NYC Competition Aims to Create Post-Hurricane Model for Coastal Development

New York City’s Center for Architecture held an event this morning to announce For a Resilient Rockaway (FAR ROC), a two-part competition to design an affordable housing-focused development on the Rockaway Peninsula, one of the coastal sections of the city severely damaged by Hurricane Sandy. Organized by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development and run by AIA New York and Enterprise Community Partners, the competition aims to “create a new standard for sustainability and resiliency in the Post-Sandy era” by developing an 80-acre site on the Atlantic Ocean in one of the city’s most vulnerable flood zones. A large swath of the area, known as Arverne East, had long been abandoned, and recent attempts to develop it fell victim to the recession and high infrastructure costs. Organizers are banking on a renewed interest in the Rockaways to move the project forward and plan to use it as a model for other coastal developments. 

The deadline for phase one submissions is June 14. A jury will then narrow down the proposals into up to four finalists, each of whom will receive $30,000 to develop its plan. The winner will be announced in late October to coincide with the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy.

Read the full brief on the compeition website: FARROC