Designing Infrastructures of Inclusion in The Rockaways, Part 2

Designing Infrastructures of Inclusion in The Rockaways, Part 2 Design and Urban Ecologies Studio 2 Spring 2016

Designing Infrastructures of Inclusion in The Rockaways, Part 2 Design and Urban Ecologies Studio 2 Spring 2016

Spring 2016 DUE Studio 2 focused, for the second time, on alternative spatial formations, participatory frameworks and environmental strategies, as well as innovative models of ownership, property and social relations in The Rockaways, Queens. Students developed design scenarios at the neighborhood level in partnership with local community associations and nonprofit organizations. The studio was taught by Professor Miodrag Mitrašinović and our main partner for the semester was again the Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability & Equity (RISE), previously known as the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance (RWA). As a continuation of our work from Fall 2015, RISE helped students connect to a wide network of advocates and activists, nonprofit organizations, faith organizations, educational institutions, and other local actors. With all of them, students had developed design scenarios at the neighborhood level. Our main task this semester, was to design strategies for fostering deeper connections between Rockaway communities and the waterfront.

Initially, the studio focused on the spaces under the elevated tracks of the A train along the Rockaways peninsula, and we researched the communities that live and work along its track. We employed spatial extensions under the elevated tracks as a catalyst for learning about Jamaica Bay and its diverse and complex ecologies. As the studio advanced, and as the core thematics emerged, most of the students decided to expand their research, engagement and design proposals beyond the elevated and into the expansive spaces of the Jamaica Bay. A robust research and sense-making phase preceded the four design proposal featured in this book.

In collaboration with our main community partner and other associations and individual citizens, students develop critical designbased engagements and inclusive strategies for urban transformation.

This studio book is the record of students’ attempts to propose design strategies that would transform one of the most neglected of New York City’s neighborhoods into a just, inclusive and economically prosperous urban space co-produced by its citizens, varied actors in the domains of civil society and the government, as well as with many members of the vibrant entrepreneurial and small-business communities in the Rockaways.

Miodrag Mitrašinović 15 May 2016

Team members Design and Urban Ecologies students: Paul Kardous Michaela Kramer Ruchika Lodha Sruti Penumetsa Priya Pinjani Isabel Saffon Leonore Snoek Jakob Winkler Heming Zhang Faculty: Miodrag Mitrašinović Book design: Isabel Saffon, Michaela Kramer and Blake Roberts

OUR CREATIVE PROCESS A SNAPSHOT OF THE DESIGN PROCESS IN STUDIO 2

1 THE STARTING POINT The semester began with a prompt to deeply investigate and develop design scenerios in the Rockaways, Queens, New York. Through an interative and colloborative process, students were tasked with forming reseach-driven understandings of the Rockaways and designing for a prefered, community-focused n furture.

2 RESEARCH Investigation into the context of the Rockaways involved quantative and qualative research methods sourounding 3 themes:

3

Urban mobilities

INSIGHTS & THEMES Based on research, students develop insights and themes about the Rockaways

Organizational frameworks Ecological systems

4 DESIGN SCENERIOS Insights and themes informed design scenerios that involved 3 components: PUBLICATION

6

A publication summarizes the work created throughout the studio, which you’re reading right now!

FINAL REVIEW

REFINED DESIGN

vision

5

Teams refined their proposals into a single strategy, object or form

MIDTERM REVIEW

motivation

strategy

CONNECTIONS, DEVELOPMENT, PLAYERS

The Rockaways have long been used as the canvas for the grand plans of politicians and developers.; from its early beginnings as a seaside resort for the wealthy, to the mid-twentieth century when massive amounts of public housing were built on the peninsula. This has not changed even today, where the largest undeveloped parcel of land in New York City -- a vestige from previous urban renewal projects -- has begun to be developed into two massive projects; Arverne-By-The-Sea, and Arverne East.

have multiple representatives speaking out for its needs.

This experimentation has left The Rockaways divided between both east and west, and north and south. The seaside versus the bay side, with most of the public housing placed by the bay.

One of the largest projects in recent memory is the post-Sandy reconstruction of the Boardwalk. This almost half-billion dollar project involved a swath of governmental agencies, and was a large portion of the Hurricane Sandy recovery funds sent to New York City. This vital piece of infrastructure helps both local mobility, and acts as a draw for tourists and visitors from other boroughs.

Being on the edge of the city, it is not only residential and commercial development which is apparent, but major pieces of infrastructure as well. Including The Rockaway Delivery Lateral, a major Natural Gas Pipeline connection, long awaited improvements to the Rockaway Wastewater Treatment facility, and ongoing discussions of the Long Island-NYC Offshore Wind Farm.

The Rockaways are a microcosm for how politics, infrastructure, and development are all tied together in New York City. The political representation on the peninsula is divided, much like the neighborhoods themselves, from City Council, up to State Senate. This can be seen as a negative, but also allows for the neighborhood to

Part of this culture of being ‘forgotten’ by the rest of New York City, is a lack of public services, from health care, to reliable transportation options, to street and sidewalk infrastructure for residents. Despite being served by the numerous transit options, the lack of reliable transportation continues to be a major hardship for the people of The Rockaways.

Key to the vibrancy of The Rockaways, as well as the success of the post-Sandy recovery has been the numerous non-profit and community organizations who have helped drive change in the neighborhood. These organizations, in partnering with government, as well as working independently have made a much greater impact on helping the people of The Rockaways.

Creating an infrastructure of people, government, ideas, and the built environment is both what has held The Rockaways back, as well as what is helping to move it forward into the next century.

MAJOR LANDOWNERS National Park Service City of New York • • • •

Housing Preservation & Development Department of City Administrative Services Department of Education Parks

Breezy Point Cooperative Arverne-By-The-Sea • The Beechwood Organization • The Benjamin Companies

Arverne East • Triangle Equities • L+M Development • The Bluestone Organization Park One & Two Family Buidings Multi-Family Walk-Up Buildings Multi-Family Elevator Buildings Mixed Residential & Commercial Commercial & Office Buildings Industrial & Manufacturing Buildings Transportation & Utility Public Facilities & Institutions Open Space/Outdoors Parking Vacant Land

ARVERNE REDEVELOPMENT AREA

“as bad as in the worst ghettos,” Department of City Planning’s 1969 Plan for New York City.

Targeted in 1965 for Urban Renewal for conditions which the Department of City Planning called “as bad as in the worst ghettos.” Arverne was declared an urban redevelopment area and cleared, becoming the largest vacant parcel in New York City. During the 1970s during the city’s financial troubles, the effort was abandoned until 1989. That renewed effort, with Forest City Partner as the lead developer also failed. A new process, which led directly to the current development plan was initiated in 2001 under the Giulliani administration

PHASE 2

PHASE 1

2012

SANDY

The reconstruction of the boardwalk and associated beach re-nourishment was one of the largest post-Sandy infrastructure projects.

There is also a diagram showing the stakeholders, consultants, funding, and how the increased funding flowed through city departments.

PHASE 4A+4B PHASE 1 PHASE 2

U.S. ACE

BOARDWALK

PHASE 3A+3B

2013

2014

2015

CONSULTANTS APPOINTED COMMUNITY INPUT FINAL PLAN RELEASED CONSTRUCTION BEGINS (PHASE 3a, 3b, 4b)

BEACH

(SUMMER)ENTIRE BOARDWALK OPEN WORK CONTINUES IN FALL & WINTER (PHASE 5b)

2017

(SUMMER) PROJECT COMPLETION

FEMA

$227m

COMMUNITY BOARD 14

CH2M HILL

MAYOR’S OFFICE

NYC DDC

(APRIL) FUNDING SHORTFALL (OCTOBER) ADDITIONAL FUNDING GRANTED (PHASE 5a, 5a)

2016

m

80

$4

WXY

PENTAGRAM

$67m

The diagram to the right shows the multiple phases of the project, as well as the a timeline for the construction.

PHASE 5B

PHASE 5A

NYC PARKS

NYC EDC

SKANSKA

RBA GROUP

FEDERAL RELATE

CITY

PRIVATE

MONEY FLOW

COMMUNITY CONSTRUCT

ENERGY SYSTEM •ROCKAWAY DELIVERY

The Rockaway Delivery Lateral is a 3-mile pipeline being constructed from a location south of the Marine Parkway Bridge interchange. The project will provide natural gas from the existing Transco pipeline in New York Bay for the Rockaways, including areas of Brooklyn and Queens.

T) XIS

L (E

AY

KB

R

E LOW

R YO NEW

ERA LAT

Mears

U.S. ACE

Bisso Marine Coast of Rockaway

2009 • FERC PRE-FILING 2013 • CITY OUTLINED THE NEED TO EXPAND NATURAL GAS SUPPLIES IN PLANYC 2030

NYCDOP

National Grid

$500,000

Williams

$1.5 m

• APPLICATION FOR FERC CERTIFICATE OF PUBLIC CONVENIENCE AND NECESSITY FILED

Sunset Cove

Funding

FERC

NYSDEC support

State Sen.

2014 • FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT ISSUED

support

support

• NYDEC ISSUES WATER QUALITY CERTIFICATION AND PERMIT FOR EXCAVATION & FILL OF NAVIGABLE WATERS

Assemblyman

Broad Channel Civic Association

• CONSTRUCTION BEGAN (JUNE 9)

NPS NYSOGS

2015 • PROJECT WAS PLACED INTO SERVICE (MAY 15)

FEDERAL

Jamaica Bay Eco-watchers

STATE

CITY

NOAA

PRIVATE

COMMUNITY/ NPO

National Grid coordinated its efforts with Williams to meet the growing demand for natural gas in New York. The need to expand natural gas supplies into New York City was recognized in PLANYC 2030 and outlined in this presentation at the New York PSC Gas Technical Conference in 2013.

However, many local residents and some organizations worried about their sfety issue in Rockaway. They held several protest to against this project. One Rockaways resident and anti-pipeline campaigner says “This community knows disaster. People here had a front seat view for 9/11. They were devastated

by Hurricane Sandy … We don’t need another disaster.”

At the same time, Chris Stockton, who is the Spokesman for Williams Transco, complains that “The ironic thing about the protests is that those who oppose this project for environmental reasons ignore the fact that the environmental benefits of natural gas is exactly what is driving this project”

ENERGY SYSTEM •LONG ISLAND NYC OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT The offshore wind project would be located in the Atlantic Ocean in a long wedge-shaped area between shipping channels, directionally aligned southwest of the Rockaway Peninsula with its westerly most point approximately 14 nautical miles (13 to 15 standard miles) due south of Nassau County.

BOEM

NYSERDA

The goal of this project is reducing 80% of state’s greenhouse gas by 2050.

Preliminary estimates of the cost of transmission infrastructure modifications needed to accommodate a 350 MW project were $415 million. Incremental transmission infrastructure upgrades needed to accommodate 700 MW were estimated to be an additional $406 million.

The potential problem of this project is whether it will or not cause any negative impact to the tourism of Rockaway.

Con Edison

PANY

NYC EDC

2009 Study of joint feasibility (Con Edison & LIPA) 2010 Physical and Environmental (Oct.) Qualities Research (NYSERDA); (Nov.) Economic Impact Assessment (AWS true power, LLC and Camion Associates, Inc) 2011 Application to BOEM

NYPA

LIPA

NYC DEP

MTA

FEDERAL

CITY

STATE

PRIVATE

WATER SYSTEM •WASTEWATER SYSTEM NYS SWCC Borough Presidents NYSDEC Mayor

NYC SWCD

EPA NYCDEP

NYC Parks

Oprate

NYC Sanitation

NYPA

$100 million

PLANT IN OPERATION: 1952 DESIGN CAPACITY: 45 MGD

4 Plants ALS

Eco Watchers

POPULATION SERVED: 90,474 RECEIVING WATERBODY:

NRDC

JAMAICA BAY

FEDERAL

STATE

CITY

Bay Keeper

COMMUNITY/ NPO

In addition $15,000,000 will be paid by the city into a special fund to be used for marsh restoration projects in Jamaica Bay which will be matched with, state and city matching funding to create a substantial financing source.

In June, 2014, DEP installed new odor control and air filtration ($1 million) in Rockaway WWTP. DOE (Education) and parents want to protect their children and improve air quality. To further improve air quality DEP has also planted nearly 100 new trees around the perimeter of the plant.

http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/wastewater/wwsystem-plantlocations_wide.shtml

ROCKAWAY WWTP

Over the past decade DEP has invested more than $10 billion to upgrade and enhance the capacity of the city’s 14 wastewater treatment plants. In 2010, Mayor Bloomberg holds press release with DEC commissioner Grannis and the Ecowatchers, NRDC, American Littoral Society and the Bay keeper to announce that the city will spend over $100,000,000 to upgrade all four waste treatment plants in the Bay using the latest technology available.

OTHERS

URBAN MOBILITIES

Within the greater New York City region, the Rockaways is somewhat of an anomaly; separated by water but connected by (irregular) trains and bridges. The peninsula is both a beach destination and home for many New Yorkers.

This, together with the topographical shape of the peninsula creates a distinct sociological and spatial reality. Due to poor public transportation connectivity, the remote location of the peninsula disproportionately disadvatnages residents without access to a car; a majority of whom are people of color and low-income, living in the eastern section of the peninsula.

In spite of the physical infrastructure amplifying existing social and economical differences, our research has shown that the Rockaways is home to a robust social infrastructure. When Superstorm Sandy hit the Rockaways in 2012, aid from the city and state did not respond adequately, leaving parts of the Rockaways in dilapidated conditions and without access to basic sources of food, water and electricity, in some cases for months. Social groups were affected differently by this disaster and socio-spatial inequalities were amplified.

However, in this state of emergency, and in the face of slow and insufficient government response, the existing informal and formal social networks

were effectively mobilized and repurposed for recovery and relief efforts. During the experience of residents helping one another rebuild houses, neighborhoods and their surroundings, a strong sense of comradeship and community was shaped.

