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As the climate continues to warm, both the rainfall intensity and total amount of rainfall from large storms are projected to increase.
Hurricane Sandy is just one example of how these extreme rain events can impact a region.The people who live on the Rockaway Peninsula are resilient. This suburb of New York City lost more than 70 residents in the tragedy of September 11, 2001. The area was further devastated by Hurricane Sandy in 2012. With the help of the U.S. Forest Service and other partners, the community is restoring areas damaged by the storm. By using urban forestry and urban agricultural practices, the landscape will be more resilient to future storm events. Many projects are completed or in progress.
Beach 41st Gardens and Edgemere Farm provide locally grown food and peaceful garden space to the community. The Rockaway Community Park is being managed to serve as a buffer from flood waters. The severely damaged Rockaways boardwalk has been rebuilt with potential future extreme events in mind. Finally, Tribute Park is a living memorial with trees and plants that provide a place for people to reflect and remember those who lost their lives on September 11. Along a five mile stretch of the Rockaway Peninsula, visit these five locations. In each place, unique recovery actions are connecting people to nature and building community stewardship. Many practices are also helping to improve the resiliency of the area to climate change.
“This space is a landscape of resilience in that it is constantly being tested by the natural cycles of high tide, heavy precipitation. So, water coming in and out is a constant battle here. The natural elements are naturally resilient to this climate... People really play a heavy role too in their stewardship.”
- Renae Reynolds, Project Coordinator, Landscapes of Resilience, U.S. Forest Service
The Rockaway Boardwalk is often referred to as the “spine” of the peninsula. The boardwalk runs more than 5 miles along the coastline from Beach 9th Street to Beach 149th Street. During Hurricane Sandy's storm surge, huge portions of the boardwalk were lifted off their foundation and pushed into the surrounding neighborhoods. This extensive damage underscored the neighborhood's vulnerability to coastal flooding, extreme storms, and sea level rise. More than $480 million has been invested to repair and renovate the boardwalk and associated beach buildings. With reconstruction nearly complete, the boardwalk is once again open to the public. Read more about the boardwalk and beach restoration in the New York Times.
Funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) helped rebuild the Rockaway boardwalk after Hurricane Sandy (Video by Kenneth Wilsey, FEMA).
After Hurricane Sandy, the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR) was created. SIRR focused on preparing for and protecting against climate change. Their final report, A Stronger, More Resilient New York, includes a summary of the impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Strategies for rebuilding and other means to increase the resiliency of the city are also part of the report.
In 2013, the New York City Panel on Climate Change released Climate Risk Information 2013. This report provides new climate change projections and future coastal flood risk maps for New York City.
Neat rows of beach grass are being planted on the berm between the boardwalk and the ocean. The plants—supplied in part by the USDA-NRCS Cape May Plant Materials Center—anchor the dune and collect blowing sand. Learn more about this effort from this New York Times article.
The Beach 41st Houses are a New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) public housing complex. Located in the Edgemere neighborhood of Queens, community gardens were started here in the 1990s. The area includes 32 plots along the waterfront of Jamaica Bay. Plots are maintained by the resident gardeners of B41 Houses.
Gardens can help address the issue of food availability, but the Beach 41st Gardens are about so much more than just food and agriculture. These gardens beautify the landscape through growth and renewal. Beach 41st Gardens is a social gathering place for members of the community. The gardens serve as a meeting space and also provide a place where neighbors can increase their awareness of their role in the landscape. People sitting here have a vantage point from which to watch the weather and appreciate the setting.
The landscape around the Beach 41st Houses and Gardens were severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy. In October 2012, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) shut down the gardens for 1 year until the soils were deemed safe for planting again. Soon after, the U.S. Forest Service implemented a Landscape of Resilience project. NYCHA, Till Design (an urban design practice), and the U.S. Forest Service worked with the residents of the area to renew the space. Together, they researched stewardship practices and looked at better ways to develop social networks. These actions help to increase the resiliency of the area to future storms.
The Rockaways is close to the ocean on one side and the human population on the other. The location of this barrier island makes it especially vulnerable to big storms and rising sea levels.
Edgemere Farm is a half-acre urban agriculture site in the Edgemere neighborhood of the Rockaway Peninsula. The site was formed after Hurricane Sandy. The City of New York issued a request for projects to revitalize vacant lots on the battered landscape. Director Matt Sheehan proposed transforming this lot into a farm. It now produces locally grown food for the community. The farm provides a model for economic development through urban agriculture that can be used in other areas.
A low tunnel is used to extend the growing season and raise hardy cold-season greens in winter. The tunnel also protects crops from extreme weather and pests.
Matthew Sheehan discusses the many benefits of an urban farm. It is a source of fresh, healthy food in a "food desert." The farm works to reduce carbon emissions and "food miles" by locally producing food. Urban agriculture also serves as an educational resource and a community gathering place.
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The Healing Garden @ Far Rock Farm is a farm located nearby that is run by an organization called The Campaign Against Hunger. This non-profit group donates all the produce they grow. In contract, Edgemere Farm works under a different model and defines itself as a “zero-profit." They sell their produce and reinvest all revenue into staff and cultivation.
This park functions as a buffer between Jamaica Bay and the densely populated Rockaway peninsula. When Hurricane Sandy hit, damaging salt water flooded the area. Kristen King, Director of Forest Restoration for the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, describes efforts to restore Rockaway Community Park. The focus is on encouraging native species by removing invasive species and planting trees. Practices to manage storm water and add shade to reduce the heat island effect are also being used.
Rockaway Community Park is a fascinating example of the diversity of New York City’s parks. Once a resort for the well-heeled of New York, Rockaway Community Park is now an unspoiled getaway for all New Yorkers. It is made up of 253 acres on the Jamaica Bay in southern Queens. The Park offers opportunity for wildlife and nature lovers. Bird watchers can observe birds in their natural habitat and may even spot a snowy owl hunting his prey. Fishing enthusiasts can cast their lines in the wide-open waterways. In 2012, “Superstorm” Sandy destroyed Far Rockaway. One year later volunteers planted more than 20,000 trees at Rockaway Community Park. This one day event was part of the city's MillionTreesNYC initiative.
MillionTreesNYC is a project run by the New York City Parks Department with a goal to plant and care for one million trees in New York City. The U.S. Forest Service partners with MillionTreesNYC to add science expertise.
Dan Mundy, Vice President of the Friends of Tribute Park and retired New York City firefighter, describes the creation of Tribute Park and its significance to the community.Every Tuesday morning at the same time the planes hit the World Trade Center towers, volunteers gather to help care for and maintain the park. In many cities across the country, stewardship groups like this gather to conserve, manage, and monitor urban landscapes. Check out the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) to learn more. The groups not only care for the land, but also advocate for and educate the public about their local environments.
A stone compass mosaic lays at the center of the park. The compass points to the former site of the World Trade Center across the bay. Each year on the anniversary of 9/11, Tribute Park hosts a ceremony to commemorate those who were lost. Attendees place a rose on the compass, one for each of the names read aloud during the ceremony.
Tribute Park was developed with funding and support from the U.S. Forest Service as part of the Living Memorials Project. "This initiative invokes the resonating power of trees to bring people together and create lasting, living memorials to the victims of terrorism, their families, communities, and the nation." The names of more than 70 fallen Rockaway residents are inscribed on the park's brick walkway. Many were police officers and firefighters.
Shortly after Tribute Park was completed, it was nearly destroyed by Superstorm Sandy. Dan Mundy, Vice President of the Friends of Tribute Park, describes how ocean water swept across the Rockaway Peninsula and through the park's main gate.