Governor Hochul Announces Huntington Station Wins $10 Million Long Island in Round 6 of Downtown Revitalization Initiative

Governor Kathy Hochul announced that Huntington Station will receive $10 million in funding as Long Island’s winner in the sixth round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. As part of Round 6 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, each of the state’s 10 Economic Development Regions is receiving $10 million to meet the state’s overall commitment of $100 million in funding and investment to help communities boost their economies through transformation of the city center into lively areas.

“The Huntington Station community deserves a safe, walkable and accessible downtown area where residents can thrive,” Governor Hochul said. “This strategic investment will revitalize the community, and i can’t wait to get shovels in the ground to transform Huntington station a must-see for tourists and locals alike.”

The Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) serves as a component of the state’s economic development policy, transforming downtown areas into vibrant centers of activity, offer high quality of life and attraction of businesses, jobs and economic and housing diversity. As with previous DRI rounds, each selected community will develop a strategic plan through a bottom-up community-level planning process that articulates a vision for the revitalization of its downtown and identifies a list of branded projects with transformational potential and attracting additional private and public investment. The State Department will then allocate DRI funds to selected projects with the greatest potential to accelerate recovery and realize the community’s vision.

Huntington station

The DRI area at Huntington Station is centered on downtown Huntington Station’s pedestrianized area that immediately surrounds the LIRR station and continues south along the New York Avenue corridor. Pending the completion of the East Side Access project, the area is beginning to undergo commercial revitalization, which will eventually serve as a major commercial and social attraction for the community. Huntington Station is committed to revitalizing its urban core and attracting new development opportunities for its vibrant, diverse and walkable city centre. The vision for Huntington Station is to transform downtown by developing key sites for mixed-use, landfill and/or relocation of utilities and overhead wires along the New York Avenue corridor, broadband expansion, the creation of a centralized park or public gathering place, the implementation of a business facade program, and the improvement of the urban landscape and transport.

The Long Island Regional Economic Development Board conducted a rigorous and competitive review process for proposals submitted by communities from across the region and considered the criteria below before recommending Huntington Station as a candidate:

• The center is compact and well-maintained.definite borders;
• The city center can benefit from past or be a catalyst for future private and public investment;
• Recent or upcoming job growth in or near the city center that could attract workers, support redevelopment, and make growth sustainable;
• The city center is an attractive and livable community for a wide variety of backgrounds;
• The municipality is already adopting or is in a position to develop and implement policies that improve living standards and quality of life;
• The municipality has engaged in an open and active community engagement that has resulted in a vision for the revitalization of the city center and a tentative list of projects. and initiatives;
• The municipality has local capacity to manage the DRI process; and
• The municipality has identified transformational projects that will be ready for implementation in the near future with the infusion of DRI funds.

Huntington Station received $10 million in public funding and investment to revitalize its business district and create new long-term growth opportunities following a local planning process. Huntington Station joins the communities of Westbury, Hicksville, Central Islip, Baldwin, Amityville and Riverhead who became Long Island winners in first five DRI rounds.

Huntington Station will begin the process of developing a Strategic Investment Plan to revitalize its downtown area with up to $300,000 in planning funding from a $10 million DRI grant. A local planning committee, composed of representatives of municipalities, community leaders and other stakeholders, will lead an effort supported by a group of experts from the private sector and government planners. The Strategic Investment Plan will review local assets and opportunities to identify economic development, transportation, housing, and social projects that are in line with each community’s vision for downtown revitalization and ready to go. The Strategic Investment Plan will direct investment of DRI grant funds into revitalization projects that advance the community’s vision for its downtown and that can leverage and expand the state’s $10 million investment. Plans for the sixth round of DRI will be completed in 2023.

Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez said: “The Downtown Revitalization Initiative is helping communities in every corner of the state realize their vision of downtown and economic revitalization. Commercial development is already underway at Huntington Station, which will bring new visitors and residents to the area. funding provided through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative will further secure its future as a premier local and regional destination on Long Island.”

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said: “DRI has demonstrated that strategic investment in local assets can lead to prosperity and sustainable economic development for downtown New York. With this $10 million grant, Huntington Station will be revitalized through projects to create a more connected and walkable community center that serves as a hub of opportunity for residents, visitors and businesses.”

Long Island Regional Economic Development Council co-chairs Linda Armin, director of strategy and marketing for the Bethpage Federal Credit Union and president of Farmingdale State College, Dr. John Nader, said: “Prosperous city centers are key to creating economic opportunity. This DRI award recognizes the importance of walkable, transportation areas, especially here on Long Island, and demonstrates New York State’s commitment to redefining downtown that attracts people to live, visit and do business here.”

New York State Commissioner for Home and Community Renewal RuthAnn Wisnauskas said: “The allocation of $10 million from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative to the Huntington Station neighborhood will breathe new life into a growing, walkable and transportation-centric community. By working with local leaders to build on the progress made by the East Side Access Project, the State is only further revitalizing downtown Huntington and bringing new economic and housing opportunities to this vibrant community. This is yet another example of Governor Hole’s commitment to expanding housing development near New York’s transit hubs.”

Assembly Member Steve Stern said“As an Assemblyman representing the community of Huntington Station, I have been a strong advocate for a long overdue revitalization of our downtown neighborhoods. This landmark $10 million downtown revitalization grant will help transform our neighborhood into a vibrant shopping mall with a community plaza, new facades, pocket parks, increased pedestrian safety, and most importantly, opportunity, improved quality of life and community safety. I thank Governor Hole and the Long Island Regional Development Board for this vital funding and their continued support of our Huntington Station community.”

Huntington Town chief Ed Smith said: “The City of Huntington is incredibly excited to receive the DRI award for Huntington Station. This $10,000,000 will help the city continue its efforts to rejuvenate this community through infrastructure projects, developing and improving the business district, and encouraging new industry. Every effort is made to encourage growth and jobs. We are grateful to Governor Hohul, the Empire State Development Agency, and the Department of State for recognizing the tremendous potential of Huntington Station with this remarkable award. I also want to thank Anthony Alosio, City Planning Director, for his vision and work on this project. We look forward to implementing our plans for the benefit of the entire community. Thanks again to Governor Khokhulu and EDC for this demonstrating your trust in local government. We will not disappoint you or our taxpayers.”

About the Downtown Revitalization Initiative

The Downtown Revitalization Initiative was created in 2016 to accelerate and expand downtown and neighborhood revitalization across all ten regions of the state to serve as hubs of activity and catalysts for investment. Led by the State Department and assisted by Empire State Development, Homes and Community Renewal and NYSERDA, DRI is an unprecedented and innovative “plan then act” strategy that combines strategic planning with immediate implementation and results in compact, walkable city centers, which are a key component in helping New York State recover its economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as achieve the state’s ambitious climate goals by encouraging public transportation and reducing reliance on private vehicles.

in first five Over the years of the program, the State has committed $600 million by investing in 59 downtowns ripe for revitalization and potentially magnets for redevelopment, business, job creation, greater economic and residential diversity, and opportunity. Participating communities are nominated by the state’s 10 regional economic development boards based on downtown’s transformation potential. Each community is allocated $10 million to develop a strategic downtown investment plan and implement key catalytic projects that advance the community’s vision for revitalization and attract additional private and public investment.

More information about DRI available here.