$3.2M Federal Grant To Cortlandt For Development
CORTLANDT, NY — The town of Cortlandt has been awarded $3.2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Nuclear Closure Communities Program.
Con. Nita Lowey, chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee, announced that the funding will be used for a new educational recreation facility on town-owned property on the Hudson River, plus infrastructure improvements including roads and a water line.
Indian Point Energy Center is due to close April 2021, costing the area 1,100 jobs and millions in tax payments. In the three years since the announcement of the closure, Lowey has been working with local officials to provide federal economic assistance to the area.
“This federal funding will help the Town of Cortlandt expand its tax base to assist property owners and offer new jobs to area residents when Indian Point officially closes in 2021,” Lowey said. “The closure of a nuclear plant has a significant economic impact on the surrounding community. I am so pleased that the program I established will give the residents around Indian Point access to the economic resources and opportunities they need.”
Cortlandt submitted a grant proposal for 99 acres in Verplanck on the Hudson River that the town purchased five years ago, said Supervisor Linda Puglisi.
"The purpose of the purchase was for recreational uses and perhaps for some small business (privately owned) only and to help produce some jobs and tax revenue to offset losses when Indian Point closes," she said. "I am so very grateful to Congresswoman Lowey who saw the VISION! The Congresswoman has always listened to us and has delivered for our community time after time. Thank you, Congresswoman Nita Lowey!"
In December, Lowey announced the new program she created to make federal funds available to help the Lower Hudson Valley deal with the economic burden of the Indian Point Energy Center’s closure. She led Congress in ignoring the Trump Administration’s request to eliminate the Economic Development Administration. Instead, the federal spending bill that funded this new grant program included $27.5 million above the fiscal year 2019 enacted level for EDA.
To further leverage this investment, the HEROES Act, which the House passed to provide relief in the wake of COVID-19 but which was not picked up by the Senate, would waive the requirement for matching funds. This would allow the Town of Cortlandt to redirect their planned contribution toward other development opportunities or to address other municipal needs. Lowey said she continue working to pass a bipartisan HEROES package, including this provision.
This article originally appeared on the Peekskill-Cortlandt Patch
