The Central, Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, Capital, and Long Island Regions are the five “top performers” announced last week as part of the 2019 Regional Economic Development Council Round IX Consolidated Funding Awards.
Each of these five regions was awarded more than $82 million in funding to support various economic development projects ranging from environmental issues to job training to infrastructure improvements and cultural initiatives. In total, more than $761 million was awarded across New York state by the Regional Economic Development Council, which will in turn support 892 separate projects.
Individual regional awards were as follows:
- Western New York $67.3 million, 109 projects
- Finger Lakes $64.4 million, 94 projects
- Southern Tier $88.9 million, 109 projects
- Central New York $86.2 million, 93 projects
- Mohawk Valley $82.7 million, 81 projects
- North Country $67.9 million, 83 projects
- Capital Region $84.1 million, 120 projects
- Mid-Hudson $65.8 million, 105 projects
- New York City $66.3 million, 109 projects
- Long Island $87.9 million, 94 projects
A full listing of the Consolidated Funding Awards includes the individual project descriptions, sources of funding and award amounts. The original concept of the Consolidated Funding Awards competition was to foster "bottom up" economic development in New York, creating jobs and reducing the unemployment rate. In 2019, funding was available through over 30 programs available through 12 state agencies, including Empire State Development; NYS Canal Corporation; NYS Energy Research and Development Authority; Environmental Facilities Corporation; Homes and Community Renewal; Department of Labor; New York Power Authority; Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; Department of State; Department of Environmental Conservation, Department of Agriculture & Markets and Council on the Arts. Consolidated Funding Application competitions have typically been made available during the summer of each year, with announcements made in the fall/winter timeframe. Since the program started in 2011, more than $6.9 billion has been awarded to more than 8300 job creation and community development projects consistent with each region’s strategic plan.
