35-acre nature preserve opens in the Rockaways at NYC’s first net-zero community

6SQFT’s Devin Gannon reports on the opening of Starr Whitehouse’s Arverne East Nature Preserve – New York City’s first net-zero community.

NYC Parks Commissioner Sue Donoghue and members of the community celebrated the opening of the new Arverne East Nature Preserve and welcome center on Wednesday, April 24. Arverne East will be the ecological centerpiece of New York City’s first net-zero community—a 35-acre “urban” nature preserve situated between the Atlantic Ocean and a dense residential neighborhood on the Rockaway Peninsula. Commissioner Sue Donoghue was joined by New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Commissioner Adolfo Carrión Jr., Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, New York State Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson, New York City Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers, Managing Director of L+M Development Partners LLC Sara Levenson.

We are thrilled that the New York Chapter of the ASLA has selected two Starr Whitehouse projects for 2024 Honor Awards, and two for 2024 Merit Awards.

Honor Awards:

Merit Awards:

AIA’s Oculus dives into the concept of the “Urban Forest,” and features Starr Whitehouse’s Daylighting of Tibbetts Brook project.

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AIA’s Oculus takes readers on a journey through the new Arverne East urban nature preserve.

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We are thrilled to welcome Jeffrey Poor and Jacob Lange as Partners of Starr Whitehouse. Alongside founders Laura Starr and Stephen Whitehouse, Jeffrey and Jacob bring unique vision and leadership during a time of growth for our firm.

Read the full statement here.

Five years after completing the first phase of Southwest Resiliency Park, Starr Whitehouse will be partnering with Rutgers University to study how the park has been absorbing stormwater. As part of LAF’s 2024 Case Study Investigation program, our team will be working with CSI Research Fellow Wolfram Hoefer, Dr.-Ing, ASLA, AKNW, and Student Research Assistant James Hill to measure stormwater retention and other performance metrics. Southwest Park was one of ten high-performing landscape projects selected by LAF for this unique research collaboration between faculty, students, and practitioners.

Read the press release here.

Time Out New York named the Marsha P Johnson State Park gateway the Best Public Artwork of 2023. The gateway, which was unveiled in August, 2023, showcases large sculptural flowers in pink, blue, red and yellow, with gem-like petal designs along the sides. “Pay It No Mind,” Johnson’s life motto features in bold white lettering across the archway. Jack Morton led the community visioning process for the gateway design, and Serett Metalworks, a Brooklyn-based custom metal fabricator, built the gates.

Read the full article here.

Hailing from London, 2023 marks the first year that The Gingerbread City is open in New York. The exhibition is curated by Museum of Architecture, a U.K.-based charity dedicated to connecting the public with architecture and design. Contributions to The Gingerbread City, on view at 25 Fulton Street include designs by Cooper Robertson, Marvel, Robert A.M. Stern (RAMSA), CannonDesign, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), Rockwell Group, Arquitectonica, Morris Adjmi Architects, Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects, and others.

The Arverne East Nature Preserve and Welcome Center were selected as recipients of the Queens Borough President’s award and recognized at the Queens & Bronx Building Association’s Annual Holiday & Building Awards Gala.