Year of Uncertainty Community Partner, Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation (RDRC), was founded in 1978 to promote the revitalization of the Rockaways’ economic base and neighborhoods, and to secure an improved quality of life for its residents. As part of the Year of Uncertainty, RDRC worked with local participants in the NYC Department of Youth & Community Development’s Summer Youth Employment Program and the Learn & Earn Afterschool Program to create A Pandemic World – Through our Eyes, a visual record of their reflections during the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics that resonated with the group included social justice, climate change, economic disparity, distance learning, and mental health.

Established in 1978, Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation (RDRC) is located in the Rockaways section of Queens. In order to stay true to its mission, RDRC has established a number of human capital development programs focused on low-moderate income persons. Their decades-long investments have impacted over 50,000 participants through paid employment, college and career readiness programs for youth and job readiness training and placement, vocational certification, financial empowerment programs for adults. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, RDRC is focused on creating innovative ways to remotely engage youth through arts and culture, and developing a media platform from which they can connect with their peers and safely express their points of view as the leaders of tomorrow.