County Executive Vanderhoef Presents Community Development Block Grant Awards

BY MICHAEL RICONDA

Stony Point – County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef presented a total of $2.67 million in federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding to various municipal and not-for-profit groups at an award ceremony held ironically in Stony Point, the town that traditionally receives the least amount of support from the Community Block Grant Program.

Ramapo received a total of $148,000, the second largest chunk of the grants going to a municipality. The Village of Kaser received $50,000 for terrace improvements, Hillburn received $10,000 for sidewalk improvements on 5th Street, and the town itself received two grants including $60,000 for the Old Nyack Turnpike Sidewalk Project and $28,000 for the Harry Reis Park Walkway.

In addition, an Emergency Solutions grant of $43,000 was given to the Center for Safety & Change for their Emergency Residential Shelter to aid women and children at risk of abuse and $25,000 was given to the HOME Investment Partnership Program for training prospective homeowners on the process of becoming a homeowner. The Town of Stony Point got $50,000 for the RHO Building Accessible Restroom Project.

Included among the award-recipients were not-for-profits which provided social services, housing aid programs, arts and culture programs, and other assistance to people in low-to-middle income brackets. The largest of such grants was awarded to Rockland County Legal Aid for their Landlord Tenant Advocacy and Security Deposit Program, which received $36,000 in funding.

“This is not necessarily the easiest place to build affordable housing, but I think we have made a lot of progress,” Legal Aid Society Executive Director Alex Burzstein said.

Other major not-for-profit grant recipients included $25,000 for the Community Outreach Center (COC) for its Safety At All Times Program, which teaches children about safety rules and precautions on roads and sidewalks. Additionally, $20,000 was given to the Rockland Jewish Family Services’ Senior Support Network.

Most of the grants, however, went to municipalities, with the villages of Haverstraw and Suffern receiving $85,000 each for Haverstraw’s comprehensive sidewalk program and Suffern’s business district revitalization. Town and village grants to municipalities in Haverstraw totaled $290,000, which included not only the sidewalk program but also the town’s shoreline seawall and jetties at Bowline Park and West Haverstraw’s parking area improvements at Peck’s Pond.

Not-for-profits receiving funding include:

·      Chiku Awali African Dance – Music and Culture Program – $8,000
·      Community Outreach Center (COC) – Safety At All Times Program – $25,000
·      West Street Childcare Center – Summer Enrichment Program – $10,000
·      Konbit Neg Lakay – Home Health Aides and Certified Nurse Aides Program – $15,000
·      RODA – Youth Counseling Program – $12,000
·      Literacy Volunteers of Rockland – Civics and Citizenship Adult Literacy Program – $10,000
·      ACT Academic Academy – $15,000
·      Spring Valley Housing Authority (SVHA) – Family Stabilization Program – $10,000
·      Rockland Jewish Family Services – Senior Support Network – $20,000
·      Meals-on-Wheels – Homebound Meal Delivery Program – $10,000
·      Rockland County Legal Aid – Landlord Tenant Advocacy / Security Deposit Program – $36,000
·      Arts Alliance of Haverstraw – Arts Ablaze Program – $18,000
·      People to People – Weekend Backpack Program – $8,400

Municipalities receiving funding include:

·      Village of Haverstraw – Comprehensive Sidewalk Program – $85,000
·      Town of Haverstraw – Shoreline Seawall and Jetties at Bowline Park – $80,000
·      Village of West Haverstraw – Pecks Pond Parking Area Improvements – $80,000
·      Village of Suffern – Business District Revitalization – $85,000
·      Town of Clarkstown – Accessible Pedestrian Signals and Detectors – $30,000
·      Town of Clarkstown – Mini-Trans Vehicle – $35,000
·      Village of Kaser – Kaser Terrace Improvements – $50,000
·      Town of Ramapo – Old Nyack Turnpike Sidewalk Project – $60,000
·      Town of Ramapo – Harry Reis Park Walkway – $28,000
·      Village of Hillburn – 5^th Street Sidewalk Improvements – $10,000
·      Village of South Nyack – Franklin Street Park Restroom Project – $48,000
·      Town of Stony Point – RHO Building Accessible Restroom Project – $50,000

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