New York Secretary of State Walter Mosley announced at an Aug. 6 Peekskill forum the newest round of investment into two signature department programs aimed at revitalizing downtowns in small cities, villages, and hamlets across the state.
Each of the two flagship grant programs—the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and NY Forward—is set to receive a $100 million infusion. The former is focused on relatively bigger urban centers, while the latter on downtowns in more suburban and rural areas.
“Although I’ve only been in office for two months, I’ve been to Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Schenectady, Albany, and now we are here [at our last stop],” Mosley told The Epoch Times of his statewide tour of past grant recipients.
“I couldn’t be more pleased with what the city of Peekskill and the Mid-Hudson Valley region is doing with what we’ve already provided.”
As the Mid-Hudson Valley region DRI grant recipient in 2019, the city of Peekskill got $10 million to improve public infrastructure such as parks and aid private developments such as restaurants and boutique shops in the downtown area and by the waterfront.
Over the past eight years, between the DRI and NY Forward programs, the state has invested more than $1 billion in reviving downtowns in 124 communities, according to Mosley.
“We are achieving some of the original goals and visions for these programs,” he said. “But as far as we come, we still have a long way to go, and that is why we are here today.”
Kristine Young, co-chair of the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council tasked with scoring grant applications, said at the Peekskill forum that she looked forward to seeing impactful proposals in the newest round of funding to revitalize the region further.
Each of the 10 regional economic development councils across the state selects grant winners within its own territory.
Maria Bruni, economic development director of the city of Middletown, shared the importance of a well-thought-out downtown boundary and flexible zoning for redeveloping abandoned properties.
Middletown was the inaugural recipient of a $10 million DRI grant for the Mid-Hudson region in 2016.
Peekskill Mayor Vivian McKenzie highlighted the importance of involving the public in seeking out the unique assets of a municipality during the grant application process.
“We have a waterfront, we have a downtown, and we have a very progressive art district here,” McKenzie said. “So we found that trying to connect our riverfront to our downtown, utilizing art, would be a way to really build our community and drive economic development.”
Municipal leaders from the town of Cornwall and the village of Cornwall-on-Hudson, the inaugural co-recipients of the NY Forward grant for the Mid-Hudson region, stressed the involvement of key community institutions and cooperation across political stripes.
“[Town of Cornwall Supervisor Josh Wojehowski] and I don’t agree when it comes to national issues,” Cornwall-on-Hudson Mayor James Gagliano said at the forum. “But when it comes to our community, the two of us are like this.
“Our wives are best friends, we go out to eat probably once a month together, and we get along because we know that at the local level, people care about potholes, water pipes, and public safety.”
Housing
During his opening remarks, Mosley said his department would heed Hochul’s call to address the housing shortage—a recurring theme throughout the forum.“We need [housing] at all price points in all the right places, like our downtowns and municipal centers,” he said. “Throughout the DRI program, we have learned that when housing is viewed and planned holistically, woven into the overall fabric of community revitalization, communities are more likely to embrace a diversity of housing.
“And this diversity is part of what makes downtown so special.”
Past DRI grants have supported the development of 4,500 residential units across the state, two in five being affordable housing, according to Mosley.
A private-sector panel comprised of Ken Kearney, president of Kearney Realty and Development Group; Kevin O’Connor, CEO of RUPCO; and Adam Bosch, president of Pattern for Progress, chipped in their wisdom in tackling the housing shortage.
So far, 38 cities, towns, and villages in the Mid-Hudson region have signed up for the Pro-Housing Community Program established by Hochul last July, according to the state Homes and Community Renewal agency.
Six municipalities in Orange County have done so: the cities of Newburgh and Port Jervis, the town of Cornwall, and the villages of Greenwood Lake, Kiryas Joel, and Warwick.
Pro-housing community certifications are a prerequisite for applying for key state funding programs such as DRI, NY Forward, and Main Street.
In addition to DRI and NY Forward grants, the New York State Department of State runs the Local Waterfront Revitalization, Brownfield Opportunity Area, and Smart Growth programs.
