$60 million in NYS business aid is up for grabs, but applicants are scarce

Only a dozen eligible applications from Long Island firms were submitted last year in a statewide competition that awarded up to $60 million in business aid.

With that in mind, a panel of local business executives, labor leaders, educators and nonprofit officials is boosting its efforts to solicit more applications for this year’s competition ahead of a July 31 deadline for submissions.

The Long Island Regional Economic Development Council will hold a two-hour workshop for potential applicants on June 18 from 10 a.m. to noon at Farmingdale State College’s Campus Center Ballroom.

Council members and staff also plan to speak with business groups, such as chambers of commerce and industry trade associations, according to Cara Longworth, the council’s executive director and Long Island director for Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency.

“We need to find some ways to try to get the word out about the grant opportunities, and really try to create new projects this year,” she said during last Friday’s council meeting at Farmingdale State.

An average of 25 eligible applications from Long Island have been received each year since 2021 for ESD’s Grant Funds program, now called the Regional Council Capital Funds program. Last year’s dozen applications were the second-fewest after 2024’s seven — and far below the high of 54 in 2021, according to agency data.

Council members and other business leaders didn’t know why there were so few grant applications last year, though they noted the statewide Regional Economic Development Councils’ competition began in 2011.

The contest is the primary way that the state distributes aid to companies and nonprofits — and pits Long Island against the state’s other nine regions. Each year, council members recommend applications for funding.

Stacey Sikes, acting president and CEO of the Long Island Association business group, said Tuesday the drop in applications is troubling. 

“We don’t want available state funding left on the table,” Sikes, who is not a council member, told Newsday.

She added that the LIA will work to increase awareness of the grants “that can support expansion and investment in our region.”

The ESD grants, which will again total up to $60 million this year, are awarded as part of the larger economic development councils’ competition.

More than $380 million will be distributed via the 2026 contest from eight state agencies, including the Department of Homes and Community Renewal, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

Longworth said representatives of the agencies will participate in next week’s workshop. To register for the workshop, go to https://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/long-island.

Separate from the ESD grants, the Long Island council won $30 million last year for a proposed manufacturing center where entrepreneurs would turn out small batches of their prototype products and seek financing from investors.

The project, called the Regional Commercialization Corridor, was one of four to share $150 million in a new program. The other winners are in New York City and upstate Ithaca and the Mohawk Valley.

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.