The Long Island Business News (LIBN) recently published an in depth look at the long-dormant effort to transform Melville's corporate corridor into an employment-oriented town center. This effort has gained new momentum, the outlet reports.
In 2015, the Town of Huntington commissioned a planning study, finding more mixed-use development was needed to allow companies to better attract employees, who would also live within Melville’s corporate corridor, LIBN explains. In the past few weeks, the town has held listening sessions on what is called the Melville Employment Center plan (MEC). Its objectives include adding multifamily housing and supporting retail in the area, which is presently dominated by office buildings.
“My biggest concern is that these office buildings become vacant,” Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth tells LIBN. “The town has to do everything we can to ensure that these properties are economically viable, whether that’s office space or mixed-use, or all residential. But what we can’t allow to happen is for this area to have derelict buildings.”
Several property owners in the area, such as Tony Fromer, a principal of The We’re Group, and Larry Levine, of the Levine Organization, express optimism in replacing office buildings with new mixed-use projects. “You don’t want to wind up with a bunch of empty office buildings which obviously will be worth very little and wind up not paying a lot of taxes and it’s just not good for the town,” Mr. Levine tells the outlet. “There’s an unfulfilled need on Long Island to get affordable housing for young people which would provide employees for office tenants, so it’s self-fulfilling.”
Huntington-based G2D Group, which acquired a 52,000-square-foot office building on 3.8 acres at 560 Broadhollow Road in November of 2021, has already pitched a new project for the property that would replace the existing office building with two smaller mixed-use buildings. “It’s an opportunity to take some assets that are underutilized and convert them to a more modern-day use,” Mr. DeRosa explains. “If approved, the MEC provides some flexibility to developers to create more of a live-work-play atmosphere right within Melville which also addresses the housing shortage, one of the primary issues why we’re having a hard time keeping companies on Long Island.”
Elissa Kyle, director of Placemaking for Vision Long Island states, “I definitely think that it needs to be more of a complete community rather than just plopping some housing in the middle of an office park, especially if you know it’s dead after 5 p.m. That’s not a necessarily comfortable place to live.” The redevelopment should be designed to make it walkable and have more of a human scale, she tells the outlet.
According to Huntington Councilman Sal Ferro, the MEC effort could be a game changer for Huntington and for Long Island in general. “This is a priority for this administration, and we are all united with this being a priority,” Mr. Ferro confirms.
Vision and members of the LI Main Street Alliance attended a recent planning meeting for the Melville Corridor Plan. Happy to see the residents, business owners and local stakeholders who are most impacted by any changes participate and provide feedback.
Speaking before the Suffolk County Industrial Development Agency recently, the development group proposing a 165 apartment/mixed-use complex on East Main Street in Riverhead hopes to secure IDA benefits, including property tax abatements, county mortgage tax abatements and sales tax abatements on construction costs, Riverhead News Review reports. The 165-unit, five-story mixed-use proposal to develop the former Sears property is the largest development proposed in downtown Riverhead to date. It is sited adjacent to Riverview Lofts.
In addition to apartments, the developers Heatherwood and Ornstreet Development LLC, are proposing to build a total of 155 parking stalls, along with rentable offices and “small-format” retail stores on the bottom two floors. Small-format is a system where someone would pay with their smart phone, rather than pay a cashier, the outlet describes. The plan calls for 86 parking stalls on the basement level and 69 stalls on the first floor.
“We see ourselves “stemming the tide” of people leaving New York, Sean Sallie, development director of Commack-based Heatherwood, explains to Riverhead News. “We’re an owner-operator as well as a builder. We’ve never sold a property,” adding they are still three years away from building any retail or restaurant and they want to be flexible.
Nassau County HOME Funding Application Portal Is Open
The Nassau County Office of Community Development (OCD) is pleased to announce that its HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program funding application is now open for new funding applications.
Applications received by March 17th will be considered for inclusion in the County’s upcoming HUD Action Plan. Applications received after that date will be considered as funding permits.
Please visit the updated HOME program website for information on program requirements, current rent and income limits, affirmative marketing requirements, and highlighted recently completed projects.
