Hochul, on Long Island, touts grants to boost Valley Stream, Patchogue downtowns

A slate of projects to revitalize Valley Stream’s downtown got a $10 million boost with the award of a state grant Wednesday, while Patchogue landed $4.5 million to strengthen a link to its waterfront.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the grants at a news conference at the Foreign Legion building in Valley Stream with stakeholders from both communities.

Valley Stream’s grant is the latest awarded under the state Downtown Revitalization Initiative, a competitive grant program intended to help spur economic activity and create walkable downtowns.

“We want to make sure that people can afford to live there, to have the great educational systems, the great amenities, the great charm, and again, the wonderful beaches and assets that other parts of the country just envy,” Hochul said.

Patchogue's grant was awarded under the NY Forward program with the goal of improving the connection of downtown housing to Shorefront Park, which is along Patchogue Bay. 

"For a community to survive, it's not just housing, it is recreation, it is the environment, it's the arts, it's those things that make you and make people want to come to your community," Patchogue Mayor Paul Pontieri said from the podium. The project is about downtown residents "being able to walk to the Great South Bay, to walk to the parks we have."

Hochul highlighted the housing portion of the Valley Stream grant, which includes demolishing a vacant industrial site at 145 E. Mineola Ave. to build what she said would be Long Island’s first cottage court — a group of single-family homes around a central open space.

“Kids who are born here want to raise their families here, and we are denying them that opportunity by not having the ambition to just put up more housing, especially transit-oriented development, places close to transportation assets,” Hochul said. 

The Valley Stream grant will be used for the projects in the village’s application, which sought $9.6 million of support, the governor’s office confirmed.

Here's a breakdown:

• $3 million will go to develop a cultural arts center at the village green, including the conversion of the village auditorium into a theater and connecting it to the library.
• $4 million will support two housing developments and the conversion of the vacant Valley Stream National Bank building on Rockaway Avenue into a new business such as an eatery or brewery.
• Pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects will get a $1 million boost that includes constructing dedicated bike lanes on Hawthorne Avenue and Hicks Street to better connect residential areas with the train station and downtown businesses.
• $1 million will be provided for downtown signage, bicycle parking, lighting upgrades, plantings and three interactive light displays created by artists under three Long Island Rail Road overpasses.
• The grant also will create a $600,000 “small projects fund” to help with the renovation of businesses.

Valley Stream village trustee Kevin Waszak said the application came about after a “large amount of public input” that will continue. He said the housing projects are the most important.

“I’m amazed at how many people want to move to Valley Stream; however, at this time, it’s a little difficult because of a lack of housing,” Waszak said.

Mike Florio, chief executive of the Long Island Builders Institute, a trade group, attended the news conference and said DRI grants have spurred economic development and created new housing stock “which is desperately needed."

“They stand as examples of what could happen and what's possible,” Florio said. “It's kind of like this shining beacon out there where communities can look and say, ‘Oh, I would like to do that. Why can't we have this where I live?’ and it just kind of keeps moving forward."