NYS to hold workshops on LI to help win a piece of $750 million in state aid

State officials will hold four workshops on Long Island, starting on Wednesday, where business owners, real estate developers, nonprofit leaders and local government officials can obtain information about applying for state tax credits and grants via the annual Regional Economic Development Councils' competition.

Up to $750 million will be distributed statewide in this year’s contest, according to Empire State Development, the state’s primary business-aid agency. Long Island won $21.2 million for 33 projects in the 2022 competition.

Officials will discuss how to apply for the funding at two workshops on Wednesday: 9:30 a.m. at Riverhead Town Hall, 200 Howell Ave., in Riverhead, and 1 p.m. at Islip Town Hall, 655 Main St., 2nd Floor, in Islip.

Other workshops are scheduled for June 20 at 10 a.m. in Oyster Bay Town’s Walter B. Bennett Community Center, 28 West Carl St., in Hicksville, and on June 27 at 1 p.m. at Huntington Town Hall, 100 Main St., in Huntington village.

To register, go to bit.ly/42IJTug.

Attendees will learn how to use the Consolidated Funding Application, which provides access to funding from ESD and nine other state agencies. The application deadline is July 28 at 4 p.m. for most of the money.

At the free workshops, officials from ESD, the state Department of State and Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation will be on hand to answer questions.

“We cannot give out the money unless it’s applied for,” said Cara Longworth, ESD’s regional director. “We want to get the word out to all the potential applicants. So we’ll be out on the road doing town halls in various towns,” she told a meeting of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council last month.

Longworth also said the ESD staff is holding “office hours” on Wednesdays at the agency’s Melville office through July 19. The sessions will alternate between in-person and virtual.

To make an appointment, go to bit.ly/3X08R6W

CORRECTION: Empire State Development's Long Island office is in Melville. An earlier version of this story gave an incorrect location.

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.