Peekskill Receives $10M for Downtown Revitalization
Officials in the City of Peekskill are celebrating receiving $10 million as the Mid-Hudson winner of a Downtown Revitalization Initiative spearheaded by New York State.
Governor Andrew Cuomo made the announcement August 14 in front of a packed crowd at The Hudson Room in Peekskill.
“With the downtown revitalization initiative, we challenged local governments to propose innovative ideas to create jobs and drive economic growth,” Cuomo said. “Peekskill proposed a brilliant plan that builds on their natural resources including the beautiful waterfront—a magnet that draws people and businesses to the area. And they demonstrated they have the secret ingredient: the capacity to actually get it done. This investment will help Peekskill utilize these assets to maximize their full potential.”
Peekskill was one of 10 municipalities in the state to be selected for the funding. In its package, city officials centered on the Downtown Central Business District and waterfront Transit-Oriented Development District which boasts cultural and educational institutions, a thriving waterfront and parks system, and a core string of restaurants and boutique retailers.
“This is a wonderful day for Peekskill,” Mayor Andre Rainey said. “Thanks to Governor Cuomo’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, our city has an opportunity to build on what we’ve accomplished and forge a great new future for our community. This investment will create lasting improvements that will attract more residents, prompt businesses to invest here and entice visitors to see what we have to offer.”
Deb Milone, president of the Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce, called the awarding of the grant “a game changer” for Peekskill.
“The Hudson Valley Gateway Chamber of Commerce congratulates the City of Peekskill on being named this year’s recipient of New York State’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization grant. The funding being provided by Governor Cuomo and New York’s Empire State Regional Economic Development Council will transform Peekskill into the quintessential 21st Century city–a place where people want to live, work and raise a family,” Milone said. “This grant will be a game changer for the City of Peekskill, resulting in economic growth throughout our entire Hudson Valley Region. The Chamber also wants to thank the Governor for his leadership on making economic development a priority in the Hudson Valley.”
Peekskill officials will now begin developing a Strategic Investment Plan with up to $300,000 from the grant. A local planning committee comprised of municipal representatives, community leaders and other stakeholders with lead the effort, with the assistance of a team of private sector experts and state planners.
The Strategic Investment Plan will look at local assets and opportunities and identify economic development, transportation, housing and community projects that align with the city’s vision for downtown revitalization.
Peekskill Together, a bipartisan team led by mayoral candidate Vincent A. Vesce, praised the work of the Peekskill Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) and other business leaders in helping to garner the grant and maintained its candidates, including council hopefuls Lauren Brady, Marlon Mahon and Luis Segarra, were best equipped to “optimize” the funding.
“$10 million is a sizeable amount of money, but only if it is spent effectively and efficiently,” Vesce said. “Misspent money can disappear without impact in the blink of an eye, and we cannot allow that to happen here.”
Rick has more than 40 years’ experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, running the gamut from politics and crime to sports and human interest. He has been an editor at Examiner Media since 2012. Read more from Rick’s editor-author bio here. Read Rick’s work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/pezzullo_rick-writer/