Spectrum Designs wins grant to expand in Westchester

Spectrum Designs Foundation, a screen-printing business that employs mostly individuals on the autism spectrum, will receive a $240,000 grant from Empire State Development for a planned expansion into Westchester.

The Port Washington nonprofit, founded in 2011 to create jobs for Long Islanders on the spectrum, has leased an 8,000-square-foot commercial space in Pleasantville, where it plans to open a new screen printing, embroidery and fulfillment facility as part of a $3 million expansion.

“We are proud to bring our proven business model to Westchester to impact a deserving and underutilized population,” Patrick Bardsley, co-founder and chief executive of Spectrum Designs, said in a statement last week.

On the Island in 2017, people with disabilities had an unemployment rate of 10%, nearly three times the 3.5% rate for the general population, according to the state Labor Department. Unemployment was higher — 16.3% — for individuals with cognitive disabilities.

“Our goal by 2023 is to create 26 new jobs in a neurodiverse team that thrives on the power of inclusion, diversity and acceptance,” Bardsley said.

Spectrum Design’s 43 current employees — 75% of whom are on the autism spectrum — produce custom screen-printed apparel and accessories at its 8,000-square-foot Long Island headquarters.

The nonprofit also received $100,000 in state aid in 2017 to train individuals on the spectrum to become certified screen printers.

Spectrum Design’s expansion project was one of many across the state to be awarded aid as part of the Regional Economic Development Councils' annual funding competition. A total of $761.5 million was given out to projects statewide as part of the contest last month.

Long Island overall was a big winner in the 2019 competition. Ninety-four project applicants from the Island won a total of $87.9 million in state aid late last month for infrastructure projects, company expansions and worker training projects.

Nassau and Suffolk counties’ allocation of the capital grants and state tax credits aimed at creating jobs include $5 million each for sewer pipes in Great Neck and Long Beach, $3.6 million for land purchases in Suffolk to protect drinking water, and $3 million for a new YMCA in Lake Success.