Peekskill leaders in business and government joined U.S. Rep. Nita M. Lowey Tuesday to announce $788,000 in federal grant funding that will support the city”™s ongoing downtown revitalization project.
The funding will come from the Federal Highway Administration”™s transportation enhancement program to support strategic improvements in transportation alternatives. Lowey, senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Â said Peekskill was one of 63 municipalities to receive a program grant out of 169 applicants in New York.
The grant covers 80 percent of the city”™s estimated $985,000 in construction costs for the second phase of a streetscape improvement plan that city officials aim to complete by 2016. Upgrades, which include new sidewalks, tree plantings and lighting improvements, will be made along Brown, South Division and South streets near Peekskill”™s historic Paramount Theater.
“Making our communities more walkable, bicycle-friendly, and welcoming will ensure residents enjoy local attractions and bring more business from outside Peekskill into downtown,” Lowey said in a press release. The infrastructure improvements “not only improve safety, they help incentivize the location of businesses and housing in Peekskill, which is a great economic benefit.”
Lowey held a press conference outside Arthur Weeks & Son Jewelers, a fourth-generation family business that opened on South Street in Peekskill in 1896. She was joined by Mayor Frank Catalina; Deb Milone, executive director of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce; Jason Angell, executive director of the Peekskill Business Improvement District; and other local elected officials.
“Investing in public infrastructure like safer roads and improved streets is an essential element in downtown Peekskill’s revitalization, helping to attract new small businesses that see clear evidence that government is a vital partner to shared growth,” Angell said.
