New York State is awarding Huntington Station with $10 million for economic development as part of its ongoing Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.
Huntington Station was chosen for the state’s sixth round of funding given to communities to transform their downtowns. The state will now work with Huntington Station residents, community leaders, and public officials on projects to benefit the area.
“The Huntington Station community deserves a safe, walkable, and affordable downtown where residents can thrive,” Hochul said. “This strategic investment will revitalize the community, and I can’t wait to get shovels in the ground to transform Huntington Station into a must-see destination for tourists and local visitors alike.”
The DRI aims to improve the quality of life and attract businesses, jobs, and economic and housing diversity in the area. Stakeholders come together to identify projects to best fit those goals. The Huntington Station projects will be focused right around the Long Island Rail Road station and continuing south along New York Avenue.
According to the state, the Huntington Station projects will include the development of key sites for mixed-use projects, burying and/or relocating utilities and overhead wires, expanding broadband, creating a centralized park or public gathering space, implementing a business façade program, and making other streetscape and transportation improvements.
“The Town of Huntington is so incredibly thrilled to receive the DRI Award for Huntington Station,” said Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth. “This $10,000,000 will help to continue the Town’s efforts to rejuvenate this community through infrastructure projects, developing and improving the business district and encouraging new industry – all efforts to encourage growth and jobs.”
The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council conducted a review process to choose the Huntington Station community as the next DRI recipient. The past Long Island regions to receive funding through DRI were Westbury, Hicksville, Central Islip, Baldwin, Amityville, and Riverhead.
The first step now is to create a Strategic Investment Plan using up to $300,000 in planning funds of the $10 million state grant. Those plans are expected to be complete by the end of 2023.
The governor also announced today the first round of a new initiative, NY Forward, that will aim for a similar goal as DRI does but for small and rural communities. The City of Long Beach and Village of Lindenhurst will each receive $4.5 million. Both projects will focus on creating transit-oriented, walkable downtowns in these areas.