The on-line HOME program funding application can be accessed via OCD's website under the “Spotlight” by clicking here.
Long Island Regional Planning
Council Meeting Features
Long Island Greenway
On February 15, 2023, the Long Island Regional Planning Council (LIRPC) held a virtual meeting, featuring a presentation titled "Long Island Greenway" by Carter Strickland, VP, Mid-Atlantic Region and New York State Director, Trust for Public Land (TLP).
The TLP, established in 1978, has had a major impact in New York, from protecting 124,000 acres, to creating community gardens, playgrounds and parks.
The vast majority of the presentation centered around the goal of having Long Island included in the Empire State Trail, which is a 750-mile trail connecting Buffalo, Plattsburgh and NYC, built with 200 million in state funding. Mr. Carter stressed there is strong local, state, and federal support for extending the trail to reach the 8 million residents of Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Mr. Carter stressed that today there is a once in a generation opportunity to leverage federal and state funding, including the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act & the Inflation Reduction Act, along with New York State’s 2022 Environmental Bond Act.
The benefits of extending the trail include increasing connectivity, creating sustainable & equitable communities, fostering public health and addressing pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The present timeline shows by 2025, Phase 1 design construction will begin and Phase 2 design will commence. Phase 1 consists of 25 miles, Nassau to Suffolk and Phase 2 includes folding the east end into the trail.
The LIRPC voted unanimously to support the Empire State Trail. Visit the Trust For Public Land website for more information.
The Chairman’s report, presented by John Cameron, centered around serious and timely issues.
2023 certainly started off with a lot of action on the national and state levels. The economy seems to be tempering its level of inflation, however increased costs of essential goods and services have definitely impacted all Long Islanders. Major infrastructure funding in Washington and Albany will not only have the potential to update our antiquated roads, bridges and water infrastructure, but hopefully also providing the catalyst necessary to stimulate private investment, thus resulting in major economic development and a growth of our commercial tax base.
In New York State, Governor Hochul has proposed a number of somewhat controversial initiatives that have much of Long Island up in arms and very concerned about some of the initiatives. There is the proposed commuter tax and payroll tax for the financially strapped MTA. The most controversial proposal, however, is her proposal for increased housing density around transit hubs. The recommended and potentially mandated densities are greatest in areas proximate to the city, thereby being Nassau County, with reductions in density moving further east. Long Island, as we know, has historically reacted negatively to the stick, but rather reacts more favorably to the carrot. We are hoping that cool heads prevail and there will be good dialogue on these issues. The state legislators need to pass these measures for them to become law.
We are also waiting to see how the state’s funding will roll out and how successful Long Island will be in accessing those funds. Here on Long Island, we are dealing with many of the same issues the rest of the country is dealing with, including increased cost on essential goods & services, insufficient applicants for open job positions, and a high migration of high wage earners to lower cost areas. Locally, we see increased road traffic due to reduced LI Railroad usage, typical hybrid work schedule which appears to be the new normal, and a growing return to public venues.
In 2023, the Council will be focused on our challenges and will continue to identify them and attempt to find potential solutions.
Statewide Housing Voucher Bill Advances
A bill that would create a statewide housing voucher program in New York cleared a key Assembly panel on Tuesday as a debate over how to expand access to housing continues in Albany, Spectrum News1 reports. Backed by Assembly Housing Committee Chair Linda Rosenthal, the bill would create a statewide voucher program for people who are homeless and people who are at risk of eviction.
“Glad to see this bill for housing vouchers advance, which will help lower income folks access existing housing stock,” states Eric Alexander, Director of Vision Long Island and the Long Island Main Street Alliance.
The program is modeled after the federal Section 8 program. It would cap a person's rent at 30% of their income and voucher standards would be set from 90% to 120% of a region's fair market rent, the outlet reports. Households would qualify under the proposal if they have earnings that are equal or less than 50% of the area median income. About half of an area's funds would be distributed to families who are homeless.
According to a report from the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center, Uber and Lyft pocketed a larger portion of passenger fares in 2022 than when NYC began enacting minimum pay standards for rideshare drivers in 2019, Crain's New York reports.
