Clockwise from top left: Location Function: 9-11 community gathering place, Liz Sulik looks out on the Jamaica Bay, Summer 2002; Memorial Function: Remember/honor local victims of 9-11, Model of "Heavens Over Rockaway" by Patrick Clark, the tribute which will be located on the site. From: www.rockawaychamberofcommerce.com; Sacred Function: Natural spirit/peaceful, beautiful, serene,oasis, Wildlife are commonly visible on the bay, Summer 2002; Event Function: Passive and active recreation, The site is to function as both a memorial and a lively park, May 2003.

Found Space
Sites Rediscovered through Social Meaning

found space Tribute Park

Site: 116th Street and Beach Channel Drive, Rockaway Park, NY
Stewardship type: Non-profit
Initiated by: Chamber of Commerce; Rockaway Partnership
Maintenance: Individuals (teams of volunteers)
Land Jurisdiction: city

Purpose: According to Rockaway Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Liz Sulik, the park is a place for renewal of spirit and healing. It is to be filled with trees, gardens, amenities, and the sound of children laughing. As a US Forest Service Living Memorial grantee, this project upholds the values of the restorative power of trees and nature, the importance of public access, and the need to remember September 11. Sulik envisions a "lively place," rather than one that is dark or somber. It is a place for the people to use, to enjoy nature, to create art--to move forward in the wake of tragedy.

Reason site was selected:This undeveloped and overgrown site is a small piece of parks land where Rockaway residents gathered on September 11 to view the WTC. In need of a beach revetment and redevelopment already, this use by the community gave the site new meaning. Moreover, the presence of the tide is significant for the memorial site. Sulik noted, "something about the ocean is so renewing. The tide goes in and out; life goes on." The community will gain both a meaningful memorial space and a useful beachfront park. The sunsets, waterfront, and bird life already beautify this site, which is just at the beginning of its development process.

Events planned for the site:There was a public September 11 groundbreaking with many dignitaries, survivors, family members, fire and police personnel. In the long term, there will be arts programming, wheelchair accessibility and a shaded seating structure, and healing gardens with signage of various plant names, a canoe/kayak launch, a telescope for viewing wildlife and the Manhattan skyline, and much more.

Additional Field Observations and New Developments:
The partnership held an open RFP for the built element of the tribute park, with a committee comprised of artists, architects, family members, and Chamber members. The entrants were also shared at a local gallery with a comment sheet and posted online; Liz Sulik of the Chamber of Commerce noted "the main thing we wanted was to be incredibly inclusive." As a result, Rockaway resident Patrick Clark's "The Heavens Over Rockaway" selected. Clark also designed the local memorial for Breezy Point residents who were lost on 9-11. To help finance the project, bricks that can be dedicated in memory or celebration of anyone, not just victims of September 11, are being sold. The community itself will steer the course of site, and the Partnership has been flexible enough in its plan to accommodate individuals, the firefighter memorial, a PBA tribute, bricks for servicemen killed in Iraq, and bricks for those killed on Flight 587 that crashed in November 2002 in the Rockaways. Despite the presence of names on the memorial bricks and etched into the colored glass of the tribute, their intent is that the park remain vibrant and active. This will present an interesting case study as the park is created: will it be a somber place of memory, or will it be vibrant and active, or can it be both--many things for many people who grieve and live in different ways? Although design elements of a built structure, sculpture, etched names, and plant materials remain consistent between this project and many others, is there something else in the "spirit" that is brought to the project that can subsequently affect and shape use?

"We wanted something that was very interactive with the environment. It had to be representative of the natural things that move forward here: the tides, the sea grasses, all of the things that we've come to kind of depend on as moving us forward. There's a lot of solace that people find in walking along the beach, and there's great comfort knowing the tides come in and out....It's a place of life, not death," according to Sulik.

The plan of the site and landscaping are being undertaken by Lynden Miller, an accomplished open space and park designer who worked with the Rockaways on the Daffodil Project, and Nadia Murphy, respectively. The partnership lists eleven groups as partnering on this project and all of the coordination of these groups has come hand in hand with a great deal of community interest.

Since their initial proposal, the purpose of the project did not change, the partnership is just closer to realizing their plan. The contractor has completed the beach revetment in accordance with New York State DEC requirements, and a great deal of topsoil has been brought in. A new wall and fencing has been installed between the site and the new Duane Reade drugstore, however controversy continues due to the presence of the large, lit Duane Reade billboard. The partnership has cooperated previously with this the Duane Reade, which brought water and electricity to the parks site during the former's construction, so it is likely that a compromise is forthcoming from the meetings between the partnership and the C.E.O of the company.

Liz Sulik discussed community cooperation on the project, as well as the significance of the site beyond September 11th

Rockaway Chamber of Commerce"I think what impressed me was the ease with which the process moved forward. Especially when you're from a small community, there's always the potential for dissention, and one faction getting together--and it wasn't like that. We commented on that throughout. It was a lot of work coordinating it, getting it together, there's no question about that.


There was a lot of local interest, because its going to be representative not only of Rockaway, but its on the water, its going to be city-wide, this is really going to be a piece that I think will draw people here. The people were so genuinely interested in the process. People showed up at meeting, they didn't just blow them off like you might a civic meeting. They really took a lot of pride, and knowing that this was going to be the tribute in the Rockaways, that was important to them. And it really was easy; I don't think we had any dissension. Around the table we had people that ordinarily might not have such a good rapport with one another, and yet when we discussed this, everybody was so focused on this. My job was really to bring us back to task and I don't think I had to do that once."

The project served as a catalyst for creating some very real community social capital, bringing together different groups that don't usually working together, raising local, city, state, and federal funds, visioning and the seeing the project through to completion. Over $100,000 towards the project was raised locally, most likely from committed community members like Sulik. Once the site is built, the plan is to maintain it with teams of volunteers, rather than parks staff, to ensure that the community remains involved. They were anticipating such a high demand for their dedication date, they planned on holding two dedication events. Indeed, the park has become a site of remembrance for other events besides 9/11, including the American Airline crash and the war in Iraq.

"Some of the same people who were affected by 9-11 were affected by the crash. One of the guys here, his best friend was killed in bed by the crash. So there's a tie-in no matter what you do. Although there's no formal tribute to that in the park, we let them know that if they wanted to do something in the park, we would consider it and try to make room for it. I think the general family was that the victims' families wanted to do something at the crash site. So we planted trees as a living memorial on the street there. Those trees are all new, we did that last year: the Chamber was just part of it, the Parks Department, private property owners, some elected officials, it was a joint effort," Sulik said.

When asked what the yellow ribbons on these new trees symbolized, Sulik answered: "Iraq. Because again we had people from here who were there, so, when the war started, we sold yellow ribbons with little American Flags at local stores and made a good couple hundred dollars on those. People wanted to do that, that was in support of Iraq, but all the proceeds go to the Tribute Park. Our local fundraising is close to $100,000, which is pretty amazing.