March 10, 2023

The Town of Islip is creating a new long-term policy plan focusing on housing, environment, and job creation, Supervisor Angie Carpenter stated in her 2023 State of Town speech, Newsday reports. "Our town has expanded. So, I’ve made it our duty to revisit the visions of yesterday... and get to work to foster smart and sustainable development that will set the stage for growth for decades to come." 

 

Supervisor Carpenter emphasized housing opportunities created under the town's "adaptive reuse strategies," including 75 affordable senior apartments on Mechanicsville Road in Bay Shore and the partial completion of what will be more than 250 residential units at Gull Haven Commons in Central Islip. Adaptive strategies involve reusing existing structures for new purposes, the outlet reports.

 

According to Newsday, the Islip supervisor criticized Governor Kathy Hochul’s plan to add 800,000 housing units statewide in the next decade, including on Long Island, where several town supervisors have expressed concern over how the proposal could interfere with local control over zoning rules.

 

Islip has over 2,000 residential units in various stages of development, Supervisor Carpenter noted. "Islip is growing smartly in conjunction with our civic groups, at a pace and in a direction that makes sense for our town’s unique identity."

 

Other topics discussed include:

Eric Alexander, Director of Vision Long Island and the Long Island Main Street Alliance, notes, “It is great to hear the Town of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter’s State of the Town address. She laid out a range of plans in economic development, environment and housing, including 2.000 multifamily housing units that have been planned locally. As always, the Supervisor listens to the community with a blend of ambitious goals and pragmatism.”

 

Acknowledging that ridership demand for Grand Central Madison is lower than the LIRR expected, the railroad’s president said Thursday that several changes are on the way to help the rest of its commuters,Newsday reports.

 

Long Island Rail Road interim president Catherine Rinaldi recently outlined plans to bring some relief to exasperated LIRR commuters by adding cars to some of its busiest trains and increasing the frequency of Brooklyn shuttle trains, the outlet notes. “We are looking on a train-by-train basis — every train, every day — how long is it? Who’s on it? How crowded is it? And we’re making adjustments to be able to reflect actually what we’re seeing out there,” Ms. Rinaldi told reporters at the railroad’s busy Jamaica station. “We’re trying to make adjustments to give customers a better experience than they’ve had this week. They have not had a good experience this week. We recognize that."

 

The railroad plans to lengthen more trains next week, Newsday describes, focusing on the most heavily-utilized branches, including Huntington, Ronkonkoma, Babylon and Port Washington. Some trains will return to having as many as 10 cars. Of course, adding cars to some trains will mean taking them away from others, Ms. Rinaldi explained, adding that those decisions will be made using ridership data.

 

“After 20 plus years of planning the east side access project the launch was a bit rocky with less service to Brooklyn and Penn coinciding with the expanded service to Grand Central,” explains Eric Alexander, Director of Vision Long Island and the Long Island Main Street Alliance. “It appears the railroad is at least now listening and open to making some changes based on overwhelming feedback on the schedules itself. The fundamental issue was that after the long wait for this project, the promise was always for expanded service for all, not limited service for a two thirds of the commuters and expanded service for the remaining third. In the long run up to this, with numerous Capital Plan meetings, the reduction in service part was never presented.”

 

Click here to read Newsday’s article.

 

Managed by the U.S. Department of Treasury, SSBCI provides funds to support programs for small businesses, including socially and economically advantaged individual (SEDI) owned businesses and very small businesses (VSB), to recover from the economic effects of COVID-19 and allow them opportunity to succeed in the post-pandemic economy. With this funding, Empire State Development (ESD) has developed a suite of capital access and equity programs to help New York State small businesses recover from the economic effects of COVID-19 and allow them the opportunity to succeed.

 

The programs include:

 

Capital Project Loan Fund

$106 million in SSBCI funding to provide direct loans for the growth of manufacturing and other eligible businesses within New York State, by assisting in financing a portion of the cost of acquiring and renovating existing buildings or constructing new buildings or for purchasing machinery and equipment.

