect your quality of life for a long time - don't rush into it!!!

i just wouldn't risk it. garden apartments can flood for more reasons than just big storms. when i lived in a garden apartment on 2nd st, a water main broke and gave us a foot of water and mud over the weekend when no one was home. never again.

Vigilante, yes, floor is tiled entirely throughout.

SHria, this is a garden level apartment, so not necessarily a basement per se. Only about 3 feet is below grade. Is it possible to ask your friend if her garden level flooded?

Have to make a decision rather quickly. Thanks guys!!

Is the floor all tile? I noticed, when looking at real estate, a lot of basement/garden level units have newer tile floors. A red flag in my opinion of recent replacement

I have a friend who owns on York, between Barrow and Jersey, and her basement was completely flooded.

Perhaps you could knock on doors of neighbors and ask directly?

I had almost 18 inches of water and I live on Wayne st, so I would think the water made it over to York at VVP. I wouldn't consider any garden apartments downtown, but that's just me.

Is this the apartment building directly across from the south entrance to VVP? If so, I've seen that garden level apt listed several times in the last four years (I looked at it myself).

Ok, so that was a stab in the dark....

The flooding after Sandy was on York by Tommy 2 Scoops up to VVP. (York's flooding coincided with the flooding on Grand). Depending on the street, the surge stopped between Barrow and Grove. However, the Library -- on Jersey -- had its basement flooded. Even though Jersey did not get the surge water, areas below ground level DID (spaces that are no visible to the human eye walking down the street).

Take this for what it's worth -- but I would NEVER buy/rent a garden level ANYTHING in DTJC. I see there's some massive remodeling in the garden level apts going on on Grove between York and Montgomery. I feel sorry for the poor suckers who are going to get trapped down there in the next few years.

Hi all,

I am strongly considering a garden level apartment on York Street, on VVP, a few houses west of Barrow Street.

Realtor is saying that it did not get any water during Sandy but I SAW the water go as far north as York and as far east as Barrow.

I also saw people in the building on the corner of York and Barrow removing their belongings from flooded basement apartments.

Can anybody report on specific details of the flooding on that block, on the south side of Van Vorst Park?

Many thanks!