State’s DRI program fueling renewal of Long Island business districts

Listen to this article

When it comes to leveraging a multi-million-dollar state grant program, the Village of Westbury has been a successful pioneer.

As the first Long Island municipality to receive the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant from New York State in 2016, Westbury has certainly made the most of it. Last month, the village celebrated the completion of its six DRI-supported projects, which have transformed its business district and are now attracting hundreds of millions in private investment.

“We got it in the first year, so it was kind of an unknown at the time,” Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro told LIBN. “I think we were a little surprised, but we were also extremely pleased, because we had many, many plans that were on the drawing board about how to take our redevelopment to the next step, but getting that infusion of $10 million really allowed us to focus on actually accomplishing them not over a 20-year period, but over a three- or four-year period.”

Westbury used $5.56 million—the bulk of its DRI funding—for pedestrian, public space and lighting upgrades along Post Avenue, the village’s main street. The streetscape improvements stretched from the Northern State Parkway to Old Country Road and featured new trees, benches and bike racks; upgraded LED lighting; and expanded sidewalks.

The village also used $1.355 million of DRI money to acquire and redevelop a building to serve as the new permanent home for the Westbury Arts Council; $785,000 went toward creating a new pedestrian plaza and intersection improvements at Post and Union avenues; $600,000 was used to continue the village’s Retail Incentive and Façade Improvement programs, enhancing 10 commercial buildings and three public buildings; and $430,000 funded upgrades to three facilities comprising the Westbury Recreation and Community Center complex.

“In terms of the impact, if you drive down Post Avenue today, and you compare it with what it was seven, eight or 10 years ago, I think there’s a completely different feel and a complete modernity to it, and it (the DRI grant) basically just allowed us to completely revamp a lot of aspects of the downtown to make them not only more attractive, but obviously more walkable and more pedestrian safe and user friendly for people coming into town,” Cavallaro said.

But perhaps the most significant project that was funded by $970,000 in DRI money was the rezoning of 52 acres around the Westbury Long Island Rail Road station to promote transit-oriented development for a mix of residential and commercial uses. So far, the rezoning has spawned two new apartment buildings from developer Terwilliger & Bartone Properties called Cornerstone at Westbury. Bringing a total of 131 rental units to Railroad Avenue, a short walk to the Westbury LIRR station. And there is more to come.

“Our intent there was to build on what we had done prior, and really address transit-oriented development in the 52 acres,” Cavallaro said. “As a result, we’ve approved two projects already, but we have three or four other projects that are percolating in the same area. If you think about the combined value of those projects, you’re talking probably well over half a billion dollars once those projects are completed.”

Though Westbury was first, there are several other Long Island downtowns that have been awarded subsequent DRI grants, including Hicksville (Town of Oyster Bay), which received the DRI award in 2017; Central Islip (Town of Islip) in 2018; Baldwin (Town of Hempstead) in 2019; Amityville and Riverhead for 2020 and 2021; and Huntington Station for 2022. The award for 2023 is expected to be announced next month.

And while other Long Island municipalities have embarked on projects to improve their downtowns without New York State aid, the money and planning assistance from the DRI has accelerated and amplified the process where it’s been awarded. The state funding is also especially critical for smaller villages and municipalities where budgets are stretched, and every penny is already committed to maintaining vital services.

Once the DRI grant is secured, municipalities form local planning committees comprised of business leaders and residents with input from state officials to determine which projects to fund.

In the Village of Amityville, about $5 million of its DRI grant is going toward streetscape and pedestrian improvements, with the balance used for revitalizing the area around its LIRR station, storefront rehab, assisting the development of a mixed-use building, renovations of existing buildings and helping the creation of new downtown businesses.

“Obviously, money handed to you is a good thing for a lot of these visions that we’ve been talking about for years about what the village needs,” said Amityville Mayor Dennis Siry, “so it’s great to help give us that shot in the arm that we can get a lot of the things done that we feel are essential to revitalizing our downtown and just bringing life into it. It’s unbelievably helpful. It’s still going to cost us money, because nothing’s for free, but there are so many things that we’ve wanted to do and now we can.”

And like Westbury before it, Amityville’s DRI projects are attracting millions in private investment to further advance its downtown revitalization effort.

“They see that we are an improving village, and everybody wants to be a part of the nice improvements,” Siry said. “We have a couple of developers that said they see Amityville starting to be the up-and-coming village and we’d like to be a part of it. So, it definitely helps with that too.”

All in all, many of the efforts to reimagine Long Island’s downtowns are being greatly advanced by the state’s DRI funding.

Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez, who heads the Department of State which administers and oversees the DRI program, said downtowns throughout the state define what is meant by a sense of place.

“The Downtown Revitalization Initiative draws on a community’s rich legacy and heritage and serves as a catalyst for future resurgence and prosperity, making them magnets for businesses, housing, culture and diversity,” Rodriguez said via email. “Communities throughout Long Island, and the rest of the state, are reimagining their downtowns with the Department of State’s flagship program and igniting a renaissance in economic development and quality of life.”

[email protected]