Rockaway Recovery, Part 2: Eat More Tacos!

About a month ago, Rockaway Taco--one of the best taco stands in the city, and a Rockaway mainstay since its debut five years ago--reopened for the first time since Superstorm Sandy hit the beachfront community. When we visited on Memorial Day, the patio was alight with families fresh from the holiday parade as well as interlopers from the other boroughs (ahem), all eager to participate in the return of the Rockaways, and all enjoying delectable fish tacos, elote (corn) and fried plantains. Summer has arrived, and if you've never been, there's no better time than now. And if you haven't been since Sandy, there's no better time than now. Without further ado, a look into the wonderful shanty world of taco town...

Clockwise from top left: Elote, Watermelon Juice, Guacamole, Fried Plantains, Fish Taco

As it turns out, Blue is apparently a big fan of plantains, too.

Rockaway Taco is located at 95-19 Rockaway Beach Boulevard in Queens, NY.

Rockaway Recovery, Part 1: Head to the Beach!

It's been seven months since Sandy destroyed much of the Queens shoreline, and fire decimated Breezy Point. Foundations are all that remain of many homes, as the debris has long since disappeared. Sheets of sand cover traces of driveways and front yards, and blue tarps still stitch together gaping roofs.

Sandy's waterline is still visible throughout the beachfront community.

But rebirth and recovery are the prevalent themes everywhere you look. Rebuilding proceeds apace, and the streets are dotted with contractors' placards and wooden "Stars of Hope," sent by well-wishers around the country and nailed to telephone poles.

"Star of Hope" in Breezy Point, Queens

Rockaway Beach is back, trailed ever so slightly by a very new--and very sturdy--concrete boardwalk, handsomely detailed with crushed glass aggregate of blues and greens.

A utilitarian, but cheerily-painted, brick concession stand sits on the upland edge of the boardwalk, evidently still under construction. Undoubtedly the Rockaway Beach Club vendors are anxiously tracking its progress in the hopes of soon returning.

Opposite the concession stands, a galvanized steel structure has been erected, still adorned in shrink wrap and awaiting the rest of the sun shades that have begun to form a canopy.

Along the east end of the boardwalk, we stumbled upon two exquisite alien life forms... a couple of modular beach structures designed by DUMBO's Garrison Architects. Merely a half year ago, NYC selected Garrison to design and build 37 such buildings as part of the reconstruction of the city's beaches most damaged by the storm. They will be used as lifeguard stations, comfort stations and offices, all easily accessible by ramp from the boardwalks. The prefabricated buildings were sized to travel to their sites on the backs of flat bed trucks. Once there, they were fastened to a series of concrete piles, ensuring that the stations would be elevated above FEMA storm surge levels. As further defense against the elements, the buildings are constructed with a galvanized steel super frame, bolted to the concrete piles, and clad with high-grade stainless steel and glass-fiber reinforced concrete (what looks like wood siding in the photos below). Reported to be net-zero energy users, the stations feature rain screens and double-ventilated roofs, natural lighting through clerestories, skylights and reflective louvers, natural ventilation, and photovoltaic solar arrays to offset energy consumption.

A corrugated stainless steel outer skin is perforated at the roof, providing thermally-efficient ventilation of the enclosure. In the second photo below, you can see that the sheathing--which will eventually continue across the underside of the building--is attached to the structure with steel zee-clips.

The corrugated metal sheathing traces the edge of the galvanized steel super frame.

Detail of lower corner, with glass-fiber-reinforced concrete siding, galvanized frame, and corrugated cladding

View of concrete piles anchored to the shore

Though we traveled by car, the subway lines have recently reopened to Rockaway Beach. To get there, take the A Train to Far Rockaway/Mott Avenue. At the last stop, transfer to the S line, taking it towards Rockaway Park/Beach 116th Street. Get out at Beach 98th Street, and walk south towards the beach.

Oklahoma in Need

You can support #Moore response & other disasters by txting REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10, or online at redcross.org
— American Red Cross (@RedCross) May 21, 2013

For other ways to help, please visit KFOR.com.

How to Raise a Family in Connecticut

This past weekend, we took a drive along the shore in Milford, CT, where we were stopped cold by a sight we don't see every day:

A handful of existing houses are in the middle of serious reinventions, most likely due to the devastation wreaked by Sandy last fall. Much of Milford's shoreline falls within a Coastal High Hazard Area, defined by FEMA as an "area subject to high velocity wave action from storms or seismic sources." That means that any home within such a zone that "was substantially damaged or is being substantially improved" must be elevated so that the bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member rests at least as high as the Base Flood Elevation (BFE). How high the structure sits relative to the BFE affects the  amount of the homeowner's flood insurance premium.

In this case, it appears that the house has been lifted off of an existing foundation, which was compacted with dirt. Four Jenga towers of wooden cribbing temporarily elevate the house more than a story in the air until piers can be built below. While small steel beams act as a belt around the midsection of the cribbing, it appears that the joists of the lower floor are supported by built-up wooden beams--of 4x4s, 2x8s and other miscellaneous lumber. For an overview of various methods for lifting houses, look no further than this FEMA manual. Discussion of the method used in the phone above begins on page 104 (page 17 of the PDF).

UPDATE: Just as an addition to the above--evidence of new construction on the same road employing the elevated living strategy. The house features an uninhabited ground floor with a car port, so that all living spaces are located above potential flood levels.

We Now Interrupt This Break...

... to resume our regularly scheduled weather watch. Breaking News! It's snowing. In the North. Two days later than expected, we're finally getting a nice powdery snow. A look at Brooklyn this morning:

Finding (the Logic in Giving Every Snowfall a Name Like) Nemo

Walking path at Pier 1 of Brooklyn Bridge Park

Thankfully, Winter Storm Nemo passed through Brooklyn relatively peacefully on Friday night, leaving behind only a nice blanket of snow and an inordinate amount of salt on the city sidewalks. Brooklynites have been spending the rest of the weekend turning the borough into a playground. A glimpse at our neck of the woods over the last couple of days:

Concealed creek bed in the park

A few enterprising spirits brought cross-country skiing to Pier 1 yesterday.

More adventurous were the sledders who took to the granite steps, navigating their way under the railing halfway down.

Evidence of the new sled run on the granite steps

Snowman in progress within the Tobacco Warehouse

Commingling of canines and sledders at the Hillside Dog Run

Sidewalk grates on Fulton Mall

Cadman Plaza facing South

A common sight throughout Brooklyn: snow-drifted cars as snowballing ammunition supply

Good Morning, Nemo.

This morning's view from Fulton Landing:

The Park Freezes Over

Photo of the Day: East River Morning Fog

Yesterday's view from Brooklyn Bridge Park:

Red Hook and Beyond, A Week and a Half On

Scenes from Red Hook and Carroll Gardens this morning, a week and a half after Sandy.

Storefront on Van Brunt Street

Service Station on Van Brunt

Temporary lighting provided by NYPD

Conover Street

Cleanup at Fairway Market

Kitchen equipment collected in Fairway's parking lot

Reed Street

Van Brunt Street

Coffey Park

Coffey Park

Outside Carroll Park, Carroll Street

Across Carroll Street from the tree above

Carroll Park