New York was the first U.S. city to establish minimum pay for app-based drivers, to ensure they were earning a livable wage. The UCLA study shows that companies such as Uber and Lyft steadily grew their share of commissions after the new standards took effect, the outlet explains.
According to the Crain’s February 9, 2023 article:
In February 2019, the month the Taxi and Limousine Commission first implemented pay standards, Uber and Lyft took about 9% of the base passenger fare, according to the report commissioned by the New York Taxi Workers Association. This percentage increased over time—spiking in April 2020 during the height of the pandemic to 21.4%—and more recently in April 2022 landing at a 20.7% cut overall, according to the report.
Passenger fares during the same three-year period outpaced driver pay overall. From February 2019 to April 2022, the study found, the median passenger fare increased 50% while the average Uber and Lyft drivers’ pay rose by 31%.
The analysis paints a picture of the challenging economics drivers face and how they may not always reap the full benefits of rate increases, Vivek Ramakrishnan, a researcher on the report, told the outlet.“Riders should be cognizant that there are these sort of unclear and differential payment structures that are afforded to drivers,” Ms. Ramakrishnan added. “So even though passenger fares have been increasing over these three years, it’s not necessarily translating to the same amount of pay for the drivers.”
Uber argued that the study cherry-picked data that led to skewed findings, while Lyft pointed to recent pay raises rideshare drivers have received, including a 6% wage increase this month as part of a city-mandated annual adjustment for inflation. Ms. Ramakrishnan acknowledged to Crain’s certain limitations of the data and the report’s analysis, in part because the data does not include markers to identify individual drivers, meaning researchers were unable to calculate the number of trips each driver made or total earnings per day or per hour. They were also unable to identify through the data whether trips were taken in standard rides or if they involved larger or luxury vehicles through services such as Uber XL or Lyft Lux. Those rides have different rates, and driver pay depends on the services offered.
Drivers, nonetheless, are finding it difficult to keep pace with inflation, on top of monthly maintenance expenses, making it difficult to earn a comfortable living. Bhairavi Desai, executive director at the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, explained to Crain's, “This shows that Uber and Lyft have been charging more to the public and paying less of that share to the drivers.
The Climate Friendly Homes Fund (CFHF), administered by The Community Preservation Corporation, provides financing for existing 5-50-unit buildings in New York State, with a focus on replacing older and less energy-efficient systems with all-electric, high-performance heating, cooling, and hot water heating systems.
With $250 million in New York State funding, CPC and New York State Homes and Community Renewal aim to finance electrification retrofits in at least 10,000 units of multifamily housing that serve economically disadvantaged communities. These funds will empower small building owners to identify and execute a scope of work to improve the energy efficiency of their buildings and decrease their greenhouse gas emissions.
Owners of eligible buildings may apply for funds to cover the cost of eligible building upgrades including electrification of heating, cooling, and water heating systems and additional building envelope improvements. Funds may be used for approved retrofit work scope items, as well as certain soft costs.
Retrofit Scope of Work items eligible for funding include:
Electrical service upgrades
HVAC systems replacement with high-efficiency heat pumps
Domestic Hot Water replacement with high efficiency heat pumps
Additional energy conservation measures to optimize new system performance
Systems commissioning
Eligibility
Buildings must have 5-50 residential units, and be located in New York State.
Owners of regulated affordable and unregulated multifamily rental buildings in eligible locations may apply; Buildings must currently be subject to a regulatory agreement with a public agency or be located in one of the following locations:
Low-Moderate Income Qualified Census Tract as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Disadvantaged Communities as defined in the New York State Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act.
To find out if your building location is eligible: See HUD Qualified Census Tract Areas CLICK HERE and view a map of NYSERDA Disadvantaged Communities Areas CLICK HERE.
A combined $1 million in federal grants has been distributed by the Town of Oyster Bay in the past two months to small businesses and nonprofits financially damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsday reports. At least 200 local businesses so far have each received $5,000 through the Oyster Bay Forward grant program.
