Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today announced 11 organizations have been approved to receive nearly $430,000 in total funding for Round 17 of the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Grants Program. Each award recipient was selected by the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Citizens Advisory Panel following a competitive application process.
“Our downtowns are essential to keeping our region competitive and attracting the high skill, high knowledge workers we need to grow our local economy,” said County Executive Bellone. “As we move full steam ahead with our economic development agenda, we will continue to make quality investments to create the robust, vibrant downtowns that make Suffolk County the ideal place to work, live and raise a family.”
This year, the County received 13 applications for the Round 17 grants and 11 projects were funded. A pool of nearly $430,000 was made available to partially fund qualified capital projects located in or adjacent to downtown areas on municipally-owned property. Since 1997, Suffolk County has awarded over $10.6 million in funds for Downtown Revitalization initiatives. Among the various projects that are eligible for grants are public parking facilities, curb and sidewalk construction, pedestrian walkways, street lighting, public restrooms, disabled accessibility, renovations to existing structures, cultural and recreational facilities.
Round 17 award recipients include:
- Copiague Chamber of Commerce ($24,710): Remodeling of "Chamber Corner" at Great Neck Road and Oak Street to add a clock tower, aluminum flagpole and announcement sign, and bronze medallions depicting five branches of American Armed Forces at Veteran's Memorial Park at Great Neck Rd and Marconi Blvd.
- Greenlawn Civic Association ($65,891): Installation of antique lighting going around Children's Park, in Memorial Park and on Central Street near Broadway.
- Bay Shore Chamber of Commerce ($25,000): Construction of a sidewalk and installation of LED/solar powered pedestrian warning signs and street markings along the south side of Gibson Street between town-owned lot at Ocean Avenue and Gibson Street and South Park Avenue.
- Town of Riverhead BID ($25,000): Replacing existing lamps and posts along riverfront boardwalk with new LED decorative fixtures.
- Speonk Remsenburg Civic Association ($34,737.50): New sidewalks on the west side and southern portion of North Phillips to complete sidewalk connection from Montauk Highway to the train station, and street trees on the east side of North Philips, and brick pavers between curbs.
- North Fork Chamber of Commerce ($39,590): Updating Silversmith Corner Park for walkability and lighting upgrade, and sidewalk and crosswalk upgrades to be ADA compliant.
- Brightwaters Downtown Revitalizaton Committee ($27,960): Final phase of a four year project to improve pedestrian and ADA accessibility, the removal and replacement of aprons, concrete curbing, sidewalk, warning pad and brick pavers and new lampposts (including installation of electrical system).
- East Hampton Historical Society ($85,000): Restoring the interiors of the 1791 Dominy Woodworking Shop and 1798 Dominy Clock Shop.
- Lindenhurst Chamber of Commerce ($40,000): Installation of a single crosswalk with a bump out and rectangular flashing beacons.
- Greater Port Jefferson Chamber of Commerce ($39,000): Transforming two outdated existing public restrooms into three ADA compliant restrooms located on the ground/entry floor of Village Hall, and the demolition of existing restrooms.
- Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce ($25,000): Upgrading the public comfort station to insulate the building and exterior doors, lighting, ADA compliance.
The Downtown Revitalization Citizens Advisory Panel utilizes a criteria-based point system to evaluate each application to ensure projects that receive funding will make the greatest contribution to the long-term improvement of local downtowns and have a positive economic impact on Suffolk County. Future application and guidelines can be found here.
For more information on the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization initiative, visit www.suffolkcountyny.gov.
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