Gateway National Recreation Area

By Leah Schmidt

I am originally from beautiful upstate New York and moved to Brooklyn over a year ago. I fell in love with this area and often found myself biking to Gateway, the Rockaways and Brighton Beach in the summer. I chose to use cattails in my design for their nostalgic value for myself and their unique role in the New York Gateway ecosystem.

This design was created in remembrance of the angels from the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 and the devastating results of Hurricane Sandy. Let us not forget those families affected.