Thursday, October 1, 2026
East Rockaway High School freshman Adam Kolakowski received an email about the AI Presidential Challenge, where one requirement stood out: the project needed to address a community-based problem.
In East Rockaway, where drivers often circle neighborhood blocks searching for parking amid ongoing construction, Kolakowski began thinking about a practical solution. The question — could an app help drivers locate available parking more efficiently? — led to the creation of Smart Park, an artificial intelligence-based application designed to make finding a spot easier.
He had up to three weeks to complete the application before the due date, and with the help of Advanced Placement computer science and math teacher Marie Cordaro, he was able to submit it while balancing after-school programs such as chess club and mock trial.
“Smart Park is a website anyone can access with an internet connection,” Kolakowski said. “It’s a community driven app in order to find the best parking spaces, anywhere around the world. If there is a community there, you can find parking.”
He added there is a separate section from general parking on the website with accessibility area, focusing on handicap spots. If someone is looking for accessibility then they would know what’s open fast.
At first, Smart Park was supposed to be East Rockaway oriented, but Kolakowski said he realized it could be scaled to other communities with the same issue, and he decided to go the extra mile and gain data from around the world.
He said the app uses a very simple design, for easy access. On the website a user can look into any area.
The way the community interacts with the app is vital to its real-time functionality. “It’s completely community oriented,” he said. “The community reports on the parking. The colored bubbles of red green or yellow indicate out full the lot is. If there’s not a lot of data, the algorithm doesn’t have a lot to go off of, but I’ve gathered enough counter measurements to be purely statistical in those cases. If there’s an area that usually is congested, it takes data from the previous day.”
Cordaro said she was extremely proud, but not surprised that Kolakowski built such a strong project. She noted that student innovation is growing at the school.
“I have really seen Adam as a leader in that movement, stepping outside the box,” she said. “Not just excelling in standard coursework but seeking other opportunities to grow outside of that.”
Cordaro underscored the project’s functionality, showing its community connection and helping to solve a civic problem.
“A lot of people sometimes see an issue and complain, but he was solution oriented,” she said. “He had to find all the data, streets, where all the parking is, which is project management skills he will need for the future.”
Richard Schaffer, principal of ERHS, said, “I was really impressed with how much thought he put into the app and how highly functional it was. It shows how important it is that what students are learning is real-world applicable. We are very impressed with his presentation.”
Kolakowski’s advice for his peers was just get going.
“The hardest thing is not the actual coding, its putting yourself out there, and starting,” he said. “That’s always the hardest thing, but once you start its like rolling down a hill.”
