WXY Architecture + Urban Design has opened its new Arverne East Nature Preserve and Welcome Center in the Rockaway neighborhood of Queens. 

The project forms the first phase of New York City’s first net-zero residential community with 1,650 new units. It was realized at 6,000 square feet and includes a community meeting room and space for the Parks and Recreation Department's Urban Park Rangers program and The Campaign Against Hunger.

WXY Founding Principal Claire Weisz describes: "Arverne East represents a unique and innovative path forward for the Rockaways — one rooted in honoring local knowledge, collective power, and an ongoing practice of community stewardship. The sustainable and resilient architecture creates an inviting, accessible space to connect with nature — a promontory for everyone from beachgoers to community organizers to Parks Department staff."

Within the context of the larger 116-acre development and 35-acre nature preserve, the center plays a vital role in facilitating social interaction among community members who can enjoy a sheltered porch that serves as its primary social condenser and compliments a large ocean-facing terrace to the south side of the building that's open for programming. 

The project is also notable for the first gender-neutral bathroom purpose-built by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Its wood materials are sourced locally, with the hardwood facade left untreated to weather grey in tune with the beach environment. A rooftop PV system will finally help provide a green source of power for the neighborhood, which has been a target of the firm's Greater Rockaway Coastal Resilience Plan with partner RISE since 2020. 

"Arverne East will provide a host of long-awaited neighborhood resources, further support the economic revitalization of the central and eastern sections of the Rockaway Peninsula, and set a new standard for sustainable and resilient development," Sara Levenson, the Managing Director at L+M Development Partners, added. "We appreciate the unwavering efforts of our partners in helping us to bring this site to life."