By Marlene McTigue
Capital Region Independent Media
COXSACKIE — Has a nearby local community found the secret sauce to securing infrastructure funding?
Neighboring Coxsackie has emerged as a model of community resilience and resourcefulness, successfully tapping into public funds to drive local development.
By leveraging state and federal grants, Coxsackie is revitalizing its infrastructure, enhancing public services, and fostering a stronger, more connected community.
Last year the village of around 8,400 was awarded a $4.5 million grant from New York state through the NY Forward Program to assist with its revitalization efforts with seven projects.
Receiving portions of this state funding include:
1) Transformation of 14 S. River St. into a Visitors Center and Museum: $1,186,000
This project involves rehabilitating 14 S. River St. to serve as a Visitors Center and Museum, featuring multi-purpose community space and public bathrooms for downtown and Riverside Park visitors.
2) Restoration of the Dolan Block for Mixed-Use Redevelopment: $1,000,000
The historic Dolan Block building will be rehabilitated to house first-floor commercial space and approximately 10 residential units on the upper floors.
3) Revitalization of 5-7 Mansion St. for Mixed-Use: $700,000
This project aims to rehabilitate the historic structure at 5-7 Mansion St. to provide ground-floor commercial retail and/or food service space, along with multiple residential rental units on the upper floors.
4) Development of Affordable Artists’ Housing at the Public Works Site: $500,000
A mixed-use, mixed-income affordable housing development focused on artists will be constructed at the Village Public Works site. The project includes an improved streetscape and necessary brownfield remediation.
5) Creation of an Art, Food, and Music Venue at 1 Reed St.: $74,000
The building at 1 Reed St. will be enhanced with a commercial kitchen and other improvements to serve as a venue for community art shows, live music performances, and specialty exhibits.
6) Installation of Equipment to Improve Cell Service in Downtown Coxsackie: $240,000
Equipment will be installed on top of 46 Reed St. to provide improved cell coverage for residents and visitors of downtown Coxsackie.
7) Improvements to Pedestrian Infrastructure Downtown: $800,000
This project includes designing and constructing street and sidewalk infrastructure to improve pedestrian connectivity and safety downtown, with an enhanced gateway entrance and green infrastructure improvements to address stormwater mitigation.
MORE MONEY ON THE WAY
Now the village of Coxsackie has been granted significant financial assistance to enhance its water infrastructure. The Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) Board of Directors has approved over $120 million in funding for water infrastructure improvement projects across New York state, with Coxsackie being a key beneficiary.
The EFC’s approval allows municipalities to access low-cost financing and previously announced grants for essential water and sewer infrastructure projects, including the removal of emerging contaminants from drinking water.
Coxsackie will receive $1,599,038 in short-term interest-free financing, a $2,983,000 grant from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and a $1,490,772 Water Infrastructure Improvement Act (WIIA) grant. These funds will support the planning, design and construction of sanitary sewer collection and stormwater system improvements aimed at reducing sanitary sewer overflows during storm events.
Gov. Kathy Hochul emphasized the importance of these investments, stating, “Improving our water infrastructure is essential for building safe and healthy communities throughout New York. This financial assistance makes all the difference in being able to provide safe drinking water to New Yorkers, protect our natural resources, and ensure the projects are successful and affordable.”
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the New York State Department of Health both praised the investment’s potential to safeguard public health and benefit the environment.
“With this historic funding, we are catalyzing essential water and sewer infrastructure projects, ensuring that every New Yorker has access to clean and safe water,” Environmental Protection Agency Region 2 Administrator Lisa F. Garcia said.
The announcement also received support from New York officials, including Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, who underscored the importance of clean water for all New Yorkers and the role of these projects in addressing contaminants such as PFAS.
The funding approvals include financing through the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF), along with grants from the WIIA program. The support for Coxsackie and other municipalities marks a significant step in enhancing water infrastructure and public health across the state.
Coxsackie Mayor Mark Evans, now in his eighth term as mayor, said it’s all about long-term planning, investing in professional help, and keeping your eyes open for continuing opportunities.
“We applied for a DRI grant (New York’s downtown revitalization mechanism) a couple of years ago and we didn’t get it, it went to Tannersville,” Evans said. “But because we applied, we had the plan, a lot of the groundwork had already been done. So, when Elan Planning, the very good company we had hired for help with the DRI application, reached out when the NY Forward grants were announced, we had a lot of the essential information completed to apply and it was relatively easy to apply for that.”
According to Evans, a lot of what makes Coxsackie a success in winning public funds is long-term planning.
“I started a folder years ago,” said Evans. “When we first started thinking about the LWRP grant.”
The Local Waterfront Revitalization Program is a program that helps to transform New York state’s waterfront communities.
Even though the time wasn’t right to submit a response at that time, Evans said it got him in the habit of compiling data that funders look for. That information has since been repurposed for subsequent grant applications.
Evans has advice for communities looking to benefit from public dollars—put grant funding organizations on your radar and make the investment in some good help because the money is out there and these programs are being underutilized.
“About two months ago I was contacted by Empire State Development. (New York’s economic development division) And they said, ‘Hey, we’re going to hold a forum at Proctors in Schenectady, and we’d like to have you come and speak and talk about your experience with the process of the New York Forward grant.’
“I said I’d be happy to. So, I went. The mayor of Albany was there, the mayor of Schenectady and the mayor of Cambridge, who got a New York Forward grant like we did, and we basically just spoke about our experiences.
“But after it was over, I was talking to some of the ESD folks I’ve gotten to know and I said to them, “do you hold this type of thing every year?” And they said, ‘No, it’s the first time we’ve ever held it’. And I said, ‘Wow, OK. Why’? They said, because nobody’s applying.’”
That experience left an impression.
“I said, ‘Wait a second, didn’t you just announce a whole new round of grant money last week?’ She goes, ‘Yeah, we did and we can’t get anybody to apply,’” said Evans in disbelief.
Evans’ final message to municipal leaders is to hire a good planning company and do it now because this era of funding municipal projects may not last.
