Floodplain sale

150 Pemberwick Road was listed at $1.675 million and has sold to a NYC buyer (ZIP 10022) for $1,535,625.

I’m always a little surprised to see people buy in a flood zone or, as here, the Byram River floodway. I get it: the town approved this construction in 2015, so it must be just fine, but given that river’s history of catastrophic flooding every few years, I’m not sure I’d entirely trust the town’s judgment. Byram native Freddie Camillo is familiar with the problem; here’s what he said at a community meeting in 2023 when asked about the subject:

“The Byram River has been flooding for a century [far longer than that, Freddie, but we get the point — Ed.] In 1955 there were houses flowing down the river. This will not cure it …. When you get 8 inches in 9 hours there’s nowhere for the water to go.”

“When you have flash floods, sometimes there’s nothing you can do.”

We had some pretty intensive flooding here in 2021, but the 1955 event was even more exciting:

Byram River Flood – Today in History: October 15

The full impact of the flood in the Pemberwick section was seen clearly through the eyes of one resident whose family was evacuated from their newly constructed home on Hallock Drive—while he aided those in another flood-damaged section of town. Shortly after the family’s evacuation, the Byram River swept the house from its foundation. When the good Samaritan returned from his rescue efforts, he found his family safe, but his home, into which he had put his life savings, was gone.

Of course, 150 Pemberwick is nowhere near Hallock Drive — well, it’s at least 150 yards away, and a yard’s as good as a mile, right? Unless, of course, your yard is swept downstream.