Rockaway Operational Headquarters

The NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC) and NYC Parks have engaged a design-build team
led by EW Howell and H3/Arquitectonica to develop plans for a new maintenance and operations
headquarters in the Rockaways and Broad Channel area of Southeast Queens. This new building
will be located on the site of the existing Rockaway Garage, a Parks facility that suffered
significant damage during Superstorm Sandy and has been deemed non-compliant with current code,
flood elevation and critical facility standards.

The program calls for the building to be designated as a Critical Facility, requiring the building to
withstand future climate hazard events and maintain operational capability for disaster assistance,
emergency services and safety aid. Key to this designation is the elevation of critical program uses above a
worst case flooding scenario. On this site, the Design Flood Elevation (DFE) for critical facilities is set
at +14.50’, which is the expected flood height in the year 2070. The design-build team decided to set the Shop level
an additional 3’-0” higher to create usable parking area under the building on the ground floor level. This extra
dimension and flood elevation strategy ensures the city’s capital investment will not be threatened by
rising flood waters the near future.

As an operational headquarters, the building will not receive the public, however, all Parks staff
tending to park facilities throughout the Rockaways and Broad Channel will check in for assignments at this site,
receive supplies and store equipment. Within the site, program priorities are equally divided between
yard activities and the building shop and crew quarters. Our concept proposes a multi-level building
on the east side of the site, leaving significant contiguous yard area along Beach 75th Street.

The design concept massing separates the Shop and Administration/Storage spaces into discrete
volumes. The Shop is a high one-story volume located to the north end of the site. The
Administration level is structured as a raised bar on the south end of the building, cantilevering over
the ramp and providing distant views to the west and the length of the Rockaway Peninsula. The two
volumes will be identified with different exterior cladding; concrete masonry units for the Shop and
horizontal siding for the Administration volume.

Rooftop mechanical units, an emergency generator and photovoltaic solar panels will be installed above the
Administration bar’s high roof. Green roof sedum trays will cover the entirety of the Shop’s low roof.
Exterior materials have been carefully considered to make sure they can be maintained in the harsh Rockaway seaside
environment.

Client: NYC Department of Design and Construction / NYC Parks
Location: Rockaway, Queens, NY
Completion: 2027
Size / Capacity: 27,000 sf building, 56,000 sf site
Sustainability: LEED Certified, Local Law 32/16