Gateway National Recreation Area
Brooklyn, New York
This project begins with the goal of bringing people closer to the water and parks closer to the people. At Floyd Bennett Field, concrete and asphalt runways are removed and the voids that remain are flooded to create islands of salt marshes and lagoons. Recreational activities and estuarine habitats co-exist on these soft edges, as the wetland ecosystem expands into Jamaica Bay and beyond. The focus of the research is local – achieving fishable and swimmable waters in Jamaica Bay – but the impact is global. The lessons learned at Floyd Bennett Field can be applied to declining wetlands bordering urban areas worldwide. In collaboration with Philip Lee and Jessica Young.
