17 Nassau and Suffolk towns vie for $10M New York State redevelopment grant

Officials from 17 towns across Long Island have applied to get a $10 million grant from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) to finance their redevelopment plans, Newsday reported. Nine of the applicants are from Suffolk County, with the rest in Nassau County, the fewest number ever from Long Island since the program came into being in 2016. Last year, Long Island had 23 applicants, up from 21 in 2017 and 20 in 2016, according to Newsday. The DRI gives a $10 million grant to one project in each of New York’s 10 regions. Statewide, officials in 94 areas applied, 11 fewer than the year before, Newsday reported. Meanwhile, a state panel of local leaders called the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council (LIREDC) will recommend one of the applicants from Nassau or Suffolk to Albany by July 12. The LIREDC will judge applicants on eight factors, including the compactness of their downtown area, potential job growth, proximity to housing and redevelopment strategy. Central Islip won last year, Hicksville the year before that and Westbury in 2016. Islip officials plan to use the state funds to refurbish an approximately two-mile stretch of Carleton Avenue. [Newsday]