August 19, 2020

SCHUMER, GILLIBRAND ANNOUNCE OVER $4.4 MILLION IN NORTHERN BORDER REGIONAL COMMISSION FUNDING FOR UPSTATE NEW YORK

Senators Secure Funding For Eight Northern Border Regional Commission Projects In City of Troy, Warren, Washington, Sullivan, St. Lawrence, And Herkimer Counties, Tupper Lake, Town Of Essex, & North Country Community College

Funding Will Jumpstart Projects That Will Revitalize Upstate New York Economy

Schumer, Gillibrand: Jobs & Support For Communities On The Way

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced $4,499,626 in federal funding for eight projects aimed at improving the economy in Upstate New York. The funding was allocated through the Northern Border Regional Commission’s (NBRC) Economic & Infrastructure Development Investment Program to support infrastructure projects and other initiatives that create jobs, support infrastructure, and strengthen the economy in Troy, Warren, Washington, Sullivan, St. Lawrence, and Herkimer Counties, Tupper Lake, Town of Essex, and North Country Community College.

“The Northern Border Commission has a special role to play in spurring economic development and creating jobs. This funding will provide support to communities across Upstate New York, working to complete priority projects to improve economic opportunity and quality of life,” said Senator Schumer. “I am proud to support this essential funding in congress and will continue to fight to ensure it supports critical projects across Upstate New York.”

“Local municipalities across New York State are rebuilding from the devastating impacts of COVID-19, and these eight Northern Border Commission projects will help spur critical economic development in Upstate New York,” said Senator Gillibrand. “This funding will help ensure that our communities have access to reliable broadband, water, and transportation systems, while adding jobs. I will continue to fighting for critical investments so that every zip code in New York has the recourses needed to thrive.”

Senator Schumer wrote letters of support to the NBRC for the St. Lawrence IDA, Herkimer IDA, Warren and Washington IDA, and Sullivan County requests. The senator played an especially large role in securing St. Lawrence County’s funding, when he worked with the NBRC to process the county’s application after it was hung up with a technical error in the agency’s submission system.

The NBRC is a federal-state partnership focused on the economic revitalization of communities across the Northern Border region, which includes northern Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York. The Commission is composed of the governors of the four Northern Border states and a federal co-chair, and provides financial and technical assistance to communities in the region to support entrepreneurs, improve water, broadband, and transportation infrastructure, and promote other initiatives to improve the region’s economy. The northern border region of New York State includes 14 counties: Cayuga, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Herkimer, Fulton, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Oswego, St. Lawrence, and Seneca.

Below is a breakdown of funding awards:

RECIPIENT	FUNDING AMOUNT	PROJECT
Troy Local Development Corp	$1,000,000	This project will provide needed infrastructure for the development of One Monument Square in the City of Troy. These infrastructure upgrades, and other site work will assist with final preparation of 100,000 square feet of future development for job creation and retention on River Street in downtown Troy.
Development Authority of the North Country	$200,000	The project will install 5.5 miles of fiber for the business community, create 3 wireless hot-spots, and provide broadband access to 125 unserved homes in Tupper Lake.
Warren and Washington IDA	$600,000	The project will replace a temporary bridge on an access road to an existing industrial park and provide engineering to expand the municipal wastewater system to create capacity to improve park marketability. The outputs will include 80 acres of developable land opened, 2 miles of access road constructed, and 12-36 developable sites, with the potential for $18M in private investment.
Sullivan County	$320,000	This project will improve wireless broadband transmission to increase signal reach in the Village of Monticello, piloting a public broadband network to address service gaps countywide, which will support economic development, job creation, education and telehealth access.
St. Lawrence IDA	$500,359	The project will renovate a vacant 63,400 square foot factory that was vacated in 2011, including infrastructure service to enhance the site for economic development.
North Country Community College	$89,700	The North Country Community College will develop a water and wastewater operator certification program to create trained applicants needed to fulfill the surplus of available water and wastewater operator positions for the North Country region.
Herkimer IDA	$1,000,000	The project will facilitate construction and implementation of the Eastern Mohawk Valley Regional Water Transmission Main, serving 22,000 residents across several communities in Herkimer County.
Town of Essex	$789,567	The project will implement upgrades to an existing municipal water treatment plant to comply with state and federal regulations. These upgrades will include the addition of a new filtration system to adequately meet seasonal water demands and drinking water standards.

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