A public-private partnership dedicated to improving public parklands throughout Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway peninsula
Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy (JBRPC) is a public-private partnership established in 2013 dedicated to improving 10,000 acres of public parklands throughout Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway peninsula, 18,000 acres of open water and marshlands within Jamaica Bay itself, and 11 miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches along the Rockaway peninsula. With its partners at the National Park Service, the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, JBRPC works to expand public access to parks; increase recreational and educational opportunities; foster community stewardship and volunteerism; preserve and restore natural areas, including wetlands and wildlife habitat; enhance cultural resources; and ensure the long-term sustainability of the parklands for local residents and visitors alike.
Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy catchment map and parks.
The Story of JBRPC
Partnerships
In July 2012, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar signed a cooperative management agreement and announced the formation of the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, Inc. (JBRPC) to support the unique relationship between the City of New York and the National Park Service. JBRPC was formally established in 2013 as a public-private partnership dedicated to improving public parklands throughout Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway peninsula for local residents and visitors alike.
Stewardship, Public Programming, and Education
Since our founding, JBRPC has removed more than 40 tons of trash and debris from shorelines and parks, planted more than 420,000 native plants and trees, and hosted more than 110,000 people at public programs and events – including our signature Jamaica Bay Festival and Discover Jamaica Bay series. We've organized more than 200 stewardship events that drew support from more than 3,000 dedicated volunteers, and welcomed more than 10,000 students into our environmental education programs.
We created the Rockaway! Public Arts Festival, featuring works by artists Patti Smith, Katharina Grosse, and Yayoi Kusama. In 2024, JBRPC will expand the Festival and present the first Floyd Bennett Field! Public Arts Festival featuring original site-specific projection mapping works on the façade of historic Hangars 3 & 4.
Arts, Culture, and History
Park Improvements and Green Infrastructure
From 2017 - 2018, JBRPC worked with New York State Parks to help plan the new Shirley Chisholm State Park at the former Penn and Fountain Landfill, which opened in phases from 2019 to 2021. From 2019 to 2021, JBRPC led the design and construction of a living shoreline at West Pond in the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge. JBRPC has implemented and funded various other projects which can be found under the Our Impact section of this website.
Other projects included creating a 3.25-acre native plant nursery at Floyd Bennett Field to provide beach grass for restoration projects and to stabilize the dunes that buffer the Rockaway coastline from storms and sea level rise; organizing volunteers to plant beach grass, clean up debris, and spruce up buildings with fresh coats of paint; restore marsh and forest; build new trails; and successfully advocating for the expansion of the US Army Corps of Engineers’ sand replenishment project to Jacob Riis Park.
Restoration and Maintenance
Green Workforce Development and a Growing Impact
In 2023 JBRPC launched the Jamaica Bay Wetlands Fellowship to train the next generation of wetlands managers and advance nature-based solutions and the jobs to sustain them over the long-term. JBRPC is also focused on community planning and engagement for the rehabilitation and activation of Floyd Bennett Field as a hub for community and climate resilience.
Looking ahead to the next decade, JBRPC is poised and uniquely positioned to build on prior success to realize greater impact in our public parklands. Work is already underway to expand our education programs for younger students and family audiences, increase stewardship opportunities and grow our Wetlands Fellowship program, and transform Floyd Bennett Field into a hub for community and climate resilience.
JBRPC is proud to partner with governmental agencies, elected officials, non-profit organizations, the business community, and the public to improve public parkland throughout Jamaica Bay and the Rockaway peninsula.
Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, Inc. is a partner project of the Fund for the City of New York (FCNY), which serves as its fiscal sponsor. Both JBRPC and the FCNY are tax-exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code. JBRPC’s office is located in the Rockaway Park section of Queens, New York.
For more information, please email info@jbrpc.org.