Furthermore, local actors and organizations not only organized self-help but provided the infrastructure and knowledge upon which other organizations (governmental and supro-local nonprofits) grounded their help efforts.

To conclude, by looking at urban mobilities both in terms of physical and social infrastructure it has become apparent that living in the Rockaways is a choice for some, and a forced reality for others. More recently the Rockaways has been characterized by uneven urban development through the construction of semi-gated residential communities; a separated landscape between the beach and bay is emerging, reinforcing the already existing disparity between various socio-economic groups. Yet, the robust social infrastructure and the emergence of a strong civic society are both indicators of the possibilities for a better and more just future.

REBUILDING THE ROCKAWAYS AFTER SANDY

Doctors of the World USA The international humanitarian non-profit organization launched the Treat, Connect, Restore Initiative, assessing medical needs of affected and displaced residents in the area, connecting thDose with unmet health needs to volunteer doctors and other services, and supporting a locally driven response to restore community health and well-being. In October 2013, the Doctors of the Rockaway Free Clinic opened, providing free care to uninsured and undocumented residents (NOW CLOSED)

Social ties among residents, as well as the networks of local community, faith-based, and cultural organizations were efficiently mobilized as a recovery infrastructure in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy

GSS - Gowanus Studio Space The artist and design non-profit and co-working space in Gowanus turned into a collection point for donations and clearinghouse for the many relief efforts that have emerged throughout the city 596 Acres The community-based land acces advocacy non-profit did a post-Sandy needs assessment, “Current needs for the Rockaways”, for individual organizers and groups working in the Rockaways and provided legal assistance for residents

UnLocal Non-profit providing legal assistance, advocacy, and direct help for immigrants

* OCCUPY SANDY RECOVERY

A grassroots disaster relief network that emerged to provide mutual aid to communities affected by Superstorm Sandy

*

Together, these two non-profits organized a “ridesharing” system in which volunteers from throughout the city could sign up and give rides to local residents in need of food, etc. and bringing donations and food into the Rockaways

*

Rockaway Wildfire Community activist organization that grew out of relationships formed through immediate resident relief work after Sandy. It aims to strengthen the community, create alternatives, and engage in political action and the redevelopment of the Rockaways

RYTF - Rockaway Youth Task Force Created in 2011 in order to engage young residents in civic and commutiy affairs, founder Milan Taylor started a distribution center at a local co-op, using his social networks to mobilize resources and volunteers to help residents in need (delivering care packages, supplies, donations). RYTF also formed a liaison for the Red Cross to shared local knowledge

YANA - You Are Never Alone Community resource center which emerged as relief hub during Sandy. YANA helped job-seekers find employment, bring employment opportunities to and rebuild a sustainable Rockaways in the aftermath of the storm (NOW CLOSED)

CAAAV - Organizing Asian Communities Grassroots community-based organization collected donations and redistributed financial resources to local organizers and relief groups

Peninsula Custom Prints Worker-owned apparel printing company, created with the help of W.O.R.C.s Roca Mia Construction Worker-owned construction company, created with the help of W.O.R.C.s

Together, these two organizations coordinated assistance betwen local and citywide groups and mediated between volunteers from throughout the city and local needs

Rockaway Food Relief Group Local residents and volunteers organized and coordinated the preperation and distribution of prepared food as well as groceries

La Mies Bakery Worker-owned bakery, created with the help of W.O.R.C.s

RWA - Rockaway Waterfront Alliance Community-based organization working towards advancing the physical, economic and social sustainability in the Rockaways, organized based clean ups of the beach among residents and volunteers Lava Girl Surf / Beach 87th Surf Club Creation of emergeny relief hub, coordinating the cleaning and clearing of damaged houses, distribution of food, water, clothes and other supplies to residents, as well as collection and distribution of donations

Rockaway Relief A group of local New Yorkers working in for-profit, tech, design, fashion, restaurant, entertainment and hospitality industries (including Saturdays Surf, The Smile, Gin Lane) worked with Lava Girl Surf to help clean out buildings, repair homes, and deliver food.

They also provided a pick-up and drop-off service for volunteers from SoHo, Manhattan to the Rockaways

Through trainings and no-interest, minimal-risk loans, W.O.R.C.s enables residents to launch small, cooperatively owned businesses that fill needs in their communitites

*

Worker Owned Rockaway Cooperatives (W.O.R.C.s) Launched in spring 2013, this program by the international non-profit The Working World helps rebuild the Rockaways in a way that addresses both the storm’s impact and the long-term systemic issues in the neighborhood

LEGEND Local actors Supra-local actors Self-help groups Community organizations Private organizations Non-profit organizations

1800’s

2000’s

1900’s

1938- Beach Ownership shifts from borough presidents to NYC Parks

1980- The notion of housing affordability became widespread in Europe and North America

Large amounts of public housing Residents lobbied for improved transportation, schools and other facilities

Proposal to build an incenerator in Jamaica bay Acquired by the city of NewYork

1951-1961 Growth of low income and middle income housing NYCHA

Loss of schools, institutions, hospital and court house

Hammels, sea section and Holland were combined to form Rockaway beach

1956: NYC Subway exteneded to Rockaways

As per NYC housing developments take place in Hammels and sea side casuing displacement of 165 families

Extension of Piers to Jamaica bay from Manhattan and brooklyn

Establishement of School, hospital and other physical infrastructure.

1939- Robert Moses plans to build 102-108th seaside

Ferry from Only Municipal ferry carnarsie line operated in Jamaica ended Bay

First section of 1904- The area is subdivided into housing came 6000 building lots, most of which up in Arverne are single family housing.

sold to Atlantic improvement state co-operation for $17million

1880-LIRR opens a 5 mile link 1883- Brooklyn bridge is constructed to connect Brooklyn to Manhattan 79-82 came to be known as Hammels

1939 -Marine parkaway bridge opens

Residents bought half the land for $11million and turned into cooperative

1832- Cholera epidemic in NY 1832- Huge investments in Marine pavilion hotel in Rockaways from rockaways association

Train line access from far Rockaways to Rockaway beach 1921- LIRR and Beach branch Merged

Community began as summer beach bungalows

108th street iconic pier construction 1300 ft into 1990-Housing boom atlantic ocean in uptown communities 1980-1989- housing sale prices increased by 152%. prices in 18 neighborhoods increased by more than 200%. better access to beach

by Ferry

1917- Naval air station for world war 1

Communities started rebuilding after Sandy storm

1936- Jacob Riis Park, on the site of the naval station, built

by Robert Moses 1923- Boardwalk opened in coney island($3million beach improvement project)

Rapid development on Beach 102nd street deeveloped in 1880 as a stretch of hotels 1902: Beach amusement park

1950- LIRR was removed due to fire accident, the loss crippled the community for 6 years

1908-200 bath houses in ocean beach were constructed to sustain the tourist population

1950- Large scale investments in highways along LIRR

Developed more than the West Rockaways

1968- Arverne was designated as an urban renewal by NYC 1962- Rejuvination focussed on water front development 2001: HPD issues proposal for development of the western end of urban renewal project

2006: HPD designates developers for Arverne East Temporary ferry from beach 108th street to the brooklyn army terminal, 34th street manhattan 2013- 5.5 miles Beach board walk restoration

1929- Jonas beach state park was built by robert moses as development of parkways on LI Peninsula was a narrow wide strip of land covered by sand dunes,marshes, streams and wetlands.Rockaways started developing rapidly, with major investments into transport an public infrastructure Rockaways thrived with vvistors and tourists, the ownership shifted from borough presidents to the NewYorkCity.

Rise in Public Housing, decline in public facilities. The LIRR nerged with the rockawayd beach branch, and there was a decline in transport facilities by Water and Rail.

Sandystorm, hit the rockaways and the communities started re buiilding their neighborhoods. There was a strong advocay for public facilities by the residents of Rockaways.

SOCIAL DEMOGRAPHICS

The Rockaway peninsula Study Area (CT 964) Bus line Subway line Line station LIRR

MEDIAN INCOME 2014 Census Block Group Data

0 - 20.000 20.000 - 40.000 40.000 - 60.000 60.000 - 80.000 80.000 - 100.000

100.000 - 120.000 120.000 - 140.000 140.000 - 160.000 160.000 - 180.000 > 180.000

In Census Tract 964 The median Income lies between 40.000 and 80.000, The area is racially diverse (mainly blacks & hispanics) There is a relative high percentage of homeonwership (50-70%) compared to other neighborhoods in the city the city.

RACIAL DOTMAP 1 dot = 1 person 2010 Census Block Data

Asian Hispanic Black White Other / Native American / Muli-racial

% HOMEOWNERSHIP 2014 Census Block Group Data

< 10 10 - 20 20 -30 30 - 40 40 -50

50 - 60 60 - 70 70 - 80 80 - 90 > 90

We have created a timeline of the history of the Rockaways. We found that the peninsula used to be a buzzing beach destination for New York’s rich and famous and later became a beach destination for working class families buying little beach bungalo’s. In the 1960s, the city built large numbers of social housing projects on the peninsula, making it the largest social housing stock in Queens.

The top diagram shows the social demographics of the island as well as the percentage of homeownership and the racial distribution of the peninsula.

PHYSICAL MOBILITY

Inter-city Connections 60 min

Penn Station 40 - 55 min (off-peak) 55 - 110 min (peak)

70 min

80 min

40 - 55 min (off-peak) 55 - 110 min (peak)

40 - 60 min (off-peak) 75 -140 min (peak)

70 - 100 min (incl. 1 transfer)

Long Island City 40 - 55 min (off-peak) 55 - 110 min (peak)

75 min (inlc. 1 transfer)

80 min (incl. 1 transfer)

40 - 55 min (off-peak) 50 - 100 min (peak)

35 - 45 min (off-peak) 60 -120 min (peak)

Penn Station 60 min

Long Island City

Atlantic Terminal

Union Square

35 - 50 min (off-peak) 45 - 85 min (peak)

Pier 11

60 min (inlc. 0-1 transfer)

75 min

35 - 60 (off-peak) 45 - 90 min (peak)

35 min (off-peak) 55 - 115 min (peak)

Atlantic Terminal

Brooklyn Army Termianl

Far Rockaway Far Rockaway

Arverne

12 mn 30 mn 30 mn 1 hr

Far Rockaway

Beach 108 St

Arverne Riis Landing

Planned by City to open 2017 MTA single ride (currently $2.75)

Neponsit

20 mn

Subway Breezy Point

55 min 2 x daily (May - Jun) 3 x daily (Jul - Sep) $ 20 (one way); $30 round trip

Buses LIRR New York Beach Ferry Planned Ferry (2017)

Breezy Point

30 mn 3 hr

45 mn 2.15 hr

The following diagram shows the connectedness to the wider city as per car and public transport. According to our research, 55% of the working population works outside of Queens, and 39% have a commute that is longer than an hour.

ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS

Our research into the ecological context of the Rockaways illuminated new understandings spanning environmental, social and political topics. We studied the character and quality of its habitats, the history of its changing shoreline, the creation and management of infrastructures which bring resources and services to its human population, and the challenges as well as opportunities that will likely shape its future.

What is clear from this exploration is the way that the study of ecological systems expose the interconnected, complicated and messy relationships between environment and urban living.

The Rockaways sits in a remarkable landscape, its peninsula bordered by sea and bay. The area belongs to a network of estuaries throughout the United States, defined by the flow of fresh and saltwater. It is this unique composition that supports the flourishing of micro-habitats surrounding the Rockaways including salt marshes, brackish wetlands, maritime shrubland, freshwater wetlands and oyster reefs. These environments are home to hundreds of species of birds, insects, fish and wide diversity of plant life.

At the same time, the Rockaways is part of a major hub of economic, cultural, and social importance that is New York City. Its status as a unique and valuable ecosystem, alongside its position within an extraordinary level of urban activity, presents

challenges to the community who lives, works and visits the Rockaways as well as its nonhuman inhabitants. Most pressing are the environmental threats that face the area such as harsher and more frequent storms, heavier rainfall, and sewage contamination. These forces shift the balance between fresh and saltwater in the estuary, causing significant problems for the area’s wildlife and the built environment. Moreover, it is often populations with less means of recovery that suffer most dramatically from such threats. This became apparent in 2012 when SuperStorm Sandy generated widespread harm onto the Rockaways-an experience which many residents continue to struggle to overcome.

Overall, our research led us to explore the ecological history of the Rockaways and the junctures of human and environmental phenomenons that have shaped and altered its landscape. From erosion and infilling, to the creation of the John F Kennedy airport, the burying of tons of garbage in the Edgemere Landfill, the various restorations projects led by government and environmental agencies, and grassroots initiatives to establish cleaner spaces and access to locally grown food, the Rockaways in undoubtedly an important stage for the dynamic, contested and complicated relationship between people and landscape.

insights

Asymmetry: The Rockaways’ ecology is compounded by two natural systems - the shore and the bay.

Together they form an estuary, which depends in the constant flow of seawater (shore) and freshwater (bay). Paradoxically, this ecosystems has been inhabited unevenly: while the shore has been developed (private and public projects) bringing socio-economic benefits to the community; the bay has been neglected physically and socially.

People as infrastructure: The recovery efforts post-Sandy by community groups (associations such as YANA) showed the potential of the community to enhance their social fabric through collective action.

Environmental injustice:

Dynamic vs. static:

The asymmetric investment between shore and bay is mirrored by the socio-economic segregation of the populations who inhabit those places. While the well-maintained and economically vital shore is populated by more affluent people, the bayside--underserved and polluted-- is home to NYCHA residents, creating issues of social isolation and environmental inequality.

