ALBANY, NY (04/23/2008)(readMedia)-- Deborah VanAmerongen, commissioner of the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) announced nearly $500,000 in Technical Assistance Planning grants to 21 communities in 15 counties around Upstate New York.
The awards were approved by the NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) which is chaired by Commissioner VanAmerongen. The HTFC received 29 applications requesting more than $660,000 in grant funds. Eligible communities were invited to submit applications for up to $25,000.
Commissioner VanAmerongen said “these grants will further community revitalization goals, provide affordable housing opportunities, and spur business activity throughout New York.”
The grants were provided through the New York State Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and can be used for a number of planning activities. They are designed to help municipalities identify and prioritize community development needs and goals and create suitable sustainable strategies to achieve them.
Albany County, for example, will use a planning grant to develop a comprehensive workforce housing plan. The plan will focus on the rehabilitation and reuse of affordable properties for low and moderate income individuals and families.
The City of Cortland will use their $25,000 grant to develop a strategic plan to revitalize its East End neighborhood, which is beset with abandoned buildings and deteriorating housing stock.
The Town of Coxsackie in Greene County will use its grant to create a plan to help local farm owners who are threatened by increasing property taxes and residential development. The town’s goal, based on a successful program in Vermont, is to help develop viable farms through a low-interest loan program, preserve productive farmland and increase access to local produce.
The Town of Danby in Tompkins County, which recently revised zoning and open space strategies to counteract sprawl, will use a grant to establish strategies to improve and increase housing in developed areas. The plan will address the lack of affordable housing, the rehab of sub-standard units and necessary infrastructure improvements.
The City of Hudson in Columbia County will be use a planning grant to inventory all vacant and underutilized parcels and conduct a market appraisal on the properties. This is major goal of the City’s Comprehensive Plan that will help develop better uses for the properties and build on preservation efforts already underway.
The growing prevalence of absentee property owners and the desirability of seasonal rentals has tightened the housing market in Otsego County and dramatically increased housing costs. The County will use its planning grant to conduct a housing needs assessment that will help local government and private sector partners address the housing shortage.
The City of Watervliet in Albany County will use its funding to develop a Community Development Strategic Plan that will focus on the city’s housing, infrastructure and economic development needs. The city has suffered a number of blows in recent years, including the closure of the Watervliet Arsenal and with it 1,800 jobs. The City hopes a successful plan will help boost the business environment in the city.
Full list of Grants Include:
| Village of Clifton Springs |
|
$21,000 |
| Town of Coxsackie |
|
$25,000 |
| Village of Fredonia |
|
$21,000 |
| Town of Greenville |
|
$14,116 |
| Village of Malone |
|
$25,000 |
| Village of Penn Yan |
|
$25,000 |
| Village of Waddington |
|
$24,000 |
| City of Watervliet |
|
$25,000 |
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