I rented a ground floor apartment in the past near there (Grand and Barrow) without any flooding issues. However, using common sense when viewing the apartment will help.

1. Does the apartment smell like mildew?

2. If there isn't a fresh coat of paint, can you see water lines on the walls? You can see these on both concrete and drywall.

3. If there is a fresh coat of paint and the walls are drywall, do the bottom portions of the walls seem warped? That would be due to water damage.

After the rain we had this summer, I would be suspicious if I saw fresh paint and a new carpet if the rest of the apartment wasn't updated as well.

Jersey City basements flood on a block by block basis. For example, my basement now has never flooded in the 5 years I've been here. There are also no signs that it had every flooded. However, my neighbors across the street complain that they flood every time theres a light rain.

some of this may be avoided with proper gutter maintenance from you and your neighbors, and running some sump pump water to the rear of the property, if possible. It is best to assess issue while the nasty rains are coming down.

I've seen many people with drains above the street...but why not put the drain below the sidewalk?

I recall the specific reason pumping across the sidewalk is illegal is that if you do it in freezing conditions you turn the sidewalk into a perfect, glossy sheet of ice. Makes sense, no?

Fortunately most of us flood in nonfreezing storms. If it were snow it would melt slowly, the sewers wouldn't flood, and neither would our basements.

Thanks for the responses - I've spent an hour searching for something that actually indicates it's against the law to have the sump pump drain to the sidewalk. All Google results return this JC List thread :)

Anyone know of an actual website/document that indicates this?
I've searched this site and combed through a few relevant ordinances/municipal codes and found nothing:

http://www.municode.com

Otherwise, I'll just call JC Housing this week. Thanks.

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Grove Street and Grand is known for flooding issues. Run a search for "grove grand flood" and you will see many posts about it.

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Yep.

Flooded sewers don't affect sump pumps hooked into them. I've had this argument a number of times with people who don't understand how water works. It doesn't matter that the drainpipe is flooded as far as pumping out is concerned. A pump only cares how high a column of water it's pushing out, not the volume it's pushing into. The pressure is the same at the bottom of a foot long hose as 1' down in the ocean. So it's actually easier to pump into your drainline with the sewer water level halfway between your basement floor level and street level, than to pump it all the way to street level and have it run into the street drain and end up in the sewer anyway.

I believe the pumping into the sewer becomes an issue because in theory you're putting groundwater into the sewer system, when they'd like you to put into your yard. But most of the time our flooding comes directly FROM the sewer system!

People pump to the street because the sewer/rain water line backs up often, and even with check valves, you cannot pump the water into the sewer line when the swere line is backing up. You will then most definitely flood. What you need to do is pump the water into the sewer line, but during heavy rains, pump it out to the front sidewalk. You can get a variance from the city to run the line under the sidewalk. There is a class action lawsuit against the city for forcing people to hook up to the sewer lines when inevitably that will cause people to flood. They are more open to allowing you to do fixes in order to protect your investment.

It IS illegal. But enforcement is spotty, as is most law enforcement in JC. You simply never know when the thing that's been there (or not been there) for decades will suddenly be cited by the city or state.

The one way I'm pretty sure is legal is under the sidewalk to the street, but I don't see why people don't simply hook it to their drains, it all ends up in the same place, the street sewer. Your pump will actually be more efficient pumping into the drain, it only has to pump as high as the sewer water level rather than to street level.

We're in the midst of the inspection process for a single family in downtown JC/Hamilton Park. It's a gut renovation and the only major issue the inspector found was that the sump pump output is the sidewalk vs. the street. He believed this wasn't allowable in JC and says this could be a liability if water from the pump freezes and someone falls.

The seller agreed to all other inspection points except for this one because he received the Cert of Occupancy from the city and they didn't indicate this was an issue for them. From walking around downtown, it seems most buildings drain to the sidewalk. The inspector said that many people will drain it this way but it's technically not correct.

Does anyone have any insight into what's technically "ok" in terms of sump pump drainage?

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Yes. There's an entire yahoo group that Steve Fulop, our Ward E Downtown Councilman set up to discuss flooding issues. It's called SOS (Save Our Sewers).

I used to live in a duplex brownstone at 284 Barrow Street between Montgomery & Mercer. The lower level flooded EVERY time there was a hard rain! We had sump pumps running 24hrs+ to drain the water out when this happened.
Suffice to say that the MUA (Municipal Utility Authority) knows all about this problem as does the City but the minimum estimate to correct the problem is $150 Million + and the MUA is broke.

The MUA is another thing to thank Brett Schundler for and remember this when it comes time to vote in the next Mayoralty election.

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By the way, Taqueria is three steps below the sidewalk...

No no no... don't do it.

The drain on the northeast corner of Grand & Grove (in front of Taqueria) backs up every time there's a heavy rain and every garden level apartment on the block gets flooded. And it's not just water coming in from outside, the sh*t also bubbles up your bathtub drain.

And we're not talking 100-year floods here.... this happens easily 2 or 3 times a year.

No, seriously.... it's horrific and there's not a damn thing you can do about it.

You really want to come home to a mess like that if it rains while you're at work, or away for the weekend?

Friends of mine just moved out from a garden level apartment on the block and they swear it's the best thing they ever did.

I know the family that lives on the ground floor of my building. Their place has never flooded, but has been a lot more susceptible to rodents and bugs, and is much colder than the rest of the building during the winter. Just giving you some other things to consider. Personally I would not want to rent at ground level. You know the old saying "S*** flows downhill"

I'm considering renting a ground level apartment on Grove near Grand. It looked like a great space, but reading through these message forums I've become seriously concerned about flooding. How often does that area flood? Is it pretty much crazy to rent a ground level apt in JC? Thanks!