24-hour day care among LI projects vying for state aid

A 24-hour day care center in Glen Cove, renovations to 70 medical laboratories in Manhasset, a document archive in Brookville for 30 U.S. presidents and a convention center in Ronkonkoma were among more than 30 projects vying for state aid on Thursday.

The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council heard three-minute pitches about building projects, business expansions and tourism initiatives that are seeking a share of $750 million state grants and tax credits in 2022-23.

The council, which consists of business, labor, nonprofit and university leaders, recommends local projects for state funding in the annual Regional Economic Development Councils competition. Final decisions about where the money goes are made by state officials.

Janna Patricia Rodriguez hopes to win $400,000 for the 24-hour day care center that she plans to open in Glen Cove. The center would be the first of its kind in New York State, she told the development council.

“The need for quality child care is very high on Long Island,” said Rodriguez, owner of the Innovative Daycare Corp. in Freeport, which has 16 students. “I am looking to expand [to a second location] so that I can provide child care services to more than 174 children, 85% of them from low-income families.”

Rodriguez said in a Newsday interview that she’s negotiating to buy an 11,000-square-foot building in Glen Cove for more than $1 million. She said she needs the state assistance for renovations, including two classrooms for developmentally disabled students, a music room and spaces for yoga, meditation, art therapy and other activities.

The proposed day care center could spur the development of others that operate 24 hours every day of the week to meet the needs of kids and their parents, many of whom don’t hold 9-to-5 jobs, Rodriguez said.

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, a division of Northwell Health, is seeking $9.4 million from the state toward a $47 million project to renovate 70 labs at 350 Community Dr. in Manhasset, the institute’s home.

“We desperately need to renovate and create new labs” to continue recruiting high-profile scientists to Feinstein, said Jonathan Cohen, its vice president of strategy, during the two-hour virtual pitch session on Thursday.

Long Island University plans to open an archive that will encompass 30 U.S. presidents — George Washington through Calvin Coolidge — who for the most part, do not have presidential libraries, according to Andy Person, director of the university’s Roosevelt School in Brookville.

“Many materials were lost or destroyed or dispersed to family, friends and supporters” of the presidents, Cohen said, adding that Tweed Roosevelt, great-grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt of Oyster Bay, is involved in the project. “We want to establish a formal home for these U.S. presidents’ [documents]."

LIU is requesting $400,000 from the state for the $2 million project.

Suffolk County plans to seek between $1 million and $2 million for a convention center as part of the Midway Crossing development in Ronkonkoma. The state money would go toward the design and engineering of the convention facility.

The 300,000-square-foot building “will allow Suffolk County to finally capture its share of the trade show and convention market in the Northeast,” said Jonathan Keyes, the county’s director of downtown and transit-oriented development.

Funding applications are due to the development council by July 29 at 4 p.m. To apply go to https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/

The local development council, one of 10 across the state, has won $800 million for more than 1,000 projects since the competition began in 2011.

By James T. Madore

james.madore@newsday.comJamesTMadore

James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.