ROCKAWAYS TOMORROW
City Councilman Donovan Richards helped city agencies break ground on a $31 million infrastructure improvement project in Far Rockaway last December.
Courtesy of NYC DDC
RESILIENT ROCKAWAYS
Peninsula prospering with help of revitalization projects
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Nearly seven years after
Hurricane Sandy ripped
through Rockaway
Beach, business is booming
with an influx of visitors to
the peninsula that has experienced
rapid commercial development
establishing a vibrant
resilient community.
Nick Master, program coordinator
at the Downtown Far
Rockaway Housing and Commercial
Development Corporation
(RDRC), is a witness to the
revival in the post-sandy era,
after the devastating impact in
October 2012.
“I remember when Sandy
occurred the boardwalk was
about half a mile away,” said
Master. “I said ‘hey, I recognize
this thing’…it was the
boardwalk! To think that kind
of force destroyed the boardwalk
and moved it away…ultimately
with the restoration of
all of this it’s a real win. We’ve
had a million visitors already,
every year it’s exceeded higher
and higher.”
In May 2017, the final section
of the $341 million 5
½-mile length concrete boardwalk
was completed at Beach
32nd Street for beachgoers and
visitors. Built to be resilient,
the boardwalk serves as a barrier
wall to protect the communities
of the Rockaways.
A part of the beach that was
closed off to the public last year
due to erosion was replenished
by sand dredged from the East
Rockaway Inlet. The 11-block
stretch from Beach 92nd to
Beach 103rd Streets was reopened
to the public in time
for the summer season, after
the Army Corps of Engineers
and New York City reached a
joint agreement. The project
was paid for with $7 million in
federal funding included in the
Army Corps’ budget.
Additionally, the launch of
the permanent New York City
Ferry — coinciding with the
completion of the boardwalk —
has helped to alleviate transit
inequities for Rockaway commuters
with service routes
between Beach 108th Street,
the Brooklyn Army Terminal,
and Wall St. Pier 11 linking the
Rockaways to the city for $2.75
per ride.
“I know neighbors and family
members that are thrilled
about it,” said Master. “I used
the ferry two months ago, and
what a great trip it is. I can
also see how this can be a problem
in the sense of volume — a
lot of Rockaway residents need
to get home and there are tourists.
How do you separate commuters
from visitors? It’s hard
to do that.”
40 QUEENS TOMORROW 2019