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Town of North Hempstead Receives $1 Million-Plus in NY State Grants

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 17, 2013
MEDIA CONTACTS: Collin Nash, Ryan Mulholland, & Sam Marksheid | (516) 869-7794

Town of North Hempstead Receives $1 Million-Plus in NY State Grants
Bulk of Funds to Enhance Town’s Alternative Fuel Network

Manhasset, NY – The Town of North Hempstead last week received close to $1.2 million in grants from the state to fund a trio of Town initiatives. The $1,183,000 in funding came through the New York State Regional Economic Development Council program.

The bulk of the award, $1,000,000, is earmarked to enhance North Hempstead’s Alternative Fuel Network, thought to be the first such effort in the County. Another $125,000 will be used to pay for waterfront revitalization and a $58,000 grant will boost services in the Town’s ground-breaking “aging in place” program, Project Independence.

These grants were awarded under Round Three of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative introduced by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2011 to spur economic development in the State.

Praising Governor Andrew Cuomo for his leadership in creating the Regional Economic Development Council, allowing regions to invest in their economic futures, Town Supervisor John Riordan said the awards, “will not only help enhance North Hempstead’s mission to protect the environment but also the add to quality of life for our residents.”

The $1,000,000 grant will be used to build the Town’s compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station for both public and private fleets including school buses. Funding will also be provided for ten plug-in hybrid electric vehicle charging stations, five new plug-in hybrid electric municipal fleet vehicles and the conversion of five existing Town vehicles to CNG.

In addition to expanding North Hempstead’s growing network of alternative fuel stations and public vehicles, this project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 3,000 tons annually, save as much as $357,000 annually from reduced gasoline and diesel consumption, and encourage other municipalities to convert their fleets to alternative fuels.

This funding for the CNG fueling station was awarded through the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). The Town has worked closely with NYSERDA in recent years on various environmental initiatives including the Long Island Cleaner Greener Communities Regional Sustainability Plan, a program where the Town is Long Island’s lead agency.

The Waterfront Revitalization grant of $125,000 includes a feasibility study to refurbish Town Dock and mitigate against future natural disasters in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. The $58,000 in Project Independence funding will be used to expand the innovative senior program by providing technology based information for health care services, transportation services and more, by using the Town’s existing 311 system. It will also specifically enhance the “Help at Home” program, where the Town trains disabled persons to help seniors with household chores.

Additionally, two North Hempstead businesses were awarded grants to advance programming and training. Johnson & Hoffman, LLC of Carle Place was awarded $42,900 through the Department of Labor, for Operations and Software Training. Long Island Traditions of Port Washington received $50,000 for their education programs on the traditions of maritime communities after Superstorm Sandy.

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