32 The Queens Courier • October 31, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com sandy retrospective PHOTOS COURTESY OF WHITE ARKITEKTER Swedish design firm White Arkitekter won the design competition for Arverne East. REBUILDING Swedish design firm wins with plans for Arverne East BY MAGGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com A land stretch wiped clean by Sandy is one step closer to getting a much-needed makeover. “FAR ROC,” a design competition to revitalize Arverne East, a Rockaway waterfront town, was created post-Sandy. Over 100 entrants from 20 countries submitted plans for the 80-acre plot, but Swedish design firm White Arkitekter came out on top. The group’s plan, “Small Means and Great Ends,” incorporates a “series of small, affordable and smart interventions,” FAR ROC said. White Arkitekter’s strategy centers on reducing and controlling damage, providing access in the event of another storm and ensuring quick recovery. The design intends to create a space resilient to any natural disasters and an overall “antifragile” community where both the design and community benefit, according to FAR ROC. White Arkitekter’s plan includes a new, organically-developed sandbar landscape in the water, new flood-control measures, and a three-section neighborhood of large single family homes and mid-rise residential buildings. A 31-acre nature preserve, a movie theater and a new town square near the Beach 44th Street subway station will also be included. Additionally, its new boardwalk design has a gap on the landside and is elevated where possible to minimize the impact of storm water. The sides are permeable for water and wind, and the handrails are also designed to prevent storm damage. The Swedish group received a cash prize of $30,000 for its design proposal. It was judged based on resiliency, marketability, sustainability, contextual sensitivity and its ability to be replicated in other sites. There is still no guarantee that “Small Means and Great Ends” will be used in Arverne East, but developers have the option of executing it or using some elements in future designs. CHELSEA CLINTON TAKES ‘ACTION’ BY MAGGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com The Clintons joined the ongoing Sandy recovery in a “Day of Action” in the Rockaways. Chelsea Clinton and hundreds of volunteers visited Brookville Park, Rockaway Park, P.S. 197 and homes in Far Rockaway on October 26 to revitalize the damaged communities. This is the fifth Day of Action, which has brought in volunteers from all over the country to give back to their own communities. Clinton also participated in the St. Bernard Project to break ground on the future site of the first “Resilient House.” The former first daughter joined the home’s future owners, the Lyons family, at the event. The Resilient House will be designed by Sustainable TO Architecture + Building and is modeled to be energy efficient, cost effective and able to withstand PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CLINTON FOUNDATION THE COURIER/Photo by Maggie Hayes SANDY’S SUPERHEROES BY MAGGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com One year ago they were in boats and swimming through floodwaters to rescue the residents of south Queens as it was battered by Sandy. On the anniversary of the superstorm, Vetro by Russo’s on the Bay gathered the firefighter crews and recognized them for their bravery. “Around 9:30 p.m. that night we got seven feet of water in the firehouse,” said Deputy Chief Andy Zych of the West Hamilton Beach Fire Department. The department’s fire trucks, ambulances and equipment were ruined. So a neighbor lent the crew a fishing boat, and they got to paddling. Zych and a fellow firefighter rescued a woman, her mother and their two dogs from their flooding home and brought them to the firehouse. “In a time like that, you don’t think. You just try and do the best you can,” he said. Meanwhile, in Broad Channel, the local firehouse was also flooded with seven feet of water, but the crew set out into the night. “On a regular, everyday basis, you don’t worry about anything else other than the task at hand,” said Deputy Chief Eddie Wilmarth. “But the majority of us live down here. You know as you’re grabbing people out of their houses, you know your own house is being destroyed.” Before the storm, the Broad Channel Fire Department took a head count of everyone staying in town so they knew “who was where, and what they need,” Wilmarth said. The water was too deep for trucks to drive through, so rescue swimmers were sent out to respond to a fire that broke out on a flood-prone street. The current was too strong for them to make it, so they swung ropes around poles to pull themselves across the intersection. In the end, floodwaters put out the fire. “We were on our own. We were the only ones operating,” Wilmarth said. The Broad Channel department also lost all of its trucks and ambulances. But, as Wilmarth said, “the fire world is a big brotherhood,” and all of the storm-affected firehouses received equipment from all over the country. West Hamilton Beach received a fire truck from a crew in Mississippi, who had been given that same truck after Hurricane Katrina. Both fire crews and others in the area are back up and running, but say they’re still not back to 100 percent. Even still, they were back responding to calls just days after Sandy. “If anything happens, we will be there,” Zych said. future disasters. Chelsea Clinton and hundreds of volunteers worked to revitalize the Rockaways in a “Day of Action.”
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