What is your current role with Surfrider and when did you get involved?
I am a volunteer who leads NYC’s Blue Water Task Force (BWTF). And I also just fill in for roles when they are short leads, like dune planting and beach cleanup.
I started working with Surfrider during the pandemic. I had gone to a few beach cleanups and other events so I started befriending local members. One of those people was Saylor Pochan, who was the lead of the BWTF at the time. They told me they were looking for a place to house the water testing lab and I volunteered my basement. They told me they were looking for a place to plant an Ocean Friendly Garden and I volunteered my yard.
I’m very passionate about the environment and the truly special ecosystem that we have in the Rockaways. I really believe in Surfrider’s mission and am happy to volunteer any time I can.
What are some local environmental issues that you have witnessed?
The Rockaways is located on a barrier island on the outskirts of New York City that has been developed to house a large urban community. Barrier islands are essentially large sand bars that form parallel to the coast, thus protecting it from storm surge. Sand bars, however, are meant to constantly move, erode, and grow as wind and wave impact pushes and pulls the sediment.
Communities built on barrier islands are prone to flooding and Rockaway Beach is no exception, being susceptible to tidal, full moon, and storm surge flooding, which accounts for the area’s average flood rate to be 188% higher than the rest of NYC, with over 51% of people specifically in the Arverne area living in a flood plain.
The physical construction of the Rockaways is not helping matters as humans have basically created a concrete bathtub which means there is not enough permeable surface area or plants to naturally drain the rising waters. Most people don’t realize that besides sequestering carbon dioxide, plants also sequester water and carry it by their root system into the earth’s surface. Increasing pervious surfaces and planting native plants is really key to dealing with the flooding issues out here.
I work with Surfrider planting Ocean Friendly Gardens (OFG) to try and educate the public about the effects of impervious pavement. The OFG program in New York is also great because it addresses another big environmental issue out here, invasive plants. People buy plants because they are pretty, not based on their effect on the local ecosystem. I like to tell people that native plants bring native pollinators, which is essential to a thriving ecosystem.
What Surfrider projects have you been involved with? How have these projects impacted your community?
BWTF, OFG, beach cleanups, and Surfrider Hill Day — which is when we physically or virtually go to Washington, D.C., to rally for bills we support. I believe that education is key to change, so every event helps educate another person, and hopefully, that person will be inspired to do something great with their newfound knowledge.
Do you have any personal experiences or campaigns/issues where the social justice and environmental movements have intersected?
I’m currently working on a proposal for the construction of a sustainable elementary school in the Arverne section of the Rockaways.
Flood-prone districts in NYC tend to have a higher number of black residents than the average district, which is substantiated by the population of Arverne. When looking at the existing elementary schools zoned for residents living in Arverne, the demographics show that in 2023, over 87% of enrolled students are minorities, more than 86% of the students were in economic need, and all of the schools have performance ratings well below NYC standards.
My solution to this compounded problem is to build a new sustainable school that will be a model school for NYC and possibly the country.
What can Surfrider do to foster an inclusive and welcoming environment?
I believe that Surfrider already does this well!
What is the most important thing you tell others about Surfrider, and what has been your personal highlight?
Surfrider is a nonprofit that is rooted in protecting the environment. There is no gray attached to this statement.
I really love training new water testing volunteers. It’s fun to meet new like-minded individuals and really makes me hopeful that NYC water quality is going to continue to improve.
