Photo Courtesy of Felix Candelaria/MTA
The Mott Avenue A train station in Far Rockaway.
By Forum Staff
Governor Kathy Hochul recently announced that Far Rockaway will receive $4.5 million in funding as one of the New York City region winners of the first round of NY Forward. Building on the momentum of the state’s successful Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), the $100 million NY Forward program adopts the same “Plan-then-Act” strategy as the DRI to support a more equitable downtown recovery for New York’s communities. As part of NY Forward Round One, two to three awards will be made to communities in each of the state’s ten economic development regions to support development and implementation of a revitalization plan for their downtowns.
NY Forward is a central component of the State’s economic development efforts, working together with DRI to accelerate and expand the revitalization of New York’s downtowns and commercial corridors. NY Forward communities serve the immediate local residents and are more local in nature, as opposed to communities typically funded through DRI that focus on amenities and attractions that serve the regional community. For the New York City region, NY Forward communities are BID-scale business districts where projects are developed with input from local residents.
Like DRI, each NY Forward community will develop a Strategic Investment Plan that includes a slate of readily implementable projects. The Department of State will provide enhanced technical assistance to better support those communities with less internal capacity as part of the NY Forward program and fund projects appropriately scaled to the size of each community. Projects may include building renovation and redevelopment, new construction or creation of new or improved public spaces and other projects that elevate specific cultural, historical qualities that enhance the feeling of small-town charm.
“Sitting at the southernmost portion of Queens and the easternmost end of the Rockaway Peninsula, Far Rockaway is a diverse, strong community,” the Hochul administration described the South Queens community. “It serves as a multi-modal transportation hub, with the Mott Avenue A subway station, the Far Rockaway Long Island Rail Road station, the QM17 Express bus to Midtown Manhattan as well as bus services to Queens and Nassau counties, informal car shares, dockless bike shares and a 20-minute drive to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Furthermore, Far Rockaway encompasses cross-peninsular roads with connections to multiple regional expressways to Manhattan. From Trinity Chapel to the post office designed by architect Eric Kebbon to the wedge-shaped bank building, Far Rockaway’s downtown has historic characteristics similarly found in smaller villages and hamlets located throughout Long Island and Upstate New York. It also has a diverse merchant community that is heavily dependent on local shoppers and serves as an entry point for immigrant entrepreneurs.”
According to the State, Far Rockaway aims to revitalize its downtown by enhancing its facades to create a more cohesive and beautified area as well as improving pedestrian and visitor wayfinding, bicycle infrastructure and streetscape amenities to emphasize proximity of Far Rockaway’s beaches to its downtown commercial core. It also seeks to establish itself as a destination for shopping and dining through partnership with the MTA and by creating seasonal, annual and/or periodic events to attract families to shop and enjoy the area.
