New York State Commits $350,000 to Sustain the Health of Natural Spaces Around Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway Peninsula
The Multi-Year Pledge will Fund Ecological Stewardship, Workforce Development, Education and Public Programming
On Wednesday, October 9, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Conservancy (JBRPC) received $350,000 in funding from New York State to protect the environmental health of Jamaica Bay, and advance its broader ecological restoration.
NY State Senator Roxanne Persaud Begins Proceedings at Canarsie Pier
JBRPC staff gathered at Canarsie Pier with New York State Senator Roxanne Persaud, New York State Assembly Members Jaime Williams and Stacey Pheffer-Amato, leadership from The Fund for the City of New York and the Science and Resilience Institute of Jamaica Bay, and students from Canarsie’s Academy for Conservation & the Environment — to celebrate the transformative multi-year support, and affirm Jamaica Bay’s status as an invaluable ecological, economic and cultural center.
The funding will enable JBRPC to increase environmental stewardship and workforce development for natural areas, broaden ecological education and other public programming, and work alongside community and park partners to realize a long-held vision to reactivate two historic airplane hangars at Floyd Bennett Field for community and cultural programming, food and beverage service and other visitor amenities, and a climate innovation and jobs center focused on nature-based solutions and nature tech that specifically attracts people who live, work and research around Jamaica Bay.
NY State Assembly Members Pheffer-Amato and Williams, and NY State Senator Roxanne Persaud present $150,000 from the the State Assembly and $200,000 from the State Senate
JBRPC can be proud of significant impact across those focus areas already:
Just within the last year, the stewardship team involved more than 1,200 people across more than 30 public volunteer events, to remove in excess of 22,000 pounds (11 tons) of trash and debris, restore wetlands, and recover habitat from invasive vegetation. A great portion of this impact is made by our Wetlands Fellows, young adults from local communities who joined our workforce development program which trains wetlands managers and green jobs leaders, for today and tomorrow.
Within the 2023-2024 academic year alone, the education team reached more than 5,000 school children from 35 schools, across 150 field trips and classroom visits, teaching ecological concepts and how to become citizen stewards of our local parklands
During climate week, JBRPC leadership shared the plans for Floyd Bennett Field’s future climate innovation center focused on nature-based solutions and nature tech — to be on the leading edge of finding answers to local climate-related vulnerabilities, including flooding and heat. Wetland-rich tidal estuaries like Jamaica Bay are universally accepted as carbon storing superpowers, and a first line of defense against climate-change-intensified storm surge.
The team, and our new friends at the Academy for Conservation & the Environment wasted no time in getting back to work — organizing an impromptu shoreline cleanup to keep the busy Canarsie Pier clean, safe and accessible.
“Saving Jamaica Bay” is not just a broad environmental concern, but a local issue of acute importance. As neighbors of New York City’s largest tidal estuary, we have a responsibility and privilege to ensure its longevity for future generations. A lot has happened over the past two decades in and around Jamaica Bay in service of this mission — positive changes like wastewater treatment plant upgrades, the creation of new parks, restoration of wetlands, increased biodiversity, improved public access for recreation, and economic stimulus through new jobs. JBRPC relishes the challenges to come, to protect this progress, and push NYC’s coastline toward a climate-resilient future.