 

New York State Small Business Revolving Loan Fund Round 2

$55.5 million in SSBCI funding to provide shorter-term microloans and loans typically under $250,000. Addresses inequitable capital access by bridging the financing gaps facing new companies, under-banked communities and small businesses. Lending is provided by participating lenders.

 

Capital Access Program

$29. 4 million in SBCCI funding for portfolio insurance for participating lenders designed to increase financing opportunities for New York State’s small businesses, socially and economically disadvantaged individual (SEDI) owned businesses and very small businesses (VSB). Loans provided via participating lenders.

 

New York State Surety Bond Assistance Program

$22 million in SSBCI funding to provide access to bid bonds, payment and performance bonds for contractors performing on publicly funded projects throughout New York State via participating surety companies.

 

New York State Contractor Financing Program

$22 million in SSBCI funding to provide to contractors in need of working capital to deploy and execute federal, state, and local government related contracts via participating lenders.

 

Emerging and Regional Partner Program Fund

$102 million in SSBCI funding for investing in diverse fund managers with first, second or third time funds, or with managers who will use the funds to invest in areas of New York State where venture capital is less readily available.

 

Community and Regional Partner Program Fund

$52 million in SSBCI funding for partnerships with accelerators or other similar mentor-based programs to provide equity investments for high-growth New York State companies that are participating in those programs.

 

Pre-seed and Seed Matching Fund Program

$30 million in SSBCI funding for equity investments in venture-backable start-up companies at the earliest stages of their development. This program is via a competitive application process with applicants evaluated to assess likelihood of venture scalability.

 

New York State Innovation Venture Capital Fund

$35 million in SSBCI funding for equity investments for Seed through series B technology companies across New York State.

 

Click the link below to learn more about New York State Small Business Credit Initiative and to find out which SSBCI programs can help you.

 

2023 marks the 21st Round of the Downtown Revitalization Grant Program, a highly successful program that has provided funding to 300 projects supporting revitalization efforts in communities across Suffolk County since 1997. In total, over $12.5 million in funds have been granted to Downtown Revitalization initiatives.  

 

 

“Over the years, the Downtown Revitalization Program has paved the way for transformational change in our region’s downtowns. As it enters its third decade, the Downtown Revitalization continues to be a central program of our Connect Long Island plan by supporting placemaking, walkability and beautification of our central business districts,” said Suffolk County Executive Bellone.

 

Grant applicants must be organizations that represent a downtown area and who partner with their local municipality. Organizations that represent downtown areas including business improvement districts, chambers of commerce, civic associations, historical societies, beautification societies, and local development corporations are eligible applicants. Towns or villages who partner with a community organization are required to pass resolutions supporting the project on which the two entities partner. Projects must be capital in nature and have a significant and sustainable impact that enhances economic activity.  

 

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, and cultural facilities. The criteria for eligible projects include that the project must be a capital improvement project, funding request must be at least $10,000, the organization must partner with a municipality and be located on municipally-owned property in or adjacent to a downtown and the project life-span must be at least 15 years.  

 

Application materials for Round 21, including an application document, program guidelines and best practices handbook can be found HERE.

 

SCEDP staff will also be holding an informational training session on applying to Round 21 of the Downtown Revitalization Grant Program on Wednesday, March 1st, 2023, from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm. All potential applicants to Round 21 of the Downtown Revitalization Grant Program are strongly encouraged to attend. The training session will be held on Zoom via the following link.

 

The session will guide potential applicants and review some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the Downtown Revitalization Grant Program, including what types of projects can apply to the program, what attachments are required to accompany a submitted application, what are the specific criteria used to evaluate applications, what is the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) process, and much more.

 

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:

 

Eligibility

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:

 

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.

Funding is limited. 

 

 

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:

 

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

 

Grants ranging from $50k - $1.5M will be available for habitat restoration, resilience, water quality improvements, and more. Click Here for Details

 

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. 

Click here to apply for the Trellus Local Delivery Grant program.
 
Click here for Trellus press release.
 
