I live at 4th close to Coles. We had more water in the basement during Sandy (2-3 feet) than during Irene (less than a foot).

The thing with Sandy is the water was salt water coming up through the sewer and the ground, but the street was dry. During Irene, however, it was rainwater runoff. I remember Monmouth Street took a beating during Irene, with the street and anything at or below street level underwater.

I wasn't here in 2007, but my neighbors who were told me there was a bad flood then too.

I lived on 5th closer to Coles during Sandy. The water came in the streets from both intersections but did not reach my building at almost mid-block. We had water in our basement, but it wasn't a full height basement, so I imagine anyone there with one that is lower would have had some serious water. Monmouth was definitely suffering.

I heeded warnings (unlike for Sandy!) and left town for Irene so cannot offer a first hand account.

I moved in just days before Irene; there was a lot of water from Irene (Sandy was more of a wind event) but mostly water pools on the corners by the drains. I was about 5 buildings in on 5th between monmouth and coles, closer to Monmouth. If I ever bought downtown again (I moved up to the Island section), I'd be sure to stay towards the middle of the block. Water pools at the lowest spots which are designed to be corners where the drains are. Stay away from corners when buying downtown. Also, when looking at homes, be sure to look carefully for water damage on ground (and garden) level units. Look for stains like water lines or a difference in paint close to the ground molding. If you're buying on second floor or higher, look for clues from flooding in the basment the same way. Houses that flooded probaly had floor and wall damage that can be spotted because it's cheaper to replace just the damaged sheet-rock verses the whole wall. Good Luck, get good flood insurance (I used Flood smart but that's a government entity and the cheapest out there, which is now bankrupted but probably still in business).

There is an old thread called Flooding 5th & Monmouh - HELP that might be of interest.

I'm on 5th btwn Coles and Monmouth but closer to Monmouth - the Monmouth side of the street got pretty slammed during Irene (we had almost 5 feet in our basement), Sandy was manageable until the power died thus turning off the sumps, and even then not nearly the flooding Irene caused. However, during Irene, starting around the 7th house away from Monmouth you could tell the water problems aren't as bad, mainly because the street slopes down towards the intersection of Monmouth and 5th, which becomes a lake during bad rainstorms. One big problem with 5th is it's a fire route, so when the trucks drive by they push a lot of water over the sidewalks and into basements. We have put up a wall by our gate into the basement to prevent this, but again I haven't seen a lot of pooling water as you get closer to Coles so that probably is not a concern in your case.

In short, being closer to Coles is much better than being closer to Monmouth, but I wouldn't necessarily expect to be perfectly dry during a major rain storm (2-3+ inches in a short span of time).

No water with sandy, some got water with irene. (In my experience)

Contemplating a move from Paulus Hook to Harsimus Cove...

How much water was on Coles St & 5th during Sandy? I'm guessing some (all?) basements flooded. What about during Irene? 2007?

I would appreciate any input from locals as I understand the situation changes block by block (whether by posts or PM).