News Release

Sand Donation at Spring Creek

Date: September 10, 2018
Contact: Daphne Yun, 718-815-3651

Queens, N.Y. - The National Park Service (NPS) is pleased to announce a donation of sand for the restoration of Spring Creek Park at the Gateway National Recreation Area (Gateway). This donation will provide approximately 77,000 cubic yards of clean sand for the Spring Creek South Storm Resilience and Ecosystem Restoration Project. Flight Center Hotel, LLC, developer of TWA Hotel at JFK International Airport, is providing this donation of sand and site improvements necessary to receive the sand.   

“This donation of sand greatly defrays the total cost of clean sediment that is required by this resiliency project, saving millions of dollars of the public’s money,” said Jen Nersesian, Gateway superintendent.

Trucking operations for this donation began the week of August 27. Operations at the site will occur between 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for approximately five weeks. Any back up of trucks must occur on NPS property, and not on 165^th Avenue. A watering truck to control dust is on site at all times.

Spring Creek is located along the Jamaica Bay shoreline in the Howard Beach neighborhood within the Jamaica Bay unit of Gateway. In October 2012, this area experienced record flooding due to storm surge and tidal conditions of Hurricane Sandy. Subsequently, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) awarded a $69.1 million Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to New York State for the Spring Creek South project to reduce the risk of storm damage and flooding to the Howard Beach neighborhood. The project is currently in the design phase and will move into construction pending approval from FEMA.


About Gateway National Recreation Area

A large diverse urban park spanning two states, Gateway combines recreational activities with natural beauty, wildlife preservation, military history and more. Visitors can hike, picnic, swim, sunbathe, bike, visit the oldest lighthouse in the nation, see an airplane collection and camp overnight, all in the New York metropolitan area. Gateway is one of the ten most visited national parks in the country. For information about Gateway's upcoming public programs, see the park's website at www.nps.gov/gate. Follow Gateway on social media - Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GatewayNPS.