Ossining, Haverstraw latest recipients of state Downtown Revitalization grants

New York state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) is now onto its fifth round, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has been announcing winners in each of the state’s economic development regions. 

On Monday, Gov. Hochul announced at a press conference in Ossining that the villages of Ossining and Haverstraw are the recipients for the current round in the Mid-Hudson Region.

The grants allow each town, village or city to draw upon its leadership and residents to identify a list of projects that will best transform their respective downtown areas and/or leverage existing public or private assets and investments. The Regional Economic Development Council will then choose the best projects to be funded.

“I know personally how transformative a day like this can be, for people who have lived there a long time  or even the newcomers who experienced this beautiful part of our state for the first time during the pandemic because they wanted an escape,” Gov. Hochul said. “To see the potential, to understand the history, to celebrate what we have as an outstanding quality of life right in these two communities, but to give it that little extra boost that it needs, that extra resource to say how you want to be defined.”

In this round of the DRI, the state’s fifth, each of New York’s 10 economic development regions is gaining $20 million in the grant, doubled from previous rounds. Middletown, Kingston, New Rochelle and Peekskill were the prior recipients in the Mid-Hudson Region.

The Department of State, which administers the program along with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, left it up to each Regional Economic Development Council to decide whether to nominate two $10 million awardees or one municipality to receive $20 million. 

Ossining and Haverstraw will split the $20 million, getting $10 million each. 

“Congratulations to Ossining and Haverstraw for their outstanding plans to revitalize their downtown communities,” said Hope Knight, acting commissioner, president and CEO-designate of Empire State Development. “Both share common concepts that form a central theme ”” their waterfronts, their history, and their diverse and culturally rich communities provide a strong foundation from which their downtowns can thrive and flourish. This winning combination, together with DRI support, ensures the Ossining and Haverstraw communities can continue to prosper for generations to come.” 

Ossining Mayor Rika Levin spoke at the event to thank the village’s public workers for their efforts in ensuring Ossining could be considered a candidate for the project.

Ossining will utilize its award to focus on its waterfront district ”” increasing the economic impact of the area, expanding public space and repurposing areas for development. 

It named previous projects such as its waterfront park and public space, Sing Sing Kill Greenway and the still-underway Sing Sing Prison Museum project as models for successes.

For Haverstraw, the hope is to make the downtown area “an inclusive, lively, 21st-century urban center,” by expanding public space and redeveloping vacant properties, while increasing economic activity around the waterfront. 

“This opportunity that you’re giving us is a once-in-a-lifetime deal,” said Haverstraw Mayor Michael Kohut. “We have to make the most of it and we’re going to absolutely do that … We plan on spending the money well, we plan on doing it right and we plan on making a difference.”

Kohut also thanked Max Stach and Valerie Monastra of the environmental planning firm Nelson Pope and Voorhis for putting together the applications for both Haverstraw and Ossining. 

The villages may now use up to $300,000 of their respective $10 million grants to formulate a Strategic Investment Plan for the DRI projects.

Official plans will not be completed until 2022.

So far, around the state’s other regions, Chinatown in Manhattan and Troy in the Capital Region have also been announced as winners in this round.