State Downtown Revitalization Initiative awards $9.7M for Huntington Station upgrades
The Huntington Public Library Station Branch at 1335 New York Ave. received a $536,000 state Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant to create a new open space and play area. Credit: Rick Kopstein
A cash infusion of $9.7 million from the New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative program has been awarded to help build affordable housing, improve public gathering spaces, and increase pedestrian safety in Huntington Station.
The hamlet was named Long Island’s winner of the sixth round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative in 2023. The program aims to revitalize the economy and create more opportunities for downtowns by granting money for specific projects.
Six of 10 projects selected by a local planning committee to submit to the state were funded.
Huntington Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said he hopes the public money will jump-start private investment in the hamlet.
“There has to be private enterprise to sustain economic development,” he said. “I’m hoping that this money will be the early stages of a true Huntington Station renaissance.”
The approved projects include $2 million to redevelop the Huntington Opportunity Resource Center at 1264-1268 New York Ave. A three-story building with commercial sites on the ground floor and 18 affordable apartments on the remaining floors will be built after the existing building is demolished. The project will be managed by the town’s Community Development Agency.
MDG Property Owners LLC was awarded $1.09 million to build a mixed-use development at 1328 New York Ave. The project will feature two three-story buildings.
Michael Rooney, founding principal of MDG Property Owners, said in an email that the development, The Concord, will offer 72 apartments, 4,230 square feet of residential amenity space, and 11,250 square feet of commercial space.
“We are honored and thrilled to be selected as one of the projects that will serve as the impetus to a new and vibrant Huntington Station and encourage economic growth in the community,” he said.
The biggest award, $4.675 million, is to upgrade the roadway and pedestrian areas along New York Avenue between Depot Road and Ninth Street to improve walkability, safety and attractiveness.
A $600,000 small business facade and renovation grant was awarded to the town’s Economic Development Corp. The money will fund a grant to assist small businesses with paying for exterior renovations.
The town was also awarded $802,000 to redesign a portion of a parking lot south of the Huntington LIRR station to provide an inviting pedestrian walkway and seating area. The walkway connects the station to New York Avenue.
The town’s youngest residents were not forgotten. The Huntington Public Library Station Branch received $536,000 to create a new open space and play area. Library officials said a children’s garden with native plants and an area for story time and games will be created.
Jose Hernandez, Huntington Station branch manager, said the money offers an opportunity for improvements that will provide a free, vibrant space to congregate.
“It’ll be a welcome addition to the community,” he said.
The Village of Lindenhurst received $4.5 million for seven projects under the state's NY Forward program, which also aims to support downtown recovery for New York's smaller and rural communities.
The largest chunk of the award, $2.3 million, will go toward expanding and enhancing the village square, including the building of an amphitheater. The rest of the money will go toward facade and small business improvements and pedestrian safety enhancements, as well as the creation of a greenway south from Village Park to the Long Island Rail Road station.
“Within a year and half to two years, you could be looking at a completely revitalized and renewed infrastructure on Wellwood Avenue,” said RJ Renna, deputy mayor of Lindenhurst.
Long Beach was awarded $4.5 million under NY Forward. Projects funded include redesigning Kennedy Plaza, streetscape and pedestrian improvements, a new commercial building with performance space and converting five single-family homes into two-family homes with a component of affordable housing in the North Park neighborhood.
With Denise M. Bonilla
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