Suffolk businesses, nonprofits can apply for funding to revive downtowns

Suffolk County small businesses and nonprofits can now apply for up to $25 million in funding for projects that contribute to the success and vibrancy of local downtowns.

The money for the JumpSMART Small Business Downtown Investment Program comes from the $286 million the county received in federal COVID-19 relief funding through the American Rescue Plan Act.

The application portal, which went live Tuesday and will remain open until Sept. 29, is available at suffolkcountyny.gov/jumpsmart. Awards will be announced this fall, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said during a news conference in Hauppauge Tuesday.

"While we have witnessed substantial revitalization across the county over the last couple of years, as we emerge from the economic impacts of the pandemic, we fully understand that more work remains to be done,” Bellone said.

County officials are looking for large projects and said applicants must request a minimum of $100,000 in funding. Examples could include a capital project that supports a Main Street theater, they said.

The program will be open to small businesses and nonprofits, unlike the county’s similarly named Jumpstart program, which has provided downtown revitalization grants to local municipalities.

The applications will be reviewed by a panel that includes representatives from the county executive’s office, the legislature, the department of economic development and planning and small-business advocates, Bellone said.

Revitalizing downtowns with mixed-use buildings, public transit-oriented development and restaurant space is seen as key to keeping Long Island viable and attractive for young people.

Bryan DeLuca, executive director of the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead, said he would be interested in applying for funds to build a catwalk over the marine animal hospital at the facility, operated by the nonprofit New York Marine Rescue Center. The catwalk would allow the public to observe the rescue and rehabilitation work being done without disturbing the animals, he said.

DeLuca noted the project would complement large redevelopment projects already underway. Riverhead’s long-struggling downtown won a $10 million state revitalization grant in December that included $3.2 million to build a new town square.

“I think in the next three years we’ll see some radical steps [in redevelopment] we haven’t seen in the last 15 years,” he said. “A lot is going to happen.”

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.