The program, which opened on November 29, 2023 and is ongoing, is a small business and nonprofit grant program offering a one-time $5,000 grant to eligible organizations with 0 (sole proprietors) to 50 full-time equivalent W-2 employees and between $35,000 and $5 million in annual revenue in fiscal year 2021.
Eligibility criteria includes:
Be a small business owner or nonprofit representative.
Be a for-profit business or 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) nonprofit organization.
Have been in operation in Town of Oyster Bay prior to January 1, 2021.
Be in operation at the time of application
Have fewer than 50 full-time equivalent (FTE) W-2 employees.
Have between $50,000 and $5 million in annual revenue in fiscal year 2021.
Certify and demonstrate they experienced economic or financial hardship due to COVID-19.
Not be in default or arrears on past or current federal and state financing or funding programs.
Not be in conflict of interest with Town of Oyster Bay, the local municipality, or the third-party administrator (NDC).
Eligible uses of grant proceeds include working capital expenses that mitigate the economic and financial hardships caused by COVID-19 such as the purchase of inventory/supplies, rent, utilities, property taxes, lease or purchase of equipment, operating and emergency maintenance, etc.
In 2022, the Sustainable and Resilient Communities focused on speaking with stakeholders to understand the environmental challenges, current efforts, and implementation barriers that Long Island Sound communities are encountering on their paths to becoming more resilient to a changing climate. This year, there will be a focus on offering training programs and developing a resource hub to build a more coordinated regional response to current and future environmental threats, increase implementation of sustainability and resilience projects, and engage more communities to act as stewards of Long Island Sound and its watershed.
Several current funding opportunities include:
ReWild Gardens Program 2023
Apply to get assistance with creating or maintaining a community garden! The program is closing soon, if you are considering an application please apply now. Click Here for Details
Long Island Sound Futures Fund - RFP Opens March 2023
Grants ranging from $50k - $1.5M will be available for habitat restoration, resilience, water quality improvements, and more. Click Here for Details
2023 National Estuary Program Watershed Grants
This round will have approximately $3.2M in funds, with projects ranging from $200,000 - $500,000 and up to four years in length. Letters of Intent are due February 10th. Click Here for Details
To learn more about Sustainable and Resilient Communities, Click Here
The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is providing $30 million for the Pre-seed and Seed Matching Fund Program to support high-growth start-up companies at the earliest stages of their growth and development.
The program will offer early-stage businesses equity investments from $50,000 up to $250,000 with matching from the private sector (there must be at least $1 of private sector investment for every $1 NY Ventures invests). In addition to financial support, Empire State Development offers the tools and key introductions needed to help companies reach the next level.
Pre-Seed or Seed-stage companies across all technology markets, with a focus on:
Capital grant funding from the Regional Council Capital Fund is available through the State‘s Regional Economic Development Council Initiative, which helps drive regional and local economic development across New York State in cooperation with 10 Regional Economic Development Councils.
Capital grant funding is available for capital-based economic development projects intended to create or retain jobs; prevent, reduce or eliminate unemployment and underemployment; and/or increase business or economic activity in a community or Region.
Eligible applicants include for-profit businesses; not-for-profit corporations; business improvement districts; local development corporations; public benefit corporations (including industrial development agencies); economic development organizations; research and academic institutions; incubators; technology parks; municipalities; counties; regional planning councils; tourist attractions; and community facilities.
Funds may be used for:
Acquisition or leasing of land, buildings, machinery and/or equipment
Acquisition of existing business and/or assets
Demolition and environmental remediation
New construction, renovation or leasehold improvements
Acquisition of furniture and fixtures
Soft costs up to twenty-five (25%) of total project costs
Planning and feasibility studies related to a capital project
Trellus Same-Day Local Delivery is paying it forward with the launch of the Trellus Local Delivery Grant, empowering small businesses to reach more customers and grow their revenue. The grant is made possible by Trellus’ recent Grand Prize victory in 1010 WINS Small Business $10K Challenge, sponsored by Dime Community Bank.
