Village Continues to Use State Grants to Revitalize

As part of its continuing quest to revitalize Main Street, the continues to gather new data for the Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program (BOA).

Most recently the Village board accepted a final traffic study performed by Melville-based Nelson and Pope engineering and surveying firm, which cost $28,163.54. This money will be drawn from the BOA grant given to the Village of Farmingdale by former Governor David A. Paterson in 2009 in the amount of $289,710, which was meant to study the under utilized and vacant buildings on Main Street and along the rail road tracks in the Village.

At the end of February, additional reports became available, according to . Future hearings will be announced for the public to attend.  

“We’re looking at every piece of property along Main Street, especially those that are vacant and underutilized, to revitalize,” Starkie said. “We’ve identified 46 properties. We’d like to see new mixed-used development of those sites with a combination of retail stores, market rate and affordable housing. Currently, we’ve collected data on a traffic study of existing conditions to learn how additional traffic will impact the area and how it can be mitigated.”

The Village of Farmingdale was one of only four communities on Long Island that received a BOA grant. The others were Hicksville, Huntington Station, and Wyandanch. These grants support environmental remediation, community revitalization, job creation and the expansion of the tax base in neighborhoods that have been adversely affected by multiple brownfield sites or economic distress.

New York State government created the BOA grants as an opportunity to redevelop and revitalize land that is currently unusable due to environmental contamination.

“The remediation of these identified brownfield sites is not only environmentally responsible, but will spur economic development by attracting new businesses and revitalize communities throughout New York,” said New York State Senator Malcolm A. Smith.

The Village of Farmingdale received its BOA grant to redevelop 10 acres with approximately 14 potential brownfield or vacant sites near Main Street. The primary community objectives include revitalizing the downtown, restoring an eroding tax base and achieving “smart growth” to enhance the ability for people to walk to transportation, shops and dining on Main Street.

Even though a new administration has taken over in Albany, there should be no change to the BOA grants.

“To our knowledge, the Village is making good progress on the development of a revitalization strategy for its downtown,” said Daniel E. Shapiro, first deputy Secretary of State in Albany. “Objectives are to increase commercial activity on Main Street by fostering the redevelopment of underutilized properties with uses and businesses that can benefit from the nearby train station; improve traffic flow and parking; and enhance the appearance of downtown."

According to Shapiro, the Village received an advance payment of $72,427 in 2010 and the Village was the first community (of the 25 projects announced in October 2009) to receive an executed contract. 

"Future disbursements will be based on the receipt of the report deliverables," he said. "Primary deliverables include a Downtown Revitalization Strategy including an assessment of existing conditions and opportunities for improvement and Development Design Guidelines.”