Rainwater Catchment System at YANA Services

My work in the Rockaways started immediately after super storm Sandy -- medical & food shipments, digging out basements, sorting clothing, and powering phones with bicycles, along with my friends at Time's Up! My work with YANA (You Are Never Alone - Beach 113) and Sal Lopizzo started a few weeks after the storm, as I personally identified with the mission of YANA; namely, to train residents of the Rockaways to obtain contractors licenses, so that they may be employed as part of the rebuilding, rather than outside contractors. Additionally, alternative and sustainable materials is a focus of the training/education that YANA provides. Another part of YANA's mission is the training & education of Rockaways residents to reacting, and being more resilient, to future potential storms and floods. With this the case, emphasis is being placed on solar technology and water catchment & reuse. YANA is already moving forward with the solar program, installing panels on the roof, and offering opportunities for residents to have their own installed for emergency backup. My project would entail the design & build of a beautiful stormwater catchment system/installation art piece. The design would be shared publicly, and the buildout would include residents. Additionally, I will hold several workshops at YANA, where I'd teach residents how to properly design/size, then build, stormwater catchment systems. This way, if another future storms causes water infrastructure problems, they will be able to source water for their own catchment systems.

Funded by Sandy Rebuild (May 2013)