National Park Expansion

In 2100, we envision an expanded National Park that will preserve and protect the wetlands and ecological systems in the newly inundated wetlands. This conversion will require significant environmental remediation, and a series of relocations and buyouts for current residents within the proposed park boundary.

HOUSING

HOUSING

Adequate, safe, and affordable housing will remain one of the most important considerations for Rockaway residents as they plan for the next generation. In the conceivable scenario where the Rockaway Peninsula is fully submerged below the water level by 2070, basic functions of the community--from infrastructure to housing--will no longer be supportive of human life. Planning for housing in this scenario means identifying alternative, more resilient locations for community members to live. Gateway Towns will be built to accommodate residents and future National Park Activities

An expanded Rockaways & Jamaica Bay National Park would prioritize ecological preservation and remediation of Jamaica Bay, however this does not rule out aquacultural production. The National Park would work with the Delaware Lenape Nation as stewardship partners for aquacultural production within park waters and hiring and economic decisions would be determined through consultation and deliberation with the Tribal Nation. 

An expanded Rockaways & Jamaica Bay National Park presents a challenge to protect existing historic sites threatened by sea level rise such as Fort Tilden, but also an opportunity to preserve and celebrate new historical and cultural monuments in New York City’s indigenous and LGBTQ history.

With the waters of Jamaica Bay now a protected ecosystem within the park, surface transportation such as cars and rail will be infeasible, and water-based transportation such as ferries will be extremely limited. 

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This service pattern would be a sea change from the status quo in the Rockaways, where four times as many trains run over the bay as the subway’s A Train service. However, this is not the end of the line for this old right of way: although it will no longer carry subway trains, the elevated viaduct can undergo an ambitious “rails to trails” conversion and provide an elevated walkway to park visitors that connects to and expand the existing Rockaway Gateway Greenway on the western shore of the bay.

Land will be fully remediated in order to provide a clean area for nature to thrive. Dunes will be reinforced as they wear out to maintain an added level of march lands and preservation of the barrier islands.