Nyack, Dobbs Ferry each get $4.5M; see how they plan to use grants to boost downtowns

The riverfront villages of Nyack in Rockland and Dobbs Ferry in Westchester each got a $4.5 million boost for plans to revitalize their downtowns.

The awards, part of New York State's Downtown Revitalization Initiative, were announced Tuesday, March 11. The city of Poughkeepsie received $10 million. All told, 10 New York municipalities received funds to help create "vibrant downtowns."

The municipalities are all part of New York's "pro-housing community program" and the funding is part of New York's economic redevelopment program.

The municipalities' applications listed ideas for the grants, from adding pollinator gardens downtown to drawing the arts with new public space.

Nyack: subsidized housing for firefighters to a gussied-up gateway

Touted by the state in its grant announcement for Nyack: a historic downtown that's home to an economically and culturally diverse population. There's also a wide range of housing stock, from subsidized units to high-end homes.

Possible grant-funded projects include:

• Enhancing tourism by sprucing up the "gateway" or entrance points to the village; adding murals; and expanding "wayfinding" directional signs.

• Providing subsidized housing for volunteer firefighters at a former convent; supporting inclusionary zoning; and instituting good-cause eviction rules.

• Developing jobs through waterfront development and partnerships like the nonprofit Angel Nyack hub for weddings and other celebrations; and increasing downtown foot traffic to draw customers for business.

• Creating a sustainable environment by using low-carbon concrete in a Main Street revitalization project, as well as pollinator gardens and better walkability and focusing on other aspects of the village's Nyack 2030 Climate Action Plan.

"This is an extraordinary day in the 143-year old history of our beautiful village," Nyack Mayor Joseph Rand said in a statement. "This revitalization grant of $4.5 million is historically transformative, and will make Nyack a better place to live, to work, and to visit."

Dobbs Ferry: connect train station and downtown, boost arts

Dobbs Ferry Mayor Vincent Rossillo said many had worked on the downtown revitalization plans in this tight-knit village. "This was truly a community-driven project," he posted March 11 on the Dobbs Ferry government website.

He outlined possible uses of the grant in a message to the community:

• Bringing the historic Pickwick Theater back into public use as a performance space.

• Upgrading parks, public spaces and sidewalks between the Dobbs Ferry Metro-North station and downtown.

• Improving the downtown by upgrading pedestrian thoroughfares and public spaces, lighting and outdoor art.

"By better connecting our Metro-North station to our downtown, creating new opportunities for visual and performing arts to flourish, and upgrading parks, pedestrian thoroughfares, and public spaces along the train-to-downtown corridor, we’ll make Dobbs Ferry an even more vibrant place to live, work and visit," Rossillo said in a statement.

The next steps: the villages and state are going to work together to determine which projects receive NY Forward funding.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Nyack and Dobbs Ferry NY villages get grants to revitalize downtown