On Friday afternoon, we had our last
interview. The project we looked at is called Camp Rockaway, founded by
designer Kent Johnson. Kent invited us to meet him on Rockaway beach. Rockaway
beach is a peninsula located in New York, completely isolated from the urban.
Just one train ride away from Manhattan, it is a very popular summer resort.
All of Rockaway was heavily damaged by hurricane Sandy in 2012. In the rebuilding process, new
creative businesses have been opening up on Rockaway beach. Kent Johnson wanted
to be part of this new energy which made Rockaway more lively, and he had the
idea of opening up a camp ground on the island. The plan for Camp Rockaway, as
it was called, still had to be developed and planned. In order to do so, money
was needed.
In May 2014, Kent Johnson started a
crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise $50,000. With a team of ten
people and with the use of social media, events, mailing lists and talking to a
lot of people from the Rockaway beach area, the campaign managed to raise
$50,789.
Many people helped funding the campaign;
friends, family, and people from New York. But according to Kent, also people
who are very active on Kickstarter and fund multiple campaigns were among the
funders. ‘Serial funders’, as he calls them.
With his newly acquired funds, Kent Johnson
hopes to realize Camp Rockaway in 2016. The municipality of New York is very
enthusiastic about the camp ground and told Kent that they are happy to help. Camp
Rockaway can revive the neighborhood of Rockaway and play an important role in
the community.
After our interview with Kent, we stayed on
the beach for a while to enjoy the quietness before heading back to Manhattan.
With its many nice little restaurants selling delicious food such as empanadas,
arepas and burgers, accompanied by the locally brewed Rockaway beer, Rockaway
beach is the perfect getaway for a city like New York. We can only imagine Camp
Rockaway will make this place even nicer!
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