WASHINGTON, D.C. (WWTI) – New York senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have announced a number of upstate New York projects will earn funding in a press release made on Wednesday, August 23.
The senators announced a total of $11 million in funding for a number of projects including childcare, infrastructure job growth and broadband internet.
Lewis County-based Hand in Hand Early Childhood Center got nearly $3 million classroom expansion. DANC got nearly $2.5 million for high-speed broadband projects. Canton-Potsdam Hospital received $500,000 for various projects.
The town of Henderson will get $1 million for a wastewater treatment project and the Clayton Improvement Association will be granted $500,000 for a multitude of projects. The Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority will also be given $1 million for a childcare center.
Here is a breakdown of the funding:
| Recipient | NBRC Award Amount | Location: | Project Description |
| Hand in Hand Early Childhood Center | $2,996,422.80 | Lewis County (NY-21) | Hand in Hand will expand their flagship center located in Lowville by adding two classrooms and 24 more potential childcare slots. The proposal also includes the creation of two satellite facilities located at the northernmost and southernmost school districts in Lewis County. These satellite facilities would provide approximately 32 childcare slots at each school campus. |
| Development Authority of North Country (DANC) | $2,455,079.00 | Lewis, Jefferson, St. Lawrence Counties (NY-21) | The Development Authority of the North Country will complete a multi-jurisdictional telecommunications project bringing affordable, high-speed broadband to approximately 488 unserved households in rural communities in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties. The project will result in 63.3 miles of new fiber and bring digital parity to rural residents. Following Schumer’s advocacy for expanded broadband funding in Upstate New York, the Development Authority of the North Country (DANC) received a major $14,547,750 investment this past June through the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant Program to significantly expand broadband access in the region. |
| Ticonderoga Revitalization Alliance | $248,570.00 | Essex County (NY-21) | This project will renovate a vacant 10,000 sq ft building into a public childcare center walkable to Ticonderoga downtown and parks. Currently the town only has 16 childcare slots for more than 300 children under the age of 6. The project will create 50 new childcare slots for children from infancy through 5 years. |
| Cayuga County Water and Sewer Authority | $605,385.00 | Cayuga County (NY-24) | The project will install over 5,000 feet of 12-inch waterline from an existing source to the Cayuga County Industrial Park. The project will increase the capacity for water delivery by approximately 1.0 MGD to Cayuga Milk Ingredients (CMI), a major tenant in the Park, which is in the permitting stage for a $170 million expansion and create 85 new jobs. Last year, Schumer secured a $1.1 million grant for the Cayuga County Industrial Development Agency through the EDA’s American Rescue Plan Economic Adjustment Assistance program to help construct a new wastewater pumping station to directly support the ongoing growth and expansion of the Cayuga Milk Ingredients and Denkavit-Grober Nutrition dairy processing plants. |
| Canton-Potsdam Hospital | $500,000 | St. Lawrence County (NY-21) | Canton-Potsdam Hospital (CPH) will construct 16 exam rooms for practical learning, a fully equipped conference room, and office space for the program director, administrative support, and residents in support of the development of a residency program in Rural Family Medicine. This project seeks to address a need for more rural-focused clinicians in the primary care setting and it is anticipated that clinic visits will increase 5 to 6 times from having residents available to provide care. |
| Town of Henderson | $1,000,000.00 | Jefferson County (NY-21) | The Town of Henderson will construct a wastewater treatment and collection system to address sanitary waste problems for residents utilizing individual subsurface sewer disposal systems. The Town’s economy is almost entirely dependent on outdoor recreational tourism and this project will assist with expansion of existing businesses and creation of new economic opportunities. |
| Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority | $1,000,000.00 | St. Lawrence County (NY-21) | The project will build a new, easily accessible 15,000 square foot childcare center for the residents of St. Lawrence County to provide daycare, an integrated preschool program and other childcare services. Last year, Schumer secured over $2 million to support the Ogdensburg Bridge and Port Authority child care center project. |
| Valley Residential Services, Inc. | $400,000 | Herkimer County (NY-21) | This funding will extend 1,300 linear feet of sanitary sewer lines from the Town of Herkimer’s municipal system to a 226-acre campus to assist with a new $53.3M 160-bed, neurobehavioral and skilled nursing facility, creating and retaining essential healthcare jobs, and ensuring the health and wellbeing of the community. |
| Clayton Improvement Association, Ltd. | $500,000 | Jefferson County (NY-21) | The project will rehabilitate a 9,240 square foot mixed use building, located in the center of LaFargeville in the Town of Orleans. The rehabilitation will create 2-3 new commercial spaces, 2 newly renovated commercial spaces and 4 residential units. These newly created spaces and newly renovated units will allow for new entrepreneurial small business. The revitalization of the large mixed-use building is expected will act as a catalyst for growth and development throughout the small community. |
| The Fort Ticonderoga Association | $200,000.00 | Essex County (NY-21) | Fort Ticonderoga proposes to replace approximately 820 linear feet of water line that services the Ticonderoga peninsula. The pipe is the only connection between the town water line and the peninsula, which includes Fort Ticonderoga, a Department of Environmental Conservation, boat launch and facilities, Amtrak Train Station and Fort Ticonderoga Ferry dock. |
| Clinton County Chapter NYSARC | $452,672.00 | Clinton and Essex Counties (NY-21) | The project will ramp up and rapidly expand workforce recruitment and retention activities for professional/paraprofessional to fill over 500 vacancies in a two-county. This will ensure service continuity and quality of care that is essential for the “hidden” communities of Individuals with Developmental Disabilities (IDD). |
| Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board | $500,000 | Clinton, Essex, Hamilton, Warren, Washington Counties (NY-21) | The Lake Champlain Lake George Regional Planning Board will establish a Revolving Loan Fund for purchase/rehabilitation of long-term rentals within five upstate New York counties. This will increase the stock and affordability of long-term rentals for the year-round workforce within the Adirondack Park. Projects will be focused in hamlets and developed areas, and constrained to units that house year-round workforce, increasing business’ ability to attract workforce for the creation/retention of jobs within the region. This fund will provide at least 4 loans in the disbursement phase, renovating 4 buildings, creating approximately 12 units, and leveraging private investment. |