The natural ecosystem of the Rockaways is characterized by its dynamism., where auto-regulation ensures resiliency. However, human action has worked to make this process static. Consequently, this had undermined the landscape's ability to withstand shifting environmental changes.

estuaries Casco Bay Great Bay and HamptonSeabrook Harbor Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays Narragansett Bay

New YorkNew Jersey Harbor

Long Island Sound Peconic Bay JAMAICA BAY Barnegat Bay

Delaware Estuary Delaware Inland Bays Maryland Coastal Bays

estuaries in the us west coast gulf coast south atlantic northeast Source: The Association of National Estuary Programs (ANEP) http://nationalestuaries.org/national-nep-map

northeast estuaries

Buzzards Bay

n j - n y ha r b o u r e s t u a r y

er Riv Ea st

nassau

5 kings

Kill Van Kullr

Rive

r

3

richmond

4

arthu

r kill

way

Harlem Ri ver Bro nx R.e r

Rive son

rk

Hud

queens

R.

Rah

Long Island Sound

yo ne

hud

Pas

6

Elizabeth

union

w

son

Rive r saic

essex

bronx

r

Hackensack

River

passaic

raritan river

2 1 middlesex

r

ive

kR

monmouth

er

in es

av

y ur

Riv

sb

N

w re

Sh

governance

HEP

The New York-New Jersey Harbor is shared by both states, which means

The New York-New Jersey Harbour & Estuary Program (HEP) was established in 1988 under the Clean Water Act to protect and restore the estuary resources we depend on and share 1

Sandy Hook

4

Lower New York

west coast

2

Raritan

5

Upper New York

gulf coast

3

Jamaica

6

Newark

south atlantic

dual landscape

the port / the natural reserve Important ecosystem and economic Hub. Third largest port in the nation and supports hundreds of thousands of jobs for New York and New Jersey communities.

Source: the state of The estuary 2012

dichotomy

325 species of birds

100 species 10 species of 15 species of 50 species of finfish crustaceans and of insects Reptiles shellfish

10 species of mammals

Salt Marsh

5 species of water mammals

Maritime Freshwater Shrubland Wetlands

Brackish Wetlands

Oyster reefs

Shore

Salt Marsh

Maritime Shrubland

an area of coastal grassland that is regularly flooded by seawater

lands generally contain scattered stunted "salt pruned" [due to sea water] trees with contorted branches and wilted leaves.

salt marsh disappeared at a rate of 1.4% per year

Brackish Wetlands

develop by salt marshes where a significant freshwater influx dilutes the seawater to brackish levels of salinity

great percentage of the cost is man made

Freshwater Wetlands

salt marsh disappeared at a rate of 1.4% per year

area that is saturated with water, (permanently or seasonally, principal characteristic is the vegetation of aquatic plants,adapted to the unique hydric soil.

Other open areas

Oyster reefs

Opportunities to restore the original landscape

foundation of healthy bays and estuaries around the world. For thousands of years, reefs have provided food and habitat for birds and marine life.

less than 1% of their historic coverage

the majority of this ecosystem has disappear human action and hurricanes

The bay

325 species of birds

100 species of finfish

50 species of insects

10 species of mammals

15 species of 10 species of Reptiles crustaceans and shellfish

5 species of water mammals

rich biodiversity multiple landscapes and micro ecosystems characterize the peninsula

The Shore

The bay

$0 - $20.000 $20.000 - $40.000 $40.000 - $60.000 $60.000 - $80.000

$80.000 - $100.000 $100.000 - $120.000

The Shore

$120.000 - $140.000 $140.000 - $160.000

today 2020s

low-lying areas experience regular tidal flooding. sea level rise will result in increased, localized flooding

increased participation

greater participation events pose minor threat

storm surge heavy downpour

rising temperature pose minor threat increased flooding and stronger waves cause damage. higher storm frequency leaves less time to restore coastal protections downpour exceeds sewer system capacity and leads to localized flooding

heat wave

greater strain on power system leads to more frequent failures

high winds

overhead power-lines are at risk to damage with more frequent failures

sewage contamination

sewage contamination

2050s

sea level rise

higher average temperature

high winds

heat wave

heavy downpour

storm surge

higher average temperature

increased participation

sea level rise

hazard

fully and partially-contaminated water leads to health risks for people and wildlife

major moderate minor risk risk risk

natural areas

The cost and the bay were severely affected.

low-income areas

not flooded less 3 feet

The cost and the bay were severely affected.

not flooded less 3 feet

3 - 6 feet 6 - 9 feet

3 - 6 feet 6 - 9 feet

more than 10 feet

more than 10 feet

$0 - $20.000

National Park Service

$20.000 - $40.000 $40.000 - $60.000 $60.000 - $80.000

climate change

natural disasters

affected population

$ economic issues

social impoverishment

deterioration ecosystem

t

en

my

tion

nnec

disco

estuary

to icho

hm eris

ov

imp

d

meso space political landscape

linking society through landscape ecosystem restoration

economic opportunities environmental and social resiliency

social cohesion increment of public space

$$

p op un ort s

op

itie

c mi

na dy

s

itie

c mi

n rtu

po

na dy

s

itie

s

c mi

itie

n rtu

po

n rtu

c mi

na dy

po

op

op na dy

t

en

y

om hot

n

ectio

nn disco

dic

sta

tic

sta

tic

sta

tic

sta

tic

sta

sta

tic

tic

sta

sta

tic

tic

e

ov

imp

m rish

theoretical framework dynamism

dualism

VS

tradition of nature/society dualism nature/urban dualism “nature” to be either tamed or idealized government acts in terms of either preservation or recreation

socio-ecolgical processes that produce the urban involve spaces of privledge and exclusion reconsider this static duality, rather as flows or processes-- “ecologizing” the city consider preservation and recreation as a synergistic practices

“Viewing the city as a process of continuous—but contested— socio-ecological change, which be understand through the analysis of the circulation of socially and physically metabolized “nature” unlocks new arenas for thinking and acting on the city: society and nature.”

-Maria Kaika

civic organizations + residents

How do we connect the public, civic and private actors to act cohesively in Jamaica bay?

national parks

Department of Environmental Conservation

multiple governabilities

nyc parks

overlaping initiatives/ parallel programs

do projects work in their full potential?

restoration

fragmented

restoration

restoration

disconection wasteful spending

slow desicion making / burocracy/ disjointed actors programs capital projects

community outreach

budget

programs

capital projects

operation

segragated silos of action

operation budget community outreach

gestation

time implementation

national parks service

1 big egg marsh project 2 marsh restoration elders east

nyc parks department

3 spring creek restoration 4 gerrtisen creek aquatic restoration

ny/nj port authority

5 planting effort at black wall/rulers bar 6 plumb beach

ny state park

7 fresh creek restoration 8 vernam-barbadoes penisula preserve 9 marsh island wave attenuator at brant point 10 dubos point oyster bed

7

11 edgmere wetland restoration 12 bayswater restoration 13 paedegat basin restoration 14 dead horse bay restoration 15 hawtree bergen basins 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

four sparrow marsh culverts at joco marsh jfk shoreline restoration conch basin tidal enhancent breezy point dune stabalization wildlife refugee fresh water pond creation pit restoration beach 42nd st outfall project jamaica bay borrow pit project

15

3 2

18

13

17 21

12 24 10

5 8

16 1 14 6

20

4

9

11 22 19 23

1 big egg marsh project

project completed

2 marsh restoration elders east 5 planting effort at black wall/rulers bar

design phase completed proposed

6 plumb beach 7 fresh creek restoration 8 vernam-barbadoes penisula preserve 10 dubos point oyster bed 13 paedegat basin restoration

15

3

21 wildlife refugee fresh water pond creation

7

22 pit restoration

2

11 edgmere wetland restoration 3 spring creek restoration 4 gerrtisen creek aquatic restoration

18

13

17

9 marsh island wave attenuator at brant point

21

12 bayswater restoration

12

14 dead horse bay restoration

24

15 hawtree bergen basins 16 four sparrow marsh 17 culverts at joco marsh 18 jfk shoreline restoration 19 conch basin tidal enhancent breezy point dune stab20 alization beach 42nd st outfall 23 project jamaica 24 bay borrow pit project

10

5 8

16 1 14 6

20

4

9

11 22 19 23

State

City

local

scale

National

U.S Forest Service

National Park Service

northeast regional office

Partnership & civic engagement

NYSDEC

USACE

NYC Parks

NYCDEP

jamacia bay ecowatchers

rockaway waterfront alliance

Port Authority

NY-NJ Harbour

Environmental Remediation

NYC Mayors office

Rockaway Artists Alliance

rockaway youth task force

JFK airport

Rockaway Institute for Sustainable

rockaway civic association

airlines

howard beach youth association

Howard Beach Civic Forum

City Council

East New York Urban Youth Corps

east new york fams

agencies

Education and Wildlife Planning, facilities & conservation assistant

Raritan Bay keepers

resources stewarship

ANEP National estuaries

Urban Park Rangers

NYC Audobon American litoral society NRDC N.R Defense -

programs

NYCHA stakeholders

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

-

Bay View Apartments

Breukelen Houses

Vandalia Ave Apartments

Stanley Ave Apartments

Hammel apartments

Ocean Bay Apartments

Redfern Apartments

Beach Channel Apartments

JBRPC

State

City

local

scale

National

U.S Forest Service

National Park Service

northeast regional office

Partnership & civic engagement

NYSDEC

USACE

NYC Parks

NYCDEP

jamacia bay ecowatchers

rockaway waterfront alliance

Port Authority

NY-NJ Harbour

Environmental Remediation

NYC Mayors office

Rockaway Artists Alliance

rockaway youth task force

JFK airport

Rockaway Institute for Sustainable

rockaway civic association

airlines

howard beach youth association

Howard Beach Civic Forum

City Council

East New York Urban Youth Corps

east new york fams

agencies

Education and Wildlife Planning, facilities & conservation assistant

Raritan Bay keepers

resources stewarship

ANEP National estuaries

Urban Park Rangers

NYC Audobon American litoral society NRDC N.R Defense -

programs

Pollutant discharch report + future permits

Bay View Apartments

Breukelen Houses

Vandalia Ave Apartments

Stanley Ave Apartments

Hammel apartments

Ocean Bay Apartments

Redfern Apartments

Beach Channel Apartments

JBRPC

NYCHA stakeholders

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

-

Jamaica Bay Borrow pit evaluation project

Nitrogen Consent Plan

Water Quality reports

Watershed protection plan

Clean Water Act

state

city

local

scale

national

U.S Forest Service

NYSDEC

USACE

NYC Parks

NYCDEP

jamacia bay ecowatchers

rockaway waterfront alliance

Port Authority

NY-NJ Harbour

Environmental Remediation

NYC Mayors office

Rockaway Artists Alliance

rockaway youth task force

JFK airport

Rockaway Institute for Sustainable

rockaway civic association

airlines

howard beach youth association

Howard Beach Civic Forum

City Council

East New York Urban Youth Corps

east new york fams

National Park Service

northeast regional office

Partnership & civic engagement

agencies

Education and Wildlife Planning, facilities & conservation assistant

Raritan Bay keepers

resources stewarship

ANEP National estuaries

Urban Park Rangers

NYC Audobon American litoral society NRDC N.R Defense -

Bay View Apartments

Breukelen Houses

Vandalia Ave Apartments

Stanley Ave Apartments

Hammel apartments

Ocean Bay Apartments

Redfern Apartments

Beach Channel Apartments

JBRPC

programs

NYCHA stakeholders

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

-

Big Egg Marsh project

marsh restoration Elders East

Poroposed Pit restoration

Spring Creek Restorarion

Hawtree Point Restoration

Fresh Creek Restoration

Vernan Barbadoes Park

Brant point Restoration

Dubos Point Restoration

Edgemere Restoration

Baywayswater Restoration

OUR INSIGHTS

OUR INSIGHTS

BASED ON OUR RESEACH, WE ARRIVED AT SEVERAL INSIGHTS THAT INFORM OUR DESIGN DECISIONS

SOCI0-SPATIAL DIVIDE There is a stark socio-spatial divide in the Rockaways wherein wealthier populations have greater access to transportation, education, and protection from storms and sea level rise. By contrast, low-income populations and communities of color struggle with adequate access to public transit, good schools and safety from environmental conditions.

ASYMMETRICAL ECOSYSTEMS The Rockaways ecology is sourounded two natural systems of the shore and the bay. Together they form an estuary which relied on the constant flow between seawater and freshwater. However, the ecosystems have been inhabited and treated unevenly: while the shore has been developed, privatized in some areas and well-maintained, the bay has been heavily polluted.

DYNAMIC VS STATIC The natural ecosystem of the Rockaways is characterized by its dynamism. However, human action has attempted to make this process static. Consequently, this had undermined the landscape's and community's ability to withstand shifting environmental changes.

BARRIERS AND EDGES There are physical and social barriers between segregated populations on the Rockaways based on income and ethnicity. There is also a boundary between the peninsula itself and the surrounding region which is amplified by poor transit access. Together, the boundaries of the Rockaways segregate residents from each other and to the rest of the New York.

ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE The asymmetrical investment between the shore and bay and is mirrored by the socio-economic segregation of the populations who inhabit each site.

While the well-maintained and economically vital shore is populated by more affluent people, the bayside-- underserved and polluted-- is home to NYCHA residents and lower-income groups, revealing issues of social isolation and environmental inequality.

RICH BIODIVERSITY The Rockaways is inhabited by a rich biodiversity.

There are many efforts to protect and preserve this condition, however, there remains gaps in environmental protection of the area.

rs on nd ry he ed he ys er

by te. by to ial

ty. ve in

THE PRESENCE OF TOURISM The Rockaways is a popular destination for visitors throughoutthe summer season and is largely unvisited in colder months. This creates a cycle whereby transportation, recreation facilities and commerce depend on the tourist season.

UNEVEN COSTS OF SUPERSTORM SANDY Sandy revealed and amplified socio-spatial inequalities. The Rockaways did not receive adequate restoration aid compared to the rest of New York. Moreover,due to lack of safety nets (access to insurance, healthcare), and financial resources, low-income populations, undocumented migrants, communities of color and the elderly struggled the greatest to recover from the storm’s destruction.

RELIEF AND ITS DISCONNECTS Government investment into the Rockaways post-Sandy is o f t e n disconnected from/not felt by local residents.

GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP A large portion of land in the Rockaways is s t a t e - o w n e d , presenting both challenges and opportunities.

