ARVERNE — Rockaway is one step closer to making "glamping" at a seaside tent city a reality thanks to an online fundraiser.
The Kickstarter for Camp Rockaway exceeded its goal of $50,000 Wednesday morning by several hundred dollars.
Organizer and designer Kent Johnson, 37, told DNAinfo New York last month that he came up with the idea for the camp after reading about the peninsula's "tent cities" that were built in the early 1900s by city dwellers escaping the heat.
"[Rockaway] was the playground for New Yorkers, of all socio-economic backgrounds," he said.
The camp also plans to host kids who are part of STOKED, a program that has been teaching city kids how to surf for nearly a decade.
Johnson, who lives in Forest Hills, has already invested his own money into researching and designing the tents, which will feature queen sized beds, linens and breakfast.
The money he raised through the fundraiser will go towards permits and other construction documents.
An exact location has not been selected but renderings suggest Jamaica Bay in Arverne.
He hopes to open Camp Rockaway be Memorial Day 2015, he said.
