Greenway Awards $43,500 in Grants

Funding to Support Trails Planning, Public Access, and Community Revitalization

Five Hudson Valley communities received a total of $43,500 in matching grants from the Hudson River Valley Greenway for projects that will help create historical trails, improve public access, and spur community revitalization. The grants were awarded by the Hudson River Valley Greenway Board of Directors at their recent meeting held in Tivoli.

The Hudson River Valley Greenway Grant Program provides funding to participating Greenway Communities to further a regional planning strategy consistent with the five Greenway criteria: regional planning, natural and cultural resource protection, economic development, public access, and heritage and environmental education. The next deadline for Greenway Grants Program is September 9, 2016.

“These five projects will help to improve walkability, public access to the Hudson River, and shape future growth and preservation in these communities,” said Mark Castiglione, Acting Executive Director of the Hudson River Valley Greenway.

The following projects will be supported by the Hudson River Valley Greenway Grant Program:

• $10,000 to the Village of Highland Falls, Orange County, to conduct a waterfront redevelopment feasibility study that would contribute to future public access to the Hudson River.
• $10,000 to the Village of Irvington, Westchester County, to implement the elements of their “Main Street” revitalization plan and enhance the pedestrian experience of the village center.   
• $6,500 to the Village of Mount Kisco, Westchester County, to create a series of historical hiking trails within various green spaces and public streets throughout the Village.
• $7,000 to the Village of New Paltz, Ulster County, to update the Village/Town Master Plan. The plan will help guide the development of the community and ensure the sustainability of its resources.
• $10,000 to the Village of Warwick, Orange County, to update the Village’s Comprehensive Plan. The planning process will include community engagement and seek to include Greenway Compact principles that will help shape community design, growth, and resource protection.

The Hudson River Valley Greenway is a unique state-sponsored program established by the Greenway Act of 1991. More than 84% of municipalities within the Greenway area have designated themselves as“Greenway Communities.” The program is designed to encourage projects and initiatives related to the intersecting goals of natural and cultural resource protection, regional planning, economic development, public access, and heritage and environmental education. It provides technical assistance and catalytic grant funding for planning, water and land trails, and other projects that reinforce these goals. In keeping with the New York tradition of home rule, the Greenway program has no regulatory authority and participation by municipalities in Greenway programs and projects is entirely voluntary. The Greenway also manages the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area in partnership with the National Park Service.