PEOPLE AS INFRASTRUCTURE In a state of emergency post-Sandy, and in reaction to slow and inadequate government response, existing formal and informal social networks were mobilized and repurposed for recovery and relief efforts. Furthermore, local actors and organizations provided the infrastructure and knowledge upon which government and other non-profits grounded their efforts.

POLITICAL REPRESENTATION The Rockaways have a greater number of political representatives than other neighborhoods in New York.

JAMAKING: RE-FRAMING THE BAY

ISABEL SAFFON SANIN | MICHAELA KRAMER

Jamaking transforms the relationship between community and landscape in Jamaica Bay through horizontal decision-making and community produced, active public spaces.

Jamaking: Re-Framing The Bay opens up the relationship between community and ecosystem as a source for transformation.

Jamaking is an initiative to reframe the natural ecosystem as a catalyzer for new opportunities of social exchange. Jamaking is a civic platform that hosts physical and non physical interventions, wherein private, public and local organizations collaborate together to produce a re-imagined landscape of the bay. This strategy works to open up access to the bay, activate it as a vital public space through social engagement design activities and ecological recovery measures, and host new processes of decision making and co-production of space, ultimately generating a landscape of greater socio-economic and environmental justice.

Jamaking contains a series of phases that continuously repeat on a two year cycle, which involve an administrative and management structure, community outreach, pedegogical programs, design and implementation workshops, and finally, the activation and reaprorpriation of the bay. Collectively, these steps support residents (particularly those in historically disenchfrancished communities) to steward new interactions with Jamaica Bay that simultaneously support social,

political and ecological health. Each component of Jamaking maintains a dynamic relationship between people and landscape, encouraging residents to participate in the production of Jamaica Bay in its fullest sense.

Jamaking relies on the power of community members to co-create the spaces and systems that meet their needs. The value of a bottomup program is further enhanced by a repaired relationship between people and landscape. By empowering people to restore their connection to the bay, they simultaneously construct social connections and political alliances.

Throughout our process, we have kept in mind the particular contexts for which the Jamaking strategy would play out in different communities surrounding Jamaica Bay. In light of this, we have tested Jamaking as a hypothetical experiment in one site, namely the area surrounding Ocean Bay Housing, in order to analyze this project. In reality, Jamaking would operate according to the unique and diverse needs and aspirations at any particular site of implementation.

The following summarizes our proposal for Jamaking: Re-Framing The Bay.

community members share their experiences and develop new narratives about the bay through creative writing workshops, mental mapping, and swat analyses

phase 4 building capacities

jamaking committee raises awarness about the project and builds people’s relaitonships to/experiences in jamaica bay through a series of promotional and creative enagement campaigns, including postcards sent to residents enclosed with information and activity prompts

phase 3 raising awarness

jamaking organizes the construction of mobile, floating hubs (1 month) that travel around jamaica bay (2 months) and host acivites to launch the jamaking project (covered the following phases). the structures are built in nearby areas. they are managed by jamaking community leaders.

phase 2 reclaiming the commons

a committee of representatives is organized to manage the jamaking project. the jamaking board includes representatives from national,state and city departments as well as representatives from civic organizations and community leaders from nycha properties

phase 1 jamaking

jamaking

jamaking marina 59

stakeholders involved private civic public

a project displayed the eleva images o jamaica

jamaking ecowatchers rockaway waterfront alliance rockaway youth task force schools queens libraries

tion d under ated with of bay

feild trips between rockaway residents, and civic organization to visit and learn about the area. each tour is themed e.g. bird watching, science education, kayaking a series of design workshops will work to translate the experiences, needs and aspirations of community participants wokring with experts into design strategies

jamaking ecowatchers rockaway waterfront alliance queens libraries

rockaway residents work together to clean up the bay of debris.

state

City

local

scale

National

U.S Forest Service

NYSDEC

USACE

NYC Parks

NYCDEP

jamacia bay ecowatchers

rockaway waterfront alliance

Port Authority

NY-NJ Harbour

Environmental Remediation

NYC Mayors office

Rockaway Artists Alliance

rockaway youth task force

JFK airport

Rockaway Institute for Sustainable

rockaway civic association

airlines

howard beach youth association

Howard Beach Civic Forum

City Council

East New York Urban Youth Corps

east new york fams

National Park Service

northeast regional office

Partnership & civic engagement

agencies

Education and Wildlife Planning, facilities & conservation assistant

Raritan Bay keepers

resources stewarship

ANEP National estuaries

Urban Park Rangers

NYC Audobon American litoral society NRDC N.R Defense -

programs

Pollutant discharch report + future permits

Bay View Apartments

Breukelen Houses

Vandalia Ave Apartments

Stanley Ave Apartments

Hammel apartments

Ocean Bay Apartments

Redfern Apartments

Beach Channel Apartments

JBRPC

NYCHA stakeholders

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

Jamaica Bay Borrow pit evaluation project

removal of inasive species

biodiversity counts

Nitrogen Consent Plan

upgrade waste treatment plants

dune restoration

Water Quality reports

trails construction

Public Arts Festival

Watershed protection plan

cleans up

boat tour of the marshes

Clean Water Act

Document marsh loss

Urban Agriculture

dune planting Big Egg Marsh project

marsh restoration Elders East

Poroposed Pit restoration

Spring Creek Restorarion

Hawtree Point Restoration

Fresh Creek Restoration

Vernan Barbadoes Park

Brant point Restoration

Dubos Point Restoration

Edgemere Restoration

Baywayswater Restoration

A key part of Jamaking’s role in supporting a shared, decision-making process is about reconstructing the management and administrative system currently in Jamaica Bay. At present, there are multiple governing bodies at the national, state, city and local level. These actors are connected through projects and initiatives (research, recovery efforts and physical interventions), which they are interconnectedly invoivled, creating a complex web of relationships.

This level of complexity creates overlapping initiatives, studies and programs that ultimately generates wasteful spending, slow decision making and implementation processes and limited input from local residents.

By contrast, we propose the creation of a new decision making process via an intermediary political platform. Through a more horizontal structure, the differents scales of government, local organizations and community representatives participate in a committee to help materialize a system for Jamaica Bay residents to define their needs and define their solutions.

City

Building capacities together, the committee opens up their decision making process to the wider community.

Through community engagement activities, residents co-create proposals based on their embedded knowledge.

The committee revises the proposals and supports visions with technical and financial support. Finally, communities, with help of experts, co-produce and co-manage interventions at the bay. This is a continuous process of negotiation, whereby Jamaking bridges the multiple scales and government capacities in order to become a hub of collective knowledge and permanent commoning.

management management

Limit imput residents

local

National

creating a new process

The first stage of Jamaking is the creation of the committee. The current national, state, city and local agencies already present in Jamaica Bay would have a representative on the committee, creating a wide range of views and capacities. Additionally, NYCHA residents will sit on the committee as community leaders. Their inclusion aids to revert traditional dynamics of exclusion by incorporating them in a more horizontal and democratic decision-making processes.

management

implementation implementation

design design

investigation

state

implementation

design

investigation investigation

current process

National

communities define need

communities define need

?

?

state co-design

commitee City

monetary + technical sipport

! ! !

?

communities define solutions

National

National Park Service

NYSDEC

USACE

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

American litoral society

Port Authority

NY-NJ Harbour

NYC Parks

! ! !

local

Jamaking comitee U.S Forest Service

self-management

communities define solutions

City

state

co-production

commitee

co-design

plan workshops

NYCDEP

residents

budget + timeframe + operation Rockaway Artists Alliance

Bay View Apartments

Breukelen Houses

rockaway waterfront alliance

rockaway youth task force

Vandalia Ave Apartments

Stanley Ave Apartments

combo colab

civic forums

Hammel apartments

Ocean Bay Apartments

edgemere farms

east new york fams

Redfern Apartments

Beach Channel Apartments

jamacia bay ecowatchers

jamaking

open up workshops

residents proposals

collective co-production

phase 2: reclaiming the commons network of hubs

The second phase is about Reclaiming the Commons. In order to do this, Jamaiking involves the construction of floating structures that host activities in 10 different locations - corresponding to NYCHA projects. These structures can be made locally and are co-managed by community leaders (i.e. NYCHA residents) who are members of the committee. The structures travel around the bay, shaping a collective identity and inspiring communities to inhabit perceived boundaries of the bay.

Breukelen Houses

6

Bay View Apartments

7

Vandalia Avenue Apartments 8

Pennsylvania Ave Apartments

Linden Blv Apartments

9

10

10

6

8

9

7

phase 2: reclaiming the commons network of hubs

4

3

5

2 1

Hammel apartments

1

Carleton Manor apartments 2

Ocean Bay Apartments

3

Beach Channel Apartments 4

Redfern Apartments

catalist to shame a collective identity journey

10 NYCHA locations *4 boats per location

flexible floating structures

prefab mobile elements 1

2

prefab frame motor

3

4

floating structure

5

phase 3: raising awarness post card adventours

The next phase is called Raising Awareness and aims to cultivate new experiences in the Bay and educate residents about the unique ecosystem in their backyard. This awareness campaign involves a series of initiatives.

The first is postcards sent to residents inviting them to take part in different activities in the Bay for example: spot three bird species, plant seeds or take a nature walk. The second is a projection of Jamaica Bay shawn under the elevated to make visual an area that so many miss on a day-to-day basis. The third is field trips hosted by different organizations around the bay, each with a theme such as a bird watching tour, science education or kayaking trips. Finally, clean-ups of the Bay bring people together to help restore the environmental quality of the site.

Collectively, phase 4 supports residents in developing new experiences and knowledge in Jamaica Bay.

phase 3 raising awarness

rewritting narratives

designing future visions

story workshops mind mapping

As previously mentioned, the outcomes of Jamaking depend on its particular site of implementation. For the purposes of this proposal, we have envisioned this strategy in an area in the Rockaways near Ocean Bay Housing, using the context of that site to guide a scenario of how Jamaking would likely unfold.

discovering strenghts and challenges changeable spaces

fishing fishing

fishing fishing

BAY

SEASONAL ACTIVITIES

tra at

LOCAL BUSINESSES

SEASONAL ACTIVITIES

tan

skate

SHORE

ct

run

in g

eng

run

ta en em ag

RECREATION

ECONOMY

LOCAL BUSINESSES

pe op

The next phase is Building Capacities in which residents are invited to take part in workshops. Based on the community leaders that we’ve observed in this community, one reasonable outcome of workshops would be a proposal to construct salt marshes that improve the environmental quality of the bay, and operate as social spaces too.

fishing

le o

pe

ning

n ew spaces

ECONOMY

s tie ivi ct

to v co re

fishing

e

rn at ur al

integrating residents as work force

JOB OPPORTUNITIES

run

NATURAL REFUGE

run

COMMUNITY PARK

NETWORKS

understanding the place

en vir on m

JOB OPPORTUNITIES ent

NETWORKS

fishing

fishing

run

what new activities can appear?

phase 6: re-framing the bay seasonal docks inhabiting the bay project

modular docks attachable journey

recreation

summer

winter

planted salt marsh

wood deck

wood structure

wood structure

floating tanks

floating tanks

Next, the proposal is presented to the committee in the next phase called Supporting the Vision. The committee allocates the financial and technical support, using the knowledge and resources that are already present in the site.

phase 6: re-framing the bay seasonal docks inhabiting the bay project

The sixth phase is called Re-Framing the Bay. In this phase, community participants co-produce the proposal they envisioned with the help of professionals. The floating gardens/ docks are modular platforms that are attachable and can create different configurations, allowing various types of appropriation.

Through a built workshop during the summer, the floating structures are assembled and the marshes are planted.

In the winter, when the marshes naturally disappear--becoming mud--community leaders will open a call for collaboration to transform the floating gardens into floating docks. This will create a dynamic relationship with the landscape, where different activities are triggered by the transformation of the physical intervention and where continuous action on the landscape promotes stronger social relationships among residents.

phase 6: re-framing the bay seasonal docks inhabiting the bay project

phase 9: permanent commoning winter green house

In the following phase, Envisioning the Commons, community participants work with experts to workshop design strategies for appropriating and winterizing the hubs so that the structures can be populated year-round.

At this point, the proposal goes back to the Jamaking Committee, who provides technical and financial support for the intervention to go ahead. In this case, the same local agencies will participate, creating a continuous design process.

phase 9: permanent commoning winter green house

community center

The next phase is called permanent commoning. Building on the idea of the floating gardens, Jamaking participants envision a plan to transform the mobile structure into a floating greenhouse to house the marshes and serve as a gathering space during colder months.

The structure would be a social hub for Jamaiking meetings and activities as well as a pedagogical space to educate residents about the enormous environmental value of the bay.

jamaking r embe dec

no v

reclaiming the commons raising awarness

r be em

octob er

winter solstice

supporting the vision

vernal equinox er temb sep

summer solstice

m

ay

a june

july

permanent commoning

t us ug

envisioning the commons supporting the vision

autumnal equinox

sun

april

re-framing the bay

fe b

h marc

building capacities

janua ry

y ar ru

The 9 phases of Jamaking are organized in correspondence to the changing seasons, with outdoor activities taking advantage of warm months and indoor activities taking place in the winter.

The phases take place over a two year cycle that continuously repeats, creating an endless commoning practice in Jamaica Bay.

The scenario that has just been described is informed by the context of a particular community. However, each location has its own specific needs and in turn, its own intervention ideas. For example, the Jamaking process could be adopted into initiatives such as urban stream infiltration projects, temporal activities with local businesses or modular bridges leading to different water activities.

urban stream infiltration project

journey

temporal activities with local businesses

journey

bridging the edge

journey

recreation

Different communities will also have separate goals for appropriating the hubs. It might be a floating garden, art space, playground or aviary. When winter ends, the appropriated hubs travel around the the bay, exhibiting community interventions, dispersing knowledge and inspiring others to act in their landscape.

