City Councilman Donovan
Richards, a lifelong resident
of Southeast Queens and the
Rockaways representing District
31, said they’re working
towards pushing the city to
create a second stop in the
Rockaways for the eastern portion
of the peninsula and a distribution
of more boats.
“By having a second stop
on the peninsula you’ll continue
to see the transit equity
gap that we face in the outer
boroughs, but especially for
low-income neighborhoods addressed
through ferry service
as well with access to the waterways,”
said Richards.
In response to commuters’
90-minute wait during Memorial
Day weekend, Richards
said, “We don’t want to lose
commerce or tourism. We want
people to experience Rockaway
Beach. We don’t want the
city to put barriers in the way
and steer people from exploring
the peninsula because of
a 90-minute wait. We’ve had a
great partnership with Horn
Blower and they tried to create
a strong partnership with
local community stakeholders
and local elected officials
– their success is our success.”
Overall, Richards said, the
ferry has helped boost the local
economy, slash Rockaway
residents’ commuting time in
half, and tackling the transit
inequities and accessibility
connecting people to parts of
the city.
Additionally, cashless tolling
at the Marine Parkway-Gil
Hodges Memorial Bridge and
the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial
Bridge has brought more
visitors to the Rockaways.
Today, the $300 million
Downtown Rockaway Revitalization
project has transformed
the district with affordable
housing developments, a
new public library, new businesses
and storm resiliency
infrastructure, said Richards.
“This rezoning was tethered
around ensuring that the infrastructure
of the community
was improved,” said Richards.
“Where we saw streets with
ponding and unsafe pedestrian
access and walkways, you now
will see new infrastructure
come in — new streets, sidewalks,
and a new Wi-Fi mesh
network that will enable residents
to connect to the Internet
in the event of a storm.”
According to Richards, who
is the former chair of the Environmental
Protection Committee
and Zoning Committee of
the Council, it was important
to build a sustainable and renewable
community.
“We pushed developers to
make sure there are solar panels
on the roofs, green roofs,
intervenes and generators,
because we know with a projected
storm map, parts of the
rockaways will be impacted
by a storm surge and climate
change,” said Richards. “Everything
we’re building in my
district requires the buildings
to be elevated at a level in case
there is a storm and ensuring
residents living in these locations
are not impacted.”
The rezoning will allow for
the creation of 100,000 square
feet of commercial developments
such as restaurants,
gyms, a new supermarket and
community uses tied in, Richards
said.
“A livable, walkable, and
a vibrant place where tourists
can come as well, we want
people to come and eat,” said
Richards.
The City Councilman hopes
to create an amusement park
along the beach, such as Rockaway
Playland, where locals
and visitors used to shop and
dine in the 1970s and 1980s.
He also wants to promote the
bird sanctuary that includes
200 species of birds that are in
File photo/TimesLedger
the Rockaways, unknown to
people.
Richards also has plans to
create a community land trust
model, a form of affordable
home ownership where the
community controls land with
stakeholders and maintains
affordability, economic diversity,
and local access to essential
services.
“We’re already moving
towards the future. Everything
we’re putting in place
now through the rezoning are
happening now. We’re literally
creating the framework
of what the future Rockaways
will look like as we speak,”
said Richards.
Calling it a game-changer,
Master said they look forward
to continuing to create a “family
friendly” atmosphere for
locals and visitors.
“Probably the most rewarding
type of aspect of this work
is that you’re seeing meaningful
and measurable outcomes
occur,” said Master. “All of this
has to be thought out before
you can put the shovel in the
ground and that’s what we’ve
been doing. “In this downtown
being revitalized supports the
beach that’s revitalized. Nothing
beats a clean beach where
you can go sit on it and relax.”
2019 QUEENS TOMORROW 41