Launched in January 2021, Trellus is a Long Beach-based on-demand, same-day delivery service and marketplace which helps small local businesses from Queens to Montauk save time and money - bringing to life the often-repeated mantra, Shop Local.
Trellus is opening an application process to select 20 small businesses in need of delivery services. Each eligible small business will receive $500 to cover their Trellus subscription and delivery costs.
Trellus currently works with over 300 small businesses and 80+ gig drivers who deliver all across Long Island seven days a week.
JR Jensen, co-founder and chief technology officer at Trellus, explains, “Small businesses deserve a win against the likes of Amazon, Walmart, and other e-commerce giants. Trellus is breaking down barriers to help independently owned businesses survive. We’re thrilled to share this $10,000 with independent businesses on Long Island that are driving local economic growth and breathing life into our downtowns.”
Winning a Business Leadership Award at the 2022 Long Island Smart Growth Awards, co-founder and CEO Adam Haber stated, “Our communities are home to so many great small businesses that have been here for generations. Unfortunately, many of these businesses have struggled to retain customers as shopping online has become more and more popular.”
The Trellus Local Delivery Grant program will accept applications from brick-and-mortar retailers, professional services, and home-based businesses. Trellus encourages businesses with a strong community focus to apply, particularly those owned by women, BIPOC, and military veterans.
Eligible small businesses should submit their application as soon as possible. The Trellus team will begin contacting applicants at the beginning of February, with the application window remaining open until Febuary 14, 2023.
The INN, a not-for-profit, volunteer-based organization, provides a broad variety of essential services to assist those challenged by hunger, homelessness and profound poverty. The INN partners with those in need in a dignified and respectful manner to help them achieve self-sufficiency.
The INN will be hosting a Curbside Food Drive on February 18, 2023 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at the Mary Brennan INN, 100 Madison Avenue, Hempstead.
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) will be hosting a virtual meeting on Thursday February 23, 2023 at 11:00 A.M.
NYMTC is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for New York City, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley. NYMTC members are elected officials and heads of transportation and environmental agencies responsible for establishing and implementing transportation plans, projects and programs.
The theme for this upcoming meeting is Innovative Ideas and New Technologies, with special guest speaker Victoria Sheehan, Executive Director, Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine.
The public can participate virtually by webinar or in person at the NYMTC office, 25 Beaver Street in lower Manhattan. Please RSVP by sending an email to NYMTC-Public-Info@dot.ny.gov. A recording of the meeting will be posted on www.NYMTC.org no later than two weeks after the meeting date.
For more information, please contact Ms. Man-Li Lin, Economic Development Specialist, New York District Office, U.S. Small Business Administration at Man-li.lin@sba.gov.
Join us for a special interview with longtime government and community leader, Hon Robert Troiano Check it out!!!
Join us for a special interview with CO-CEO of Spero Lighting East, Dr Tywanna Williams . Check it out!!! https://www.sperolightingeast.com
Please join for a special interview with Lisa Umansky, President of Rockville Chamber Of Commerce as well as the owner of Polka Dot Pound Cake Bakery and Cafe. Check it out!!!
Join us for a special interview with Dan Burden, A long-time walkable and community leader. He is the Director of Innovation and Inspiration. Check it out!!! https://www.bluezones.com/
Join for a special interview with Dorothy Santana who is the President and Founder of Latina Moms Connect. Latina Moms Connect is a non-for-profit organization that works to build community connections, nurture cultural identity, and provide tools to assist in parenting through large group events where the community can come together to celebrate and learn about different cultures. Check it out!!!
Website: https://www.latinamomsconnect.org/
Long Island Main Street News
Contributors:
Eric Alexander, Director; Tawaun Weber, Assistant Director; Elissa Kyle, Placemaking Director;
Linda Henninger, Outreach Coordinator; Jen Makaw, Communications Consultant
We strive to provide continued quality publications like this every week. If you have any news or events that you would like to add to our newsletter, submit them to ea@visionlongisland.org for consideration.
If you are interested in becoming a Long Island Main Street News sponsor,
please call or text 631-804-9128 for rates and opportunities.