Through initiatives like these, via a horizontal decision-making processes, Jamaica Bay residents can materialize their ambitions and co-create a renewed connection with the bay.

playground

art space

playground

aviary

ROCKAWAY LINK

PAUL KARDOUS

Using transportation equity as a tool to help improve the health and economic vitality of the Rockaways.

Rockaway is community which faces many hardships, not least of which is its physical--and perceived separation from the rest of the City of New York. With this separation comes a sense of being ‘left behind’ by the government, and the powers that be. The state of many things most people take for granted on a daily basis are far from where they should be. One of the most startling of these is the state of the health of the Rockaway community. The neighborhood lags behind on almost every health metric, most starkly, obesity and mental health.

Another glaring inequity in Rockaway is the access to transportation. With its location ‘on the edge’ of New York City, it is also ‘on the edge’ of the mind of many politicians and planners. It can take residents upwards of two hours to travel from Manhattan to parts of Rockaway, and that depends on the correct train and or bus actually arriving.

Many students from the community are exemplary students, but are often facing disciplinary action due to the failures in the transport system to actually deliver them to their school.

Transportation inequity is stark on the peninsula, and is at the centerpiece of this intervention in the community.

In a community like Rockaway, there are many issues which need to be addressed. Sometimes the simplest thing is to try and make simple, small interventions, using many things that are already in place, a kind of ‘pin prick urbanism.’ Using cycling as a tool, RockawayLink will help to transform a deficiency in the transportation network, into an opportunity to help improve both the health of the community, as well as its ability to connect with itself, and the city and region as a whole.

SOCIAL DEMOG

LTH OMES

000 000 000 000

tions and an be by y care own LTH le OMES tions.”

gnosed ho and ral ns live althier re o V.

Rockaway Beach Branch Community Impact Study

FINANCIAL DISTRICT & ROCKAWAY AND In Rockaway and Broad Channel, the rate of asthma hospitalizations among children ages < 20000 GREENWICH VILLAGE AND SOHO BROAD CHANNEL 32% - 4000 5 to 14 is 2000 lower than the citywide rate, but four times the rate in Borough Park. 84% College graduate College graduate SOCIAL AND

4000 - 6000 45% 6000 - 8000 High school graduate ECONOMIC or some college ages 5-14) Child8000 asthma children - 10000 hospitalizations (per 10,000 >CONDITIONS 10000 23%

4% Less than high school

Less than high school

ROCKAWAY AND BROAD CHANNEL

24

QUEENS

(RANKS 31ST)

MEDIAN INCOME BOROUGH Higher education

1960 - 2010

NEW YORK CITY

6 levels are associated PARK

(RANKS 59TH)

2014 Census Block Group Data

with better health outcomes.

QUEENS 21 0 - 20000 100000 - 120000 20000 - 40000 40000 - 60000 NYC 60000 - 80000 80000 - 100000

< - 200 - 200 - 200 201 - 1000 1001 - 9000 > 9000

12% High school graduate or some college

120000 - 140000 140000 - 160000 160000 - 180000 > 180000

38% College graduate

41% College graduate

42% High school graduate or some college

39% High school graduate or some college

20% Less than high school

20% Less than high school

36

Income

1960 - 2010

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011-2013

Newpoverty York Statelimits Department of Health, Statewide Planningand and Research System, 2012-2013 Living in healthy lifestyle choices makesCooperative it difficult to access health New HIV diagnoses care and resources that can promote health and prevent illness. Unemployment and Some people know thathousing theyare arealso infected.

Getting is health. the About one closely associated withdiagnosed poverty and poor One inwith fiveHIV do not unaffordable Adult for asthma nine Rockaway and Broad Channel agesChannel 16 and olderranks is unemployed, and over first stepRockaway inhospitalizations the treatment of HIV. Rockaway andadults Broad twentyand andincare

The Rockaways regularly appear at the bottom of many metrics which measure the health, education, and income of a community. Compared to the rest of New York City, and the borough of Queens, Rockaway has a higher percentage of residents who do not have a college degree, and who have not graduated high school.

RACIAL DOTMAPadult asthma half of residents spend more than of their monthly incomeChannel on rent.

The rate avoidable hospitalizations in 30% Rockaway andgross Broad Broad ninth in of the rateChannel of new HIV diagnoses.

One way to consider the effect of income on health is by comparing death rates among is similar to the citywide rate, but higher than the Queens rate.

1 dot residents = 1 person lives neighborhoods. Assuming that the death rates from the five neighborhoods with the 2010 Census Block highest incomes are achievable in Rockaway and Broad Channel, it is estimated that below the Data (per 100,000 New HIV diagnoses population) (per 100,000 adults) Avoidable asthma hospitalizations 46% of deaths could have been averted.

Federal Poverty

Asian

120

60

Level.

ROCKAWAY Hispanic

BlackAND BROAD CHANNEL White (RANKS 31ST) OtherGREENWICH / Native American / Muli-racial VILLAGE AND SOHO

2000 - 2010

Adult educational attainment

Economic stress

46

Poverty

141

Unemployment

QUEENS

% HOMEOWNERSHIP

Best-performing community district

Queens

NYC

19%

6%

16%

21%

Tottenville and Great Kills

(RANKS 31ST )

(RANKS 59TH)

0

Rockaway and 217 Broad Channel

In Rockaway and Broad Channel, one-third of adults have college degrees; however, nearly a quarter of adults have not completed high school.

2000 - 2010

Highest level of education attained (adults 25 years and older)

(RANKS 59TH)

11%

5%

Greenwich Village and Soho & Financial District

(RANKS 25TH)

(RANKS 58TH)

Rent and Broad Rockaway Channel 37% 52% Greenwich Village and Soho burden 30.3 (RANKS 31 ) & Financial District

249

10%

NYC 30.4

11%

ROCKAWAY AND BROAD CHANNEL

QUEENS 20.5

SOCIAL51% AND 53%

FINANCIAL DISTRICT & GREENWICH VILLAGE AND SOHO 84% College graduate

32% College graduate

The adult obesity rate is higher than both the borough and the rest of the city, and 23% 4% < 10 50 - 60 Less than high school Less than high school 10 - 20 60 - 70 almost 20 percent higher than the best Adult hospitalizations for diabetes 20 -30 70 - 80 Stroke 30 40 80 90 performing neighborhood, Stuyvesant The rate of40avoidable adult diabetes hospitalizations in Rockaway and Broad Channel is Census Tract 969 > 90 NEW YORK CITY High blood -50 pressure is the leading risk factor for stroke and the most important to control.

QUEENS the highest in Queens.

Town and Turtle Bay. This goes hand 41% 38% Rockaway and Broad Channel ranks third-highest in the rate of strokeHigher hospitalizations education College graduate College graduate Avoidable diabetes hospitalizations (per 100,000 adults) in hand with the number of avoidable in the city.

39% 42% levels are associated High school graduate High school graduate hospitalizations diabetes, where or some college or some college Hospitalizations ROCKAWAY due to stroke (per 100,000 adults) with better health Obesity can lead to serious health problems such as diabetes andfor heart disease.

At 28%, the AND BROAD 20% 20% 470 outcomes.

CHANNEL Rockaway ranks 15th in the city, or more Less than high school Less than high school rate of obesity in Rockaway and Broad Channel is over three times the rate in Stuyvesant GREENWICH than double the borough average.

VILLAGE 54 140 AND SOHO 467 319 305 NYC

2014 Census Block Group Data

ST

(RANKS 58TH)

45% High school graduate or some college

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

Poverty, unemployment and rent burden: U.S. Census Bureau, AmericanStatewide Community Survey, 2011-2013, deaths: NYC DOHMH, Bureau of Vital Statistics NYC DOHMH, HIV/AIDS Surveillance Registry, 20132008-2012 New York State Department of Health, Planning andAvertable Research Cooperative System, 2012

CO MMU NIT Y HEALT H PR O FIL ES 2 0 1 5 : ROCK AWAY AND B ROAD CHANNEL

12% High school graduate or some college

6

59 58 57 56 55 54 53 52 51 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01

Obesity and diabetes

(RANKS 15TH)

Town and Turtle Bay. The diabetes rate in Rockaway and Broad Channel is 10%, similar to It is not only physical health and Income the rate in NYC overall.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011-2013

(RANKS 59TH)

229

QUEENS

Rockaway and Broad Channel NYC 3RD) (RANKS

Greenwich Village and Soho

Queens

NYC

312

(RANKS 59TH)

One in five Rockaway and ALT H P R OF I L ES 2015: ROCK AWAY AND BROAD CHAN N EL Broad Channel12 Mental health residents lives Variations in hospitalization rates may reflect differences in rates of illness, access below the to health care and other social and cultural factors. The rate of adult psychiatric Federal Poverty hospitalizations in Rockaway and Broad Channel is almost twice the Level. overall NYC rate New York State Department of Health, Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System, 2012 New York State Department of Health, Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System, 2012

HEALTHY LIVING

and the fifth-highest rate in the city.

Psychiatric hospitalizations (per 100,000 adults)

Obesity

One way to consider the effect of income on health is by comparing death rates among ROCKAWAY neighborhoods.

AssumingAND that the death rates from the five neighborhoods with the BROAD highest incomes areCHANNEL achievable in Rockaway and Broad Channel, it is estimated that ND (RANKS 22have ) been averted.

46% of deaths could

28%

STUYVESANT Economic stress

TOWN AND Rockaway and Broad Channel TURTLE BAY (RANKS 59TH ) 19%

Poverty

1,197

500

259

QUEENS

684

education in which Rockaway ranks towards the bottom, but in mental Diabetes (percent of adults) health as well. With over 1,197 psychiatric hospitalizations per 100,000 residents, ROCKAWAY AND the neighborhood ranks among the top BROAD CHANNEL TH five worst performers in the city.

(RANKS 34 )

Living in poverty limits healthy lifestyle choices and makes it difficult to access health care and resources that can promote health and prevent illness. Unemployment and unaffordable housing are also closely associated with poverty and poor health.Census About one Tract 969 (percent of adults) in nine Rockaway and Broad Channel adults ages 16 and older is unemployed, and over half of residents spend more than 30% of their monthly gross income on rent.

Unemployment

(RANKS 31ST )

11%

(RANKS 25TH)

8%

Best-performing community district

Queens

NYC

6%

16%

21%

10%

11%

53%

51%

21% 5%

Tottenville and Great Kills

10%

STUYVESANT TOWN AND TURTLE BAY (RANKS 59TH) QUEENS

10%

NYC

10%

(RANKS 59TH)

Greenwich Village and Soho & Financial District

3%

(RANKS 58TH)

Rockaway and Broad Channel (RANKS 5TH)

Financial District

Queens

(RANKS 59TH)

NYC

Exercise is one way to maintain a healthy weight.

New York State Department of Health, Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System, 2012

E ALTH P R OF ILE S 2015: RO C K AWAY A ND B ROA D C H A N N E L

NYC Rent burden

52%

(RANKS 31ST )

24% 37%

Greenwich Village and Soho & Financial District (RANKS 58TH)

Poverty, unemployment and rent burden: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011-2013, Avertable deaths: NYC DOHMH, Bureau of Vital Statistics 2008-2012

NYC DOHMH, Community Health Survey, 2011-2013

1 1P R O FI LES 2 0 1 5 : R O C K AWAY A N D B R OA D C H A N N E L CO M M U N I T Y H EALT H

Substance use

NYC DOHMH, Community Health Survey, 2011-2013 6

Working with local students who participate in programs with the Rockaway Waterfront Alliance (RWA) we tried to identify how they get around their neighborhood and where their journeys take them. Using mapping and brainstorming techniques, we also got their insights on mobility in Rockaway, and the different modes used, and which have the room for the greatest improvement.

The students had many thoughts on transportation, identifying many problems which can easily be fixed without additional expenditure.

Issues the students brought up included: “We’re missing 1 or 2 periods of school because there wasn’t room on the bus” “It takes 1.5 hours to get to my school in Jamaica” “When the A train is shut there is no replacement bus” “Trains aren’t synced, when an A train pulls up, the shuttle train pulls away as the riders get to the platform” “So many of us are on probation at school because of being late due to the MTA” “They ran the [HH] train after Sandy, they should run it all the time”

LINK COMMUNITY GROUPS

RESIDENTS

LOCAL BUSINESS

ROCKAWAY HEALTH & WELLNESS

EDUCATION

ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY

Rather than act simply as a transportation alternative, RockawayLink seeks to create partnerships with the community, local businesses, and community groups. The program will work with businesses to place information in the hands of residents, and show them how being a program ‘hub’ can help them drive customers to them. By making the system integrated into the community, it well help to foster an atmosphere of shared ownership and responsibility for the program.

This can be achieved by working in parallel with existing initiatives and programs already in place, and by partnering with non-profits and faith organizations who are long-standing members in the community. While working with organizations already in the community is key, it is important to position the system as independent of community politics, and to not ally with one group over or despite another.

Making the system an example of how a community can come together around the program will allow the community to strengthen other ties as well.

While RockawayLink acts as another link in the transportation chain it is important to continue to advocate for continued improvement in other forms of transportation is key to creating equity in access to transportation for everyone.

For the launch of the system, there will be seven stations in and around the Arverne community. The initial stations will be located near community organizations, schools, libraries, and participating businesses. Efforts will be made to place stations near strategically important subway stations and MTA & Dollar Van bus stops.

A A

S

S

Station ‘hosts’--local businesses or organizations--will act as ‘stewards’ for the stations they host. The system will endeavour not to locate them in public rights of way to facilitate less permitting and delays. The placement of stations will equally enable North-South routes as well as East-West routes around the peninsula.

LAUNCH PHASE OF ROCKAWAY LINK

As the system expands, so do the strategic partnerships. There are opportunities to place stations near many of the schools and educational facilities further west, as well as connect with the other subway and bus stops, as well as bike shops.

At an almost complete build out of the system within 3 years, there could be at least 25 stations in Rockaway helping to empower the residents and visitors to live a healthier and more accessible life.

