SAN FRANCISCO -- When the first portion of the India Basin Waterfront Park Project opens to the public at 900 Innes Ave. later this year, the nonprofit Rocking the Boat will take the helm of nautical learning, teaching young people and community members to build boats, row, sail, and restore the waterfront, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department announced today. 

Recreation and Park commissioners selected the youth development organization today to provide programming in Bayview-Hunters Point, including: 

• Afterschool boatbuilding courses where participants will put math and engineering into practice, engaging participants in following plans and using hand and power tools to precisely measure, design, shape and build 14-foot Whitehall rowboats and oars, traditionally used as workboats on San Francisco Bay. 
• Rowing and local marine ecology education. 
• Summer jobs and year-round job readiness training.
• Wrap-around social, emotional, academic, and post-secondary support.
• Exploration of STEM fields including naval architecture and boatbuilding, environmental science, and maritime. 

Rocking the Boat is committed to hiring local community members to fill key staff roles and serve as role models.

Beyond these five central activities, Rocking the Boat plans to add sailing and environmental programming, including becoming a certified US Sailing Community Sailing Center and collaborating on environmental research and restoration projects with local scientific organizations.

Currently under construction, the India Basin Waterfront Park project will combine the existing India Basin Shoreline Park area and property at 900 Innes Avenue into one grand 10-acre waterfront park. Rocking the Boat will be based at the Shop Building in the 900 Innes portion of the park, which is slated to open in late 2024 as the second of three phases of the larger project. 

“For 26 years, Rocking the Boat has run transformative youth development programs in the Hunts Point community of the South Bronx, a neighborhood surrounded by water but with no previous access to it,” said Rocking the Boat Founder and Executive Director Adam Green. “We are honored to be basing the first replication of our nationally-recognized model to India Basin Waterfront Park in Bayview-Hunters Point, with its many geographic and socio-economic parallels to Hunts Point.”  

The India Basin Waterfront Park Project is guided by an Equitable Development Plan, a first for San Francisco, which ensures that the waterfront park will benefit current Bayview-Hunters Point residents while preserving the culture and identity of the historic neighborhood. It provides a blueprint for delivering a park designed by and for the community while improving economic opportunity and environmental health for its residents. 

The plan is made up of six areas of focus, with Rocking the Boat’s programming addressing initiatives related to four of them: Arts, Culture and Identity; Workforce and Business Development; Healthy Communities and Ecology; and Youth Opportunities.  

“Rocking the Boat’s commitment to hiring within the community and providing job support through the program makes this organization stand out,” said A. Philip Randolph Institute San Francisco Executive Director Jacqueline Bryant. “I can’t wait for this program to raise the anchors aweigh, and for community members to embark on an educational and vocational journey in the maritime world!” 

The program also pays homage to the park’s rich maritime history. Shipwright’s Cottage (San Francisco landmark 250), which is currently being renovated as a part of the 900 Innes portion of the project, was occupied by shipwrights that built scow schooners at the park site from approximately 1875 until 1926. Famous boats built and repaired in India Basin boatyards include the scow schooner Alma (1891), which still resides in the Bay Area. 

“We’re ready to cast off with Rocking the Boat. This organization will bring new and dynamic programming to one of the most significant park projects in San Francisco history and provide programming that uniquely connects with the area’s history,” said Phil Ginsburg, general manager of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department. “Rocking the Boat will help us get our sea legs as we’re building out an amazing slate of programs to serve the community at this new park.” 

Funding for this program comes from the project budget, which earmarked $15 million for the implementation of Equitable Development Plan programming, as well as the SF Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF).

"Rocking the Boat is a unique program and we are excited to have it as a part of our 2024-2029 grant portfolio,” said Executive Director of DCYF Maria Su. “The program will provide opportunities for youth to engage in boatbuilding, environmental science, and sailing, all of which really align with India Basin's history and current usage. DCYF hasn't previously funded a program with these components and we are looking forward to seeing them in action with young people from Bayview-Hunters Point and other parts of the City."

Program information can be found at rockingtheboat.org as the park nears opening, as well as at ibwaterfrontparks.com. 

About Rocking the Boat

Rocking the Boat is a nonprofit organization with its home base in the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx dedicated to empowering young people through hands-on experiences in boat building, environmental science, and sailing. Since 1998, Rocking the Boat has provided transformative opportunities for youth to develop leadership skills, foster environmental stewardship, and pursue academic and career success.  

Mission Statement

Rocking the Boat participants develop pride, purpose, and possibility by learning the unique and lifelong skills behind building and rowing wooden boats, sailing, and restoring the Bronx River. We create community, teach through transformative experiences, and make nature available to everyone, inspiring young people to determine their own future against a backdrop of systemic inequity.

About the India Basin Waterfront Park Project

The India Basin Waterfront Park project is a partnership between the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, Trust for Public Land, San Francisco Parks Alliance, A. Philip Randolph Institute, and the Bayview-Hunters Point community. The project, which is currently under construction, will build a 10-acre waterfront park. Once complete, it will seamlessly combine the historical former ship-building site at 900 Innes Ave. that is currently under construction, with India Basin Shoreline Park, which will also undergo improvements. The section at 900 Innes is anticipated to open in late 2024, with the third and final phase breaking ground in early 2025. The final product, which is anticipated to be completed in 2027, will create a spacious park in the city’s Southeastern neighborhood, featuring shore access, sports courts, gathering spaces, multi-use trails, and much more.

The roughly $200 million project was made possible through public and private funding, including $80 million in state funding; $29 million through San Francisco’s 2020 Health and Recovery Bond; and $14.3 million from two Proposition 68 grants. Private funding includes a $25 million donation from the John Pritzker Family Fund, a $20 million donation from the Crankstart Foundation, and a $5 million donation from the Hellman Foundation.