Central Islip's downtown gets upgrade with $600,000 grant

The first recipient of a state grant meant to revitalize the Central Islip downtown has finished renovations on a property along Carleton Avenue.

Regina Giglio, 74, of Port Jefferson, has used a $100,000 grant from the state to repair the outside of the building, which she has owned for 40 years, and houses two storefronts and three Section 8 affordable apartments.

Giglio said the renovations cost around $190,000 total.

The funding for Giglio’s grant came from a $600,000 Small Grant Improvement Fund intended for streetscape and facade work in Central Islip, one of seven projects funded by the state's $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative Grant, awarded to the Town of Islip in 2018.

Islip Town supervisor Angie Carpenter said the renovations are a “bellwether of what’s to come,” and expressed optimism “for the transformation of [the Central Islip] downtown corridor.”

Carpenter said the downtown improvements in Central Islip will be supported by an ongoing sewer project from the county along Carleton Avenue, which is expected to wrap up in November.

She also pointed to a pending mixed-use building slated for Carleton Avenue, which would include 96 mixed-income apartments and ground-floor retail space. 

The Town of Islip Community Development Agency, which is administering the small-grants program, is still accepting online applications for around $250,000 in remaining funds through the end of the year.

Two other projects using the grant funds are currently underway, according to CDA executive director Julia MacGibbon.

The program will reimburse 75% of expenses for program participants, up to $100,000, she said. 

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.