Potential Bikeshare Stations Potential Bikeshare Hub Locations

FUTURE BUILDOUT OF ROCKAWAY LINK

There will be two types of stations, one that provides another benefit, such as cycle parking, or a bus shelter, and one which is a single bike stand.

Neither of the station types will require utility connections, to allow for them to be easily installed, and the locations adjusted depending on demand and changes as the system grows. The stations will try to be of the community and provide an opportunity to reconnect what is already there, including the potential to use existing structures.

The stations will be designed of simple materials that can all be procured from the borough, and the assembly can be done by non-skilled labor from the community, even community volunteers.

The panels and locking hoops allow for the stations to be modular, and expand or contract depending on the usage and needs of each particular station or hub.

The bikes used in RockawayLink could feasibly be procured from Worksman Cycles, Ozone Park, Queens, one of the oldest bicycle manufacturers in the United States, and one with experience building robust bikes for a bikeshare system. This also allows for the possibility of an internship program with students and residents to learn manufacturing skills in an nearby neighborhood. Ideally the cycles themselves would be cruiser bikes, which are easy to use for all skill levels. Cruiser bikes also have wide tires for the variety of surfaces they will be ridden on.

The key part of the system will be to begin with a dynamic corps of volunteers who are invested in the community and the program itself. It is important that new volunteers are continuously brought into the program to ensure its longevity.

Working with employers to encourage their employees to use the system, as well as endeavour to work with health and wellness programs already in place in the community.

Following up with student members’ participation with cycling and manufacturing related internships and work experience programs which help to instill a lifelong love for cycling and active lifestyles. This will help residents to see bikes and stations as community resource that is collectively maintained and enjoyed. Most importantly, RockawayLink should always remain just and robust.

3 MONTHS

IDENTIFY LOCAL BUSINESS PARTNERS

6 MONTHS IDENTIFY LOCAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS

8 MONTHS DESIGN TRAINING, SAFETY, AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS

CREATE VOLUNTEER CORPS

PARTNER WITH BIKE MANUFACTURER

10 MONTHS 16 MONTHS BEGIN SAFETY AND TRAINING PROGRAMS

LAUNCH

12 MONTHS

CONSTRUCT DOCKS AND HUBS

18 MONTHS 24 MONTHS ONGOING TRAINING AND MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS

OPEN MEMBERSHIP TO ALL RESIDENTS & VISITORS

36 MONTHS GRADUALLY EXPAND SYSTEM TO COVER THE PENINSULA

IDENTIFY INITIAL MEMBERSHIP

ROCKTALKS

PRIYA PINJANI | RUCHIKA LODHA | SRUTI PENUMETSA

RockTalks responds to the existing socio-spatial and ecological inequalities in the Rockaways by promoting equal access and reinforcing a common sense of belonging. It penetrates through existing physical and psychological barriers and encourages collective processes of reimagining, reclaiming and re-appropriating the neighborhood.

The Rockaway peninsula is rift with social, economical and ecological inequalities, as uncovered through the research conducted. The elevated A train delineates the peninsula along the East-West axis. While it connects the Rockaways to the rest of the city on a regional level, it splits and separates local communities creating sociospatial fragmentation.

RockTalks addresses the current dynamics of the disaffectionate territories (physical and intangible) within the Rockaways by creating awareness, capability and accountability among Rockaway residents and fills the gaps between different scales of existing infrastructures, organizations, resources and skills. It builds new relationships and meshworks transforming the grids and boundaries of disaffection into common and shared landscapes of affection.

RockTalks is as an intermediary approach rather than an organization or a system embedded within an existing organization RockSoup, that, micro-funds creative and constructive projects in Rockaways. It is implemented within a framework that has three embedded principles- Infrastructuring, Capability Building and Commoning. RockTalks adopts year-round Mentorship and Facilitation processes guided by a sequence of flexible and generative pilot design initiatives within this framework.

The Mentorship Program is conducted each summer (May through October) under a specific theme relevant to Rockaways and the Jamaica Bay region. The theme addresses prevalent or provisioned issues and concerns in the region.

The theme contextualizes the summer activities, and is achieved through three frameworks that will address specific domains of economy (Local Entrepreneurship), education (Pedagogy) and envisioning (Designing).

In addition to the current Rock Soup model of presentations and voting at soup events, the winter Facilitation Program (November through April) provides support to proposal winners by identifying partners for collaboration, giving guidance, funding and providing networking opportunities.

RockTalks utilizes existing platforms and infrastructures in order to spread the word, promote collaborative events and encourage wider participation.

This is an approach embedded within an existing organization and through collective processes, it re-claims, re-appropriates and re-inforces existing resources to encourage social cohesion, build greater awareness of the environment and empowers residents with the capability to shape their own environments.

Infrastructuring

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Capability Building

Commoning

Infrastructuring is a method of recognizing available resources and strengthening those ties by continuously building and expanding relational networks amongst diverse actors.

Capability building is envisioned to harness social infrastructure, local skills and resources by creating a consciousness, a sense of responsibility and passion among Rockaway residents in order to co-produce ideas with their shared knowledge and expertise.

Commoning is a collective spacephysical or intangible- that encourages and empowers the community to collaboratively participate, engage and take initiatives towards achieving the community they wish to see. This is a process that fills the gap from ideas to design.

A sequence of flexible and generative pilot design initiatives, within this theoretical framework, guides the process of transforming the grids of disaffection into landscapes of affection.

ROCK SOUP EVENTS

PROCESSES Rock Soup, established in October 2015, is an organization that micro-funds creative projects with a goal of benefiting Rockaways. They partner with several local organizations for outreach projects and resources. For example, Rockaway Wildfire contributes volunteer hours and supplies for the monthly events, Rockaway Summer is their part-directory, part-guide, part-art project which is a live website showcasing a calendar of events and activities.

Rock Soup welcomes ideas, initiatives, plans and proposals ranging from art, urban agriculture, social justice, technology and more. It uses an application process and selects four proposals for their monthly events. For a voluntary donation, the community is invited to dine together, discuss and vote winners from the shortlisted proposals.

The winning proposal receives funds collected from donations at the events

by Rock Soup.

The RockTalks approach extends the mission of Rock Soup by reframing the role of Rockaway residents- seeing the community as a socially sensitive subject.

Through the process of Mentorship and Facilitation. RockTalks fosters the desire and ability of the residents to participate and generate ideas, that could eventually be implemented to benefit their community.

ROCKTALKS APPROACH

Rockaway

Ideas/ Initiatives Application Mentorship

Winning Proposal Micro-funds

Community

Rock Soup

Vote

Facilitation

ROCKTALKS CALENDAR - MENTORSHIP AND FACILITATION The organization that RockTalks is embedded into, Rock Soup, holds monthly events in the winter each year.

RockTalks extends this calendar into a year long series of events that the residents of Rockaways can be a part of, through Mentorship (summer) and Facilitation (winter) programs. These annual programs are held under specific themes that address prevalent, urgent issues in Rockaway.

2. Pedagogy

The Mentorship program is conducted within the following framework:

3. Designing

1. Local Entrepreneurship Rockaways has a diverse range of local talent like glass artists, jewelery makers, and farming enthusiasts.

Local Entrepreneurship identifies, acknowledges, and celebrates these talents, skills and businesses. This framework will be implemented through fairs that enable local entrepreneurs to exhibit their work and also promote local economic development. It provides a platform for infrastructuring and commoning where passionate and likeminded people will come together, collaborate and learn from each other. The fair is open to residents of Rockaways and visitors, so as to promote local economies and exhibit local talent.

Pedagogy addresses the need for awareness and sense of belonging amongst the residents of Rockaways to their environments. A series of symposiums will create awareness, develop an interest and build the capability to understand the environment residents inhabit and the social infrastructure that exists to shape it.

Designing workshops and studios equip residents with the capability to shape their environments through hands-on experiences, activity-based workshops, collaborating and volunteering opportunities with experts in the fields.

These studios work on the principle of diffuse design wherein the residents play a vital role in creating tangible strategies through pooling their resources and skills together.

Organizations that wish to participate in or conduct activities during the summer Mentorship program are required to fulfill the following agendas and criteria: • Fulfillment of or expertise in the annual theme, • Promoting exchange of local ideas, knowledge and skills, • Community driven activities

By engaging and participating in the summer Mentorship program, residents collectively understand the stakes and the stakeholders involved in design and visioning processes. The capability built during this program helps build a more informed community. These skills are then implemented, exercised and experimented with in the winter programs, where the community puts forth proposals for Rockaways and votes for the most beneficial proposal.

The Facilitation program aids winning proposals from the previous year (voted by the residents) with networking, collaborating, and funding opportunities.

WINTER 2015

Proposals /Rock Soup

SUMMER 2016 GENERATING IDEAS Local Entrepreneurship /Fairs - exchange of skills - acknowledging local talents - local economic development PEDAGOGY /Symposium - building awareness - developing interest and passion - educating residents about environment

DESIGNING /Studios - hands-on experience - volunteering opportunities - activity-based workshop with experts - facilitating individuals to build capability

BUILDING CAPABILITIES

WINTER 2016

PROPOSALS - Creative proposals evolved through the summer program

RESOURCE SHARING - Facilitating networking with potential partner organizations SETTING UP MEETINGS - Identifying and Collaborating with the partner organizations and volunteers

GRANT RECOMMENDATIONS - Facilitating with a tool kit for preparing candidates for grant proposals

FARMERS MARKET 2016

learning exchanging

promoting and supporting local skills

LOCAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

engaging

community contribution

giving back

celebrating local produce

A farmers market hosted by Rock Soup in collaboration with Edgemere Farm provides a vibrant and informative platform for interaction and exchange between local farmers, gardeners and residents, over two weekends at the beginning and end of the summer Mentorship program.

Edgemere Farm is a self-sustaining enterprise that has transformed a vacant, underutilized lot into a productive urban farm that produces fresh and organic vegetable, flowers and herbs. It is an incubator space for aspiring food producers and market gardeners keen on learning about sustainable methods for local food production.

This farmers market promotes and celebrates local farmers and gardeners by providing a venue for them to exhibit their produce, generate revenue and advertise their practice among local residents and visitors. The activity center engages residents to learn from experts about home gardening and bee-keeping.

The hot station celebrates the flavors and food. Additionally, this market also provides information on simple ways to recycle waste through compost.

This event is a step through which the community can collaborate, co-learn and contribute to sustainable processes of growing produce.

TALKS AND CONVERSATIONS 2016

PEDAGOGY Symposiums are held, under the chosen theme, over two weekends in the summer. It is the platform for exchange of knowledge and co-learning for the residents of Rockaways. The symposiums are facilitated with partner organizations.

It is held in two formats: Talks & Conversations and Film Screenings.

Rock soup co-ordinates the symposium with the American Littoral Society, an established organization in the Rockaways, empowering people to care about their environment through advocacy, education and conservation.

The Talk is presented by a panel of scientists, naturalists and volunteers who were brought together earlier for the Bioblitz 2015, during which the residents had an opportunity to interact with the experts.

The second part of the Symposium raises awareness among residents around the global issues impacting their local environment through documentary Film Screenings.

DOCUMENTARY FILM SCREENING 2016

DESIGNING

BIKE TOUR 2016

A design studio bring together 596 Acres in collaboration with the American Littoral Society to bring forward questions of land ownership, public space and community with the participating residents. The four day studio is designed to engage with participants through planned indoor and outdoor activities to celebrate and consolidate opportunities of potential interventions on the peninsula. 596 Acres conducts this studio on two weekends.

They are advertised via posters and online media and require a $10 participation fee.

Over the first weekend, a neighborhood bike tour is planned to acquaint the participants with 3 parks. The aim is to identify strengths, weaknesses and processes in an outdoor environment.

Paula, of 596 Acres, shares information about her own work, and thus, to the process of designing. These sessions are casual and geared towards conversations; residents are encouraged to share personal anecdotes and stories.

ORAL HISTORY 2016

For the second part of studio, at RWA premises, participants identify and bring out the problems of the neighborhood in a thorough discussion. Working in groups, they learn to collectively problematize these thoughts into insights and propose potential solutions and/ or recommendations. The collaborative discussions and feedback help develop these concepts into more tangible results.

OUTREACH- Rockaway summer website

PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS

OUTREACH AND FACILITATION The strategies adopted to implement RockTalks comprise of partnerships, outreach and changing venues.

The partner organizations comprise of an array of local and city based organizations such as 596 Acres, the American Littoral Society, Edgmere Farm, YMCA and RWA. Outreach is carried out through the website of Rockaway Summer, which is the current organizational directory for Rock Soup. The summer Mentorship program is inserted into the existing calendar of Rockaway Summer which will be the platform of communication for the residents of Rockaways, volunteers and partner organizations.

Through the winter session, RockTalks facilitates resources sharing and provides grant recommendations for potential projects initiated by residents that benefits the Rockaway community. The Citizens Committee for New York City, LISC NYC, Volunteer Generation Fund and RSF Social Feed Finance are grants that have been identified as potential grant systems which will facilitate local community projects.

LOCATION

Local Entreprenuership Pedagogy Design

El Space YMCA

El Space

YMCA

RWA Fire House

RWA Fire house

CORRIDOR OF URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS

LEONORE SNOEK & JAKOB WINKLER

“Pract-Up!” is a public exhibition situated in the Rockaways, NYC, that highlights positive examples of civic neighborhood transformation. The exhibition functions as a platform to collectively reimagine the urban landscape from within and translate hyper local embedded practices into accessible and actionable models.

Corridor of Urban Transformations is a public exhibition that highlights successful practices of neighborhood transformation. The exhibition is a model that can be replicated elsewhere. The first iteration, outlined in this proposal, is located at the border of the neighborhoods of Arverne and Edgemere and is called “Pract-Up. Explore the Rockaways” — the title is a combination of practice and stepping up.

Besides its image as a beach destination, the Rockaways is often represented negatively in public discourse. This discourse is one of fragmentation, poverty, crime, and vulnerability. Through on-theground research we also learned that there is a feeling of participation fatigue among Rockaway resident’s, stemming from manyfold planning and design proposals that use participation as a figleave for legitimation reasons and whose outcomes often lack tangible improvements for the community.

