WB unabridged with Yale ARCADIS
New York

The Rockaways have been an attractive destination for vacationers since the Cross Bay Bridge and the development of the beach and boardwalk in 1930. Construction of the elevated train and the first low- and moderate-income projects arrived in 1955. Restoring downtown as a desirable environment for housing and essential services is especially critical when the historic commercial areas are on high ground.

The proposed Resilience Center will be located at the terminal stop of the A train, along the ridge, at elevation +35’.  The center will include an urban grocery and retail shops, commercial uses, a job training center (that doubles as a public safety shelter for residents from nearby low-lying neighborhoods), and a mix of housing types. It will serve as an important link between the A train to the LIRR station one-quarter mile away, for increased mobility options.

A future cut through the peninsula to restore water circulation to the east side of Jamaica Bay is under study by the Army Corps of Engineers. By the time it is complete, many of the public housing facilities will be at greater risk for flooding and isolation. Satellite projects will retrofit multi-family housing (such as at Beach Channel Drive and Beach 40^th Street) so that residents may shelter in place, by removing dwelling units at the grade level and relocating these units on-site, moving sensitive equipment out of the floodplain, providing self-sufficiency features, and providing a resilient community center for resident activities as well as emergency functions.