Long Island received $87.9 million for 94 separate projects in New York State economic and community development funding through the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative. Since its inception in 2011, the state has awarded over $6.9 billion to more than 8,300 projects statewide. This is the ninth round of the award. To date, Long Island has received $727 million for 885 projects from the REDC.
The REDC intent is to develop long-term strategic plans for economic growth for 10 regions in the state. According to the New York State website, regional councils are public-private partnerships made up of local experts and stakeholders from business, academia, local government, and non-governmental organizations.
Some of the Long Island projects highlighted from this the current round include:
- Lake Success YMCA - The YMCA of Long Island will receive $3,000,000 from Empire State Development to build a new state-of-the-art facility in collaboration with Northwell Health. This new YMCA will provide child care and promote health and wellness services for the benefit of the community.
- Biocogent LLC - Biocogent LLC, a Stony Brook University incubator company, will receive $1,500,000 from Empire State Development to add jobs and expand its bio-manufacturing capacity outside the incubator.
- Pal-O-Mine Restore to Balance - Pal-O-Mine, an equine therapy provider, will receive $600,000 from Empire State Development to expand its facility and program for high-risk youth and adults with disabilities to receive job training, work-force preparedness and internships.
The full list of projects can be found here.
"By bringing together local leaders and stakeholders who are invested in their communities we have replaced the 'one size fits all' approach to economic development with one that is unique to each community, creating opportunities for success all across the Empire State," said Governor Cuomo in a statement.