"Planned programs to protect dunes and beaches on the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens are eroded by broken promises from Trump’s EPA."
"Adriana Jovanovic clambered cheerfully over the metal railing next to the dunes along Rockaway Beach. She landed in a patch of sand where she and her team, nicknamed the “dune squad,” had sown roses and goldenrod among other native plants.
“We’re hand watering those that need a little extra help,” she said as about a dozen helpers walked around with large water jugs that they filled from a hydrant across the street.
The local nonprofit Rockaway Initiative for Sustainability and Equity (RISE) is restoring a three-mile stretch of beach in Far Rockaway to help battle coastal erosion from sea level rise and storm surge. The dune squad, all local residents, work part time from spring to fall.
But RISE’s efforts on that beach relied on one crucial source that was recently lost: a portion of a three-year $11.2 million grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. The cache was slated for local restoration efforts and upgrades for New York City Parks Department’s native plant nursery and seedbank in Staten Island."
Lauren Dalban reports for Inside Climate News June 7, 2025.
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