It is certainly true that especially the Eastern part of the peninsula has seen continuous public disinvestment and lack of basic city services.

Yet this lack of municipal support is met by a robust social infrastructure; residents and local organizations self-organize and create innovative ideas using available resources (such as vacant

land, local knowledge, social networks) to enhance their neighborhood. These practices reorganize and reshape the urban space.

Yet, these practices are often fragmented and not always visible. By highlighting them in a public exhibition and putting them in a common frame, we want to contribute to reframing the way people talk and think about the Rockaways. This turns the discourse from a problem-centered to an asset based one, which will motivate residents and strengthen their capacities to become active change makers themselves.

Through the exhibition we ourselves add to the transformation and production of urban space, both physically and socially. Physically, since the exhibition will be located in public space and makes people perceive and interact with their everyday surrounding in a new way. And socially because the exhibition functions as a platform that will spur a dialogue as well as learning processes among residents, amplifying positive change. We therefore not only highlight urban practices but by doing so, we design another urban practice that aims to reinforce the ongoing transformation of the Rockaways.

6

P R AC T- U P !

E X P LO R E T H E R O C KAWAYS

PAINTED PATH > connecting

PROPOSAL sed of the

es visitors n, physically rban practices, and the bay.

red projects e at their actual ng interaction tioners and at is being hood and build e active change

itors navigate ovides further atured projects. nowledges, and

FEATURED PROJECTS > building capacities

resources are shared by translating the embedded practices into accessible and actionable models.

Stickers with quotes of resident’s views on their built surroundings will be dotted along the exhibition path, enabling a collective reflection on the ways people perceive and think about their environments.

BROCHURE > sharing resources

QUOTES > reflecting

A central participation site allows for the collective generation of transformative ideas for the neighborhood and the co-creation of a desired vision for the future.

PARTICIPATION > collective imagining

Finally, a website allows to archive all gathered information and provides an open source for people interested in replicating the exhibition elsewhere.

WEBSITE > replicating Conceptual exhibition diagram

6

P R AC T- U P !

CORRIDOR OF URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS

E X P LO R E T H E R O C KAWAYS

CONNECTING SHAING KNOWLEDGE & RESOURCES

PROPOSAL sed of the

es visitors n, physically rban practices, and the bay.

red projects e at their actual ng interaction tioners and at is being hood and build e active change

itors navigate ovides further atured projects. nowledges, and

resources are shared by translating the embedded practices into accessible and actionable models.

Stickers with quotes of resident’s views on their built surroundings will be dotted along the exhibition path, enabling a collective reflection on the ways people perceive and think about their environments.

A central participation site allows for the collective generation of transformative ideas for the neighborhood and the co-creation of a desired vision for the future.

Finally, a website allows to archive all gathered information and provides an open source for people interested in replicating the exhibition elsewhere.

PAINTED PATH > connecting

FEATURED PROJECTS > building capacities

REFLECTING

QUOTES > reflecting

BUILDING CAPACITIES

BROCHURE > sharing resources

ENGAGING REPLICATING & MOBILIZING

PARTICIPATION > collective imagining

WEBSITE > replicating Conceptual exhibition diagram

-Pract-up consists of a painted path that guides visitors through the exhibition.

-A brochure functions as the guide and contains further information on the featured projects.

-The projects are showcased through information booths at their actual locations, which encourages interaction between visitors and urban practitioners.

-Along the path will be stickers with quotes of residents about their environments, encouraging reflection on urban space.

-A participation site that enables visitors to collectively develop new ideas of neighborhood change and reimagine the future of the neighborhood.

-Side programming to invigorate the space and make sure the exhibition will reach the targeted audience.

-A website that archives all gathered information and provides open source data for people interested in replicating the exhibition in their neighborhood.

Together this creates a platform and a tool that contributes to the reframing of the discourse about the Rockaways and creates a space to collectively re-imagine the Rockaways from within.

The practices were identified through a snowball system of talking to embedded practitioners and asking them about other projects. The projects represent a broad range of involved actors, various practices, and outcomes. But all of them reclaim, reimagine, and redesign the Rockaways for its residents, especially its disenfranchised communities, and reestablish a positive sense of belonging and ownership to this particular urban environment.

NORTON BASIN EDGEMERE STEWARDSHIP GROUP

Beach 58 St

ROCKAWAY YOUTH TASK FORCE COMMUNITY GARDEN

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURING PROJECT (ROCKAWAY WATERFRONT ALLIANCE) M Beach 67 St (A)

Blvd

M Beach 60 St (A)

BLACK SURFING ASSOCIATION

ARVERNE EAST COMMUNITY BENEFITS M AGREEMENT (ROCKAWAY WILDFIRE) Beach 56 Pl

ach

e ay B kaw Roc

Beach 59 St

ach

Be

r

lD

ne

an Ch

WORKING PRINCIPLES WEBSITE

downloadable models step by step explanation

ONLINE BROCHURE

ONLINE PHYSICAL

RESEARCHING PROJECTS

REPLICATE EXHIBITION MODEL ONLINE SITE INFO

MAP & PATH MISSION & PROGRAMMING

PARTNERING WITH PROJECTS

BROCHURE

SITE INFORMATION RESOURCE GUIDE

EXHIBITION STRUCTURES

EXHIBITION

SITES

PRINTED BROCHURES QUOTES PARTICIPATION SITE PATH

CO - CREATING CONTENT

CORRIDOR OF URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS

GUIDED TOURS PRODUCING STRUCTURES

FOUR WEEKENDS SITE TALKS

FESTIVAL

CREATING THE WEBSITE

APRIL

MAY

CONCLUDING EVENT

COLLECTION OF RESULTS

TANGIBLE PROJECTS

JUNE JULY & AUGUST

The process of creating the content starts with researching projects for the exhibition. For us this was an iterative process of inserting ourselves in the context, speaking to people and organizations engaged in neighborhood practices and asking them about other projects they know of. Establishing these partnerships from the beginning is crucial to ensure the exhibition will reflect the views of the embedded actors, including the co-creation of the content and the curation of examples. Once the content is created, corresponding exhibition structures were designed to best represent the information.

EXHIBITION DESIGN “work in progress” BOTH SIGN OF DESTRUCTION (BOARDED UP) & SIGN OF NEW INVESTMENT

We used construction as an inspiration for the visual theme of the exhibition.

Construction boards, especially in the Rockaways, often represent either new developments that don’t necessarily benefit the community or are a sign of destruction, such as boarded up structures that were destroyed by hurricane Sandy.

We use these boards to showcase a different kind of construction, namely the construction and development of an altered landscape by citizens through practices of urban transformation.

USING AND RE-FRAMING VISUAL LANGUAGE TO REPRESENT PRACTICES OF RE-IMAGINATION

type 1

type 2

type 3

PATH DESIGN TEMPORARY PAINT THE PATH FUNCTIONS AS A VISIBLE SYMBOL FOR THE EXHIBITION; GUIDES VISITORS TO THE EXHIBITED PROJECTS; AND CONNECTS THE PROJECTS AS WELL AS THE BEACH AND THE BAY

The path will be painted on sidewalks with temporary paint. The path first and foremost functions as a visual identification symbol for the exhibition. It also physically connects the featured projects and puts them into a common frame, showing how they stack up and together transform the Rockaways. The path also encourages visitors to explore both edges of the peninsula and to appropriate and look at the urban environment differently.

CONSTRUCTION VIEWING PANEL REQUIREMENTS Local Law 47 of 2013 “Every 25 feet, fences must have 12x12 inch viewing panels, which should be enclosed with plexiglass or similar material”

FEATURED PROJECTS

CONSTRUCTION-WINDOW TO LOOK TO & RE-IMAGINE THE SITE EXHIBITED, WHILE LEARNING ABOUT CIVIC INITIATIVES TRANSFORMING THE LANDSCAPE

type 1 Black surfers association

The exhibition has two types of exhibition boards for featured projects, depending on their physical manifestation in space.

10

Projects that are not permanently present in space are represented by larger square exhibition boards that invite visitors to reframe and reimagine their presence in the everyday.

Projects that are permanently present in space are represented by smaller boards that invite visitors to engage with the project on site.

CLEAR DEMARCATION TO EXHIBITION SITES

CORRIDOR OF URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS

eryday on that e d

eil the ics that

PRACT-UP!

7

FEATURED PROJECTS

FEATURED PROJECTS

type 2 Rockaway Youth Task Force Community Garden

CONSTRUCTION-WINDOW TO LOOK TO & RE-IMAGINE THE SITE EXHIBITED, WHILE LEARNING ABOUT CIVIC INITIATIVES TRANSFORMING THE LANDSCAPE

type 1 Black surfers association

VISITORS USE THE EXHIBITION GUIDE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE PROJECTS, SEE THE FULL WALK AND SEE WHERE TO GO NEXT.

PROJECTS & BROCHURE The exhibition features five civic practices that change the urban landscape of the Rockaways in physical and social terms. The projects represent a broad range of involved actors, various practices, and outcomes. But all of them reclaim, reimagine, and redesign the Rockaways for its residents, especially its disenfranchised communities, and re-establish a positive sense of belonging and ownership to this particular urban environment.

interviews with local change makers and translated their practices, knowledges, procedures, and protocols into accessible models to be shared with a broader audience.

The brochure features a map of the exhibition, as well as the models we derived from the interviews.

This makes visible what is usually only accessible to those deeply embedded in these processes.

It supports the transference of procedural knowledge to amplify modalities of co-producing the city.

The featured projects were chosen For this reason, the brochure also collaboratively through a snowball features a guide that lists resources system of talking to embedded (funding, tools etc.) that have been practitioners and asking them about used by the featured projects and other initiatives. After co-curating can be of help to others to realize the projects, we conducted own ideas.

Sticker in-depth quotes their & presentation of featured

projects

CLEAR DEMARCATION TO EXHIBITION SITES

Visitors engaging with exhibition brochure

PARTICIPATION FRONT THIS MAP COLLECTS DATA FROM PARTICIPANTS. RED SIGNIFIES PLACES THAT ARE PERCEIVED AS NEGLECTED, YELLOW ARE OTHER PRACTICES, AND GREEN ARE SPACES OF OPPORTUNITY. THE TAGS ARE USED TO EITHER WRITE DOWN PRACTICES OR IDEAS FOR THE REDEVELOPMENT OF NEGLECTED SPACES AND/OR SPACES OF OPPORTUNITY

The participation site will encourage visitors to contribute their ideas through two interactive panels. One side of the panel features a map of the area that will be filled by participants with stickers marking places that are neglected (red), spaces of opportunity (green), and other practices that people know of that rearrange urban space according to residents desires (yellow). Little tags allow to add a short description of what these practices are or why people think a place is neglected or represents an opportunity. The mapping is a collective exercise. Even if people are participating individually, the map allows people to see what others have mapped and the participation tools become a means of communication between participants. Over time, collective trends will become visible.

PARTICIPATION BACK THE PARTICIPATION BOARD HAS TWO INTERACTIVE SIDES, INVITING PEOPLE TO WALK AROUND THE STRUCTURE AND LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW FROM BOTH SIDES.

On the back side of the panel will be a chalkboard to let participants write or sketch their visions for the Rockaways, what they would like to see and how that might look like. Again, the tool allows for residents to communicate through the board, collectively re-imagining new ideas for future change and starting to generate a shared vision for their neighborhood.

The participatory mapping exercise will help amalgamate individual experiences, neighborhood issues and assets and make them visible to the entire community.

BACK SIDE FEATURES LARGE EMPTY BOARD THAT CAN BE FILLED IN WITH CRAYONS, FOR ANSWERS TO THE QUESTION: WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE IN THE ROCKAWAYS?

THE BACK SIDE IS MORE TRANSITIONAL WHILE THE FRONT OVER TIME BECOMES A COLLECTION OF ANSWERS THAT FUNCTIONS AS A DATA REPRESENTATION TOOL

BROCHURE DERSIGN

The exhibition will have a brochure that is available at all 5 project sites and the participation site along the path. The brochure features a map and functions as a guide for the exhibition, with information on what the exhibition is about and wants to achieve, as well as the dates of the side programming.

CORRIDOR OF URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS

7

BROCHURE DESIGN RESOURCE GUIDE FUNDING

TOOLS

TRAINING

SHARING

This resources guide lists some of the resources out there you can use to start your own project!

The heart of the brochure is an explanation of the featured projects.

Next to an image and a short description of these urban practices, it features a visual representation of the exhibited practices’ journey to success, called “their story”. These model representations are translations of embedded knowledges, and the applied procedures, and protocols that we learned about through interviews.

This allows to make visible what is usually only accessible to those deeply embedded in these processes, or put differently, it allows for the transference of procedural knowledge both among urban practitioners and between urban practitioners and residents. The idea is that these models or parts of them will then become replicable.

For this reason, the brochure also features a resource guide that lists resources (such as funding and tools) that have been used by the featured projects and can be of help to others to realize their ideas. By applying these strategies of knowledge transfer, we think that change and new ways of practicing can be amplified, opening other modalities of co-producing the city.

ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION

Name of organization & symbol of provided resource(s)

RESOURCES

596acres.org

596 ACRES

non-profit land access advocacy organization that helps residents reclaiming vacant city-owned land

livinglots.org helps you find and organize access to city-owned vacant land in your neighborhood; urbanreviewer.org lists all urban renewal plans the city has ever adopted. find out about active plans in your neighborhood and advocate the city to use them for the community’s sake

CITIZENS COMMITTEE FOR NYC

private foundation that provides micro-grants for community building and neighborood initiatives

neighborhood grants of up to $3,000 to improve your neighborhood; love your block grants of $1,000 to beautify your neighborhood; composting grants to start or expand a compost operation; active design grants of up to $4,000 for design projects in early childhood centers and public schools

EDGEMERE COMMUNITY GROUP PAGE

working community group of Edgemere residents advocating for community-led development of the neighborhood

website by and for residents to: gather useful information, organize, and get the word out about issues that concern the Edgemere Community

GREEN THUMB

program of NYC Parks that provides programming, training, and material support for official green thumb gardens

provides guidance for starting a community garden provides garden resources such as soil, compost, mulch, or clean fill; lumber, garden signage; assists with access to fire hydrants

GROW NYC

non-profit aiming to improve NYCs quality of life through environmental programs that transform communities block by block and empower all New Yorkers to secure a clean and healthy environment for the future

grow nyc garden program provides support community and school gardens through tool loans, volunteer days, technical assistance, training, school garden grants and more; greenmarket program; recycle program

IOBY - IN MY BACKYARD

mobilizes neighbors who have good ideas to become powerful citizen leaders who plan, fund and make positive change in their own neighborhoods

platform to crowdfund and -source projects to make our neighborhoods safer, greener, more livable and more fun

PARTNERSHIP FOR PARKS

nonprofit organization whose mission is to offer programs in public parks throughout the five boroughs of New York City

capacity fund grants of up to $5,000 to strengthen the outreach, membership, and program-planning capacity of community groups who care for their neighborhood parks in all five boroughs of New York City

ROCK SOUP

volunteer-run dinner that funds micro grants for creative projects

monthly micro-grants for projects benefiting the Rockaways, ranging from art, urban agriculture, social justice, social entrepreneurship, education, technology and more.

citizensnyc.org

Description of organization

notarverneeast.com

greenthumbnyc.org

grownyc.org

ioby.org

cityparksfoundation.org

rockawaysoup.com

Description of provided resources

BROCHURE DESIGN 1. nbesg bay cleanup project The Norton Basin Edgemere Stewardship group is mobilizing local residents to clean up the neglected wetlands of the Norton Basin, promoting a sense of ownership, responsibility, and care for the peninsula’s natural landscape.

2. rytf community garden In response to the lack of fresh and organic food in the Rockaways, the Rockaway Youth Task Force transformed a once vacant lot into a thriving community garden that today functions as a social hub, an educational tool and as a place to grow food for residents.

lack of healthy food options & youth representation in community development

envisioning future space with local youth members

knowledge of local governance structure

attaining access to vacant lot through NYC Parks

co-producing space

funding through private foundations and fundraising

partnering with other local community gardens

invite larger community

partnership with GrowNYC

East Rockaway Growing Coalition hires and trains local youth to become urban farmers

youth-led farmers market provides healthy food to Rockaway residents provides food sourced from local farms

3. rwa green infrastructuring project The Rockaway Waterfront Alliance has reclaimed a vacant and neglected piece of land accross from their new headquarters.

Together with Combo Colab they built an area that calls attention to the importance of recycling and taking care of your surroundings.

4. rw community benefits agreement Rockaway Wildfire grew out of resident relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The community activist organization has been working on a Community Benefits Agreement with the developers of Arverne East, advocating that this private development will benefit all residents of the peninsula.

5. black surfing association Louis Harris is the East Coast representative of the Black Surfers Association. As a surf instructur at NY Surf School he teaches kids from the Far Rockaways to swim and surf for free, because 70% of youth drownings are African American.

Project photo

Project title & description

creating local and city-wide partnerships

70% of youth drowings are African American children youth criminality is often caused by boredom

LOUIS HARRIS BSA East Coast representative

Local and national backing through surf school and Black Surfers Association

Resident of Rockaways Surf Instructure at NY Surf School

Creating an online pressence for his idea

Project’s insights & problem definition

Pitching idea at first edition of Rock Soup for micro grant to kick start idea

Through word of mouth and online pressence

reaching local kids

employing local youth using personal and professional network

start to provide free surf & swim lessons to kids that reach out

opening local store with partners

raise private funding

BBQ parties

creating a bigger knowledge base for the activities of black surfers association in the Rockaways

Beach Clean Up create more activities with local partners

Project’s process; translating embedded practices & knowledge into accessible models

STICKING NARRATIVES

Along the path there will be stickers with quotes of residents on how they relate to their surroundings. These quotes make visible everyday stories and shed light on the multiple subjective perspectives that relate to space, and are intended to start a collective debate and reflection on the urban surroundings. They also shed light on small everyday acts and tactics that maintain the place.

STICKERS ALONG THE PATH REVEAL RESIDENT’S RELATIONS TO THEIR SURROUNDINGS

PRACT-UP!

EXPLORE THE ROCKAWAYS

CORRIDOR OF URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS

PROJECTS

exhibition board type 1 for projects that do not have a physical presence, or sites with no fencing. Includes poster design.

painted path how to

RESOURCE GUIDE MISSION DIY

download

download

exhibition board type 2

participation

for projects that have a physical presence, for sites with fencing and /or walls/ Includes poster design.

model for participation site with poster and label design

download

download

brochure

quotes

fill in brochure for project information, time schedule, resource guide, and path demarcation on map

sticker formats for personal narratives

download

download the whole package here. All files are open source and can be edited and uploaded

download

The website will function as a place to gather all the information about the exhibition, including the project descriptions, a downloadable brochure, and the map of the neighborhood. The website will also function as an open source tool for others to replicate the exhibition. For this purpose, there will be downloadable instructions for the creation of the exhibition, including technical descriptions on how to create and use the boards, a template for a new page on the website.

The exhibition will feature four guided tours, one at each weekend throughout the duration of the exhibition. The tours will stop at each location where tour takers listen to short talks by the featured practitioners, and get a chance to directly interact with and learn from them. The last tour will end with a concluding event at the participation site. This will give an opportunity to collectively analyze the participatory mapping and ideas generation and move from the individual contributions toward a common discussion about the neighborhood and potential implementation and/or prototyping of commonly proposed ideas or re-appropriation.

PROGRAMMING

THE FINAL TOUR WILL END WITH A CLOSING PARTY WHERE THE DATA COLLECTED ON THE PARTICIPATION MAP WILL BE DISCUSSED AND POSSIBLE FUTURE PROJECTS WILL BE ASSESSED ON PRACTICALITY.

EACH WEEKEND IN JUNE A WALKING TOUR WILL BE ORGANIZED, BOTH FOR RESIDENTS AND VISITORS. THE SCHEDULE IS POSTED ONLINE AND CAN BE FOUND IN THE BROCHURE. DURING THE WALKS PEOPLE AT THE SITE GIVE A SHORT TALK

ROCKWE ASSOCIATION

HEMING ZHANG

RockWe create a new comprehensive system for public pedagogy, transparency of decisionmaking process and public participation.

The situation in Rockaway is very complicated: Rockaway belongs to New York City, but here is totally different from the other districts of New York. If you walking in northern part of Rockaway, you can see some stores invading the narrow sidewalk; there are many hollows in the drive, which storing black rainwater inside them; the unused space under the elevated is occupied by weeds and garbage; there are lots of wreckage still lying on the yards after Sandy…

At the same time, we heard that more and more families decided send their kids to schools that are outside Rockaway. Also, we learnt that there is uneven investment and public service between north and south Rockaway. In addition, local organizations are difficult to get enough funding currently. Local residents don’t know how to make their lives different, and they don’t know how to attract more attention from outside. Rockaway and its residents seem like invisible to the rest of city.

How to truly improve the living condition of local residents? How to local help residents and organizations achieve and protect their right? How to help them understand and engage in decisionmaking process? How to provide the information of planning, housing, and so on, more efficiently?

How to practice their knowledge and foster their own plans for the neighborhoods? How to figure out the characteristics of Rockaway and use them

in the future? How to acquire more resources from outside and make Rockaway as a visible place, and then make residents feel pride about their home?

After our observation, research and discussion, we realized that those above questions would not be only solved by physical design process. What we are trying to do is to create a new circulate system, which as an open platform. This system remixes different model of public pedagogy and participation models, and it cooperates and reorganizes with several organizations, which will foster a flexible and comprehensive platform.

Our proposal seeks to make long-term residents become visible in the process of informationbased and project-based parts by introducing tax incentives and directing the foundation to local organizations. So that we can develop projects that will focus on urban pedagogy, opening the path of decision-making, and improve residents living conditions.

This new organization called RoackWe Association, which we want to use this name to emphasize the “people’s power“. “We“ can rock this place and make Rockaway different!

The following shows all the details of our proposal for RockWe Association:

How to make local residents visible? We want to empower them, let their vioce heard, improve their living conditions, and forster their pride of neighborhood.

RockWe Association is an online and offline platform that provides public urban pedagogy, transparentize path of decision-making and encourage residents in Rockaway to engage into community design process. Our purpose is creating a new model, which can empower people, improve their living conditions and make them visible to the city. This new system can also help people identify and protect their cultural, natural resources, and it can rebuild social networks by aligning stakeholders, holding events and workshop and forming design teams.

TAX INCENTIVES: RockWe will cooperate with the community board to negotiate with Mayor’s office, city council and NYCEDC to achieve the tax policy that can redistribute certain type of tax directly to the community board. This amount of money can provide funding for not only our projects, but also the other organizations’ projects, which focus on improvements to schools, parks, libraries, and other public or community spaces.

Here is the whole working framework of our system, which include draft schedule, themes, and the relations among different activities.

As we all know, education need both input and output, which means we need to learn knowledge and practice it. In light of our personal experience and our research, RockWe Association will include two main parts: informationbased part and project-based part.

Those two parts can support each other, for instance, people can find their own insights through participate the workshops, and they can contribute their feedback from these insights; also, engage in design process may help people gain more Curiosity about other issues and want to learn more.

In the future, we want to expand our system as a new democratic model and lead some larger scale projects in whole Rockaway.

In the information-based part of first step, RockWe Association will cooperate with the professionals and other organizations to hold series of workshops, such as story telling, resource mapping and scenarios workshop. Those workshops can help people discover their personal insights of local neighborhood, understand local cultural and natural resources better, and help them figure out how to achieve their proposals of neighborhood improvement.

Then we will analyze the workshops’ results. We will visualize those both quantitative and qualitative data, and extract the key elements inside people’s life stories, insights and scenarios. In every three months, we will release the outcome analysis document online.

We will also cooperate with local artists, for example painters, musicians and filmmakers, to bring more pleasure into workshops. The art should embed inside people’s daily life, meanwhile, attending art events can make people feel more comfortable and help them rebuild their social networks. Artists can help us design the detail of workshops, and we can also provide more relations to them from outside Rockaway.

In the project-based part of first step, RockWe Association will finish the preparation work, which includes identifying the potential site in Rockaway, finding cooperation with city government and social civics.

According to the statistical data and current living condition, the construction of infrastructure will start from 49th to 74th street, then expand to other surrounding areas.

We will use the online tool “596 ACRES” to identify potential sites in Rockaway, and we can get legal support and campaign-development on land use issues from them. Also, we can share knowledge and relationships with decision-makers.

Totally we will have 3 phases. The design process will be developed step by step.

In step 2, we focus on providing more professional information and trying to build some testing public infrastructure in open space.

RockWe Association will cooperate with local public schools, Rockaway Art Alliance, and other experts to hold some elective class in high school. We will guide students understand how to research information of several topics online, and help them design the publication. Finally these outcomes will display and handout to the public.

Also, We will have some handcraft class, which will build some public infrastructure by students’ own hands.

Then they will observe how residents and tourists react with those structures, and do some survey to figure out how to improve those testing infrastructures.

In the second project part, we will have phase 1, which will lead by experts. Based on the outcome of previous workshops and research on the site, professional designers submit draft plans and present to residents. Residents learn information of public space from booklets, and they can practice their knowledge in workshops. Residents can share their ideas, needs, and concerns.

All plans display with art exhibition in gallery, which can attract more people and enhance their social networks.

Residents review the plan and have a final chance to share their feedback.

People can vote during display of plans.

The final plan will be submitted to the NYCDCP and city council.

Rockaway Association will help people get the information and help them practice their knowledge. We will display the whole working process on the website. We want to make the path of decision-making transparent, and make residents understand: how to improve our neighborhood, how to protect our legitimate rights to the city.

We hope people in Rockaway can foster the awareness that there is unlimited potential in community based design.

Based on what we have in second step, people may gain more information about public space, public health, and protection of ecologies, and they may understand the path of decision-making better. In this part, RockWe Association will expand the topics of publication. We hope that can help residents think about how to reconsider the function of the other sites, and they can foster their own proposals.

RockWe Association will create a new online platform for people to submit their plans. Even the citizens who really care about Rockaway can also submit their proposals. This activity can attract more attention from outside, and create more opportunities.

In phase 2 and 3, according to previous steps, local residents may better understand their resources and demands.

In light of their insights and what they learn before, people can decide the function of next two phases. They can even change the usage of phase one.

The residents, who have their own proposal, can submit their draft plan to RockWe’s website. If they only have some rough idea, RockWe can also help them to find partners with similar proposals.

The plan is not limited to site-design, but also includes events and activities.

RockWe will invite several experts and hold some workshops to help people improve their plans, Then they will submit their final plans.

All citizens can review all plans online.

People have to first finish a brief survey, and based on their interests and choice of location, the related plan will show up.

They could give feedback online, and find their opportunity to learn something about the community. It can also encourages people from outside to bring events and friends into Rockaway.

Design and Urban Ecologies Studio 2 Spring 2016 Professor Miodrag Mitrasinovic Final Review May 6th, 2016 63 5th Ave Room 515

9:30 - 9:45

INTRODUCTION

9:45 - 10:25

JAMAKING: RE-FRAMING THE BAY Isabel Saffon & Michaela Kramer

10:30 - 11:30 ROCKAWAY LINK Paul Kardous

11:05 - 11:35 ROCKWE ASSOCIATION Heming Zhang

11:35 - 12:00 BREAK 12:00 - 1:20

CONNECTING BEACH TO BAY CORRIDOR OF URBAN TRANSFORMATION Leonore Snoek & Jakob Winkler

ROCKTALKS

Sruti Penumetsa, Ruchika Lodha & Priya Pinjani