Rockaway: 6 Months After Sandy

Assessment at the Wave.

Welcome to Zone A

Sign posted in Red Hook.

Superstorm Sandy Shapes Discussion at Mayoral Forum About NYC's Waterfront

I'm not sure if any of you were able to attend the MWA Waterfront Forum on Tuesday (unfortunately, I had a thesis review, so couldn't attend), but here is a recap of the candidates' positions/statements.

Preserving the Cultural and Natural Resources on Cumberland Island

This article focuses on some of the issues we have seen.

The Rockaways Story

While waiting outside the community center at Rockaway Park, a few of us spoke the reporter from Stony Brook University. She was there to follow up on her first trip to the Rockaways just two weeks after the hurricane. In conversation she mentioned a blog that several journalism students had compiled with their experiences, photos and videos. Take a look at the link below to their site - its very interesting to compare the impacts to the damage that remained this weekend.

http://www.sbujdrive.com/rockaways/

More Arverne by the Sea

Averne by the Sea flood line.

And yet - the development was not untouched by high water. From the looks of it, at least some residents suffered some flood damage, even if the infrastructure of the development itself was relatively unscathed.

A Much Criticized Pocket of the Rockaways, Built to Survive a Storm

I was curious as to how Arverne by the Sea, that massive new development we passed, fared in the storm - and based on this article seems to be very well. This is worth pursuing on a few fronts. First, there was some of the same luck that protected the historic bungalows around Beach 25th - good dunes and (maybe as a result), no boardwalk damage and little or no flooding from the ocean side. Second, they had installed a very robust storm water management system, including holding tanks and large-capacity storm sewers (184 Kent in Williamsburg, a historic building, had a similar system in place, which spared it from a lot of damage). And third, recovery was relatively quick because systems were either raised or installed in anticipation of flooding (submersible transformers, e.g.).

This is also significant because, as we have seen, there is a lot of discussion about how new buildings (post-1983) fared vs. old buildings. To the extent that old buildings, historic or otherwise, are seen as unsustainable in the face of changing climate, that makes our jobs as preservationists all the more challenging. Yet another reason why we need that data on red tags!

Bowery Boys Podcast

The Bowery Boys have awesomely interesting and entertaining podcasts on different areas of New York history, and coincidentally, they have an episode on the history and development of The Rockaways! Perhaps we can all try to listen to it before this weekend's field trip out to Rockaway Beach. I listened to this episode this morning and thought it was great! Here is the link below to their website where you can listen to it, or they are all on iTunes as well. Enjoy!

http://theboweryboys.blogspot.com/2012/06/rockaway-and-rockaway-beach-strange.html

Red Hook Library Reopens

Today.

The long-term plans for the library are interesting too. The executive director of Spaceworks used to work at the Greenpoint Manufacturing & Design Center, where he was involved in the tax-credit-funded McKibben Street rehabilitation.

Waterfront Residents Say Mandatory Repairs Are Too Costly

Lang's basement was flooded and now officials are requiring her to fill her basement with sand and raise her home six to eight feet, which will cost about $140,000.

We discussed tax credits as a potential funding source for restoration and rebuilding - but, is it appropriate to raise a historic building 6 to 8 feet? Such an alteration might not meet the Secretary of the Interior's Standards.

Should we make exceptions to the Standards for rebuilding in flood zones?

Six to Celebrate

The Far Rockaway Beach Bungalows were one of HDC's Six to Celebrate in 2012. Below is a link to the information booklet they compiled with history of the neighborhood and some significant sites. Take a look before Saturday's trip!

http://hdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Rockaway-Bungalows-walking-tour-brochure.pdf