Councilmembers, city officials, community members, and the design team attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Downtown Far Rockaway Urban Design & Streetscape last week. W’s design enhances the public realm with a new streetscape and open space design that encourages safer pedestrian circulation and utilizes energy efficient materials and graphic design elements. Stormwater collection gardens will filter runoff and increase the resiliency of the entire area. The design portion of the project required coordination of multiple city agencies and is a large scale infrastructure & revitalization effort. City agencies involved include NYC DDC for the streetscape and library; NYC DOT for the Vision Zero sidewalks, a shared plaza, bus terminal, bike path, WiFi, and wayfinding; NYC DPR for street trees & GreenStreet planting; NYC DCP for the first rezoning in over 5 decades in the neighborhood; NYC DEP for a new sewer network; and NYC EDC for a new housing development adjacent to the pedestrian plaza. W won a 2017 Excellence in Design award from the Public Design Commission for the design. The construction is scheduled to be complete in 2022.