Click here for LIBN coverage.

The Town of North Hempstead will be hosting a street naming ceremony to honor civil rights activist Dr. Hazel N. Dukes on the occasion of her 91st birthday. Dr. Dukes was born on March 17, 1932. 

 

When: 
Saturday, March 18, 2023, 1 PM 
 

Where: 
24 Edwards Street, Roslyn Heights, NY 11577

(Parking is available at the Roslyn LIRR Parking Lot on Warner Street. Shuttle buses will available, or attendees can walk 3 minutes to the site.)

 

Dr. Dukes, a prominent civil rights activist, dedicated her life to fighting for equality and justice for all. She was a leader in the civil rights movement, and her tireless efforts helped to break down barriers and pave the way for progress.
 

This ceremony is particularly significant as it falls during Women's History Month, a time to celebrate the vital role that women have played in shaping our history and society. Dr. Dukes was a trailblazer in the fight for civil rights and a champion of gender equality, making her an inspiring figure for all women.

 

In attendance will be: Dr. Hazel Dukes, NAACP NYS Conference President, North Hempstead Council Member Robert Troiano, Jr., Nassau County Legislator Siela Bynoe, state and local elected officials  
 

***Individuals interested in attending are asked to RSVP
by calling 516-869-6311***

On Saturday, May 13 (rain or shine) from 11 am to 2 pm, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Long Island will hold its annual used bicycle and sewing machine collection in the parking lot of South Huntington Public Library (145 Pidgeon Hill Road, Huntington Station). The items collected will then be reconditioned by the international non-profit Pedals for Progress (P4P) and sent to Belize.

 

The mission of P4P is to foster sustainable economic development by recycling bicycles and sewing machines from the US and shipping them to motivated people in the developing world. Information about the P4P Belize program can be found at: https://www.p4p.org/category/belize

 

This is the 19th bike/sewing machine collection organized by Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Long Island. To date, RPCVLI has collected 1707 bicycles and 282 sewing machines that have been distributed to Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo, Guatemala, Albania and Kosovo. amongst others.

 

Anyone with an adult or child’s bicycle in repairable condition or a working portable sewing machine is urged to donate the item. Since it costs $40 to collect, process, ship, rebuild and distribute each bicycle, a donation toward shipping costs is necessary (suggested minimum $20 per item). All cash and material donations are fully deductible and a receipt will be provided on site. The program does not accept “bikes for parts,” disassembled bikes or tricycles.

 

For more information, please contact Kathy Williams-Ging at (631) 549-4873 (email ktsging@optonline.net) or Bette Bass at (516) 606-1400 (email bettembass@gmail.com)

 

The parade kicks off from Northside Elementary School and spans about half a mile down Main Street, to the Village Green. Marchers include local community groups, Farmingdale/local Fire Departments, pipebands, village officials, and more.

 

Farmingdale is honored to announce the parade Grand Marshal is Monsignor Mark P. Rowan, St. Kilian Parish. The parade is sponsored by the Farmingdale Business Improvement District.

 

Enjoy lunch with family before the parade and stay downtown afterwards for dinner and drinks. Farmingdale Village is a terrific downtown destination; shop and dine local - explore the many shops, merchants, Culinary Quarter Mile restaurants, bars, clubs, breweries, eateries, with some new spots.

 

According to Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan (LINAP), the project will reduce nitrogen in the Western Bays of Long Island by conveying treated water from the South Shore Water Reclamation Facility (previously known as the Bay Park Sewage Treatment Plant) to the Cedar Creek Water Pollution Control Plant’s ocean outfall, which discharges and diffuses treated water three miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean. 

 

LINAP explains, since the open ocean has higher tidal mixing capabilities, nitrogen will not build up in the ocean like it does in the Western Bays. As a result, communities near the Western Bays will experience enhanced quality of life, improved water quality, revitalized shellfish habitat and restored vital marshlands that protect communities from wave action and coastal surge.

 

Please visit the Bay Park Conveyance website (www.BayParkConveyance.org) for Project details and meeting information.