CUOMO AND GLICKMAN ANNOUNCE $172 MILLION IN HUD AND USDA AID TO REVITALIZE CANAL CORRIDOR AND OTHER NEW YORK COMMUNITIES

Statements from New York's Congressional Delegation

Housing and Urban Development's Secretary Andrew Cuomo and Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman today announced their Departments will provide $172 million in assistance to small communities along New York's Canal Corridor and elsewhere upstate to spark economic growth, job creation, increased tourism, housing construction and infrastructure improvements.

Appearing at news conferences in Lockport and Oswego, the Cabinet Secretaries said HUD will provide $90 million and USDA is providing $82 million this year in assistance to projects along the 524-mile Canal Corridor and elsewhere upstate.

HUD's $90 million in grants is expected to create and preserve about 2,000 jobs and spark additional investment of more than $88 million in communities and businesses receiving the HUD assistance.

The funding comes on top of $131 million in HUD assistance announced by Cuomo in August of last year to Canal Corridor communities. USDA has already provided $57 million to Canal Corridor communities this year, and released the remaining $25 million today to bring its total assistance to Canal Corridor communities to $82 million this year.

"The Canal Corridor Initiative is transforming New York by bringing new life to the Erie Canal and its connecting waterways," Cuomo said. "We've built a successful partnership between local communities, businesses and the federal government that is creating thousands of new jobs and will turn the Canal into a world-class tourist destination. Because of our efforts, the Canal that brought prosperity to New York in the 19th century will bring a new prosperity in the 21st century."

"These funds will help raise the quality of life in upstate New York, create jobs and transform the Canal Corridor into a vibrant center of commerce," Glickman said. "This major allocation of federal resources underscores the Clinton-Gore Administration's commitment to a new tide of prosperity along the Canal Corridor. Our goal is to create economically healthy communities along the Canal with an environment that will attract business and tourism, create jobs and generate economic activity that benefits the entire region."

In a related development, Congressman John LaFalce said he has introduced legislation to establish the New York Canal National Heritage Corridor as an affiliated unit of the National Park System. The designation would allow the National Park Service to provide assistance to increase tourism in the Canal region without infringing on the autonomy of local governments and private property owners. HUD is working closely with Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Alfonse D'Amato, along with Congressmen LaFalce and James Walsh and other members of New York's Congressional delegation, on related legislative efforts to establish a Heritage Corridor.

At their Lockport and Oswego news conferences, Cuomo and Glickman announced assistance to the following New York counties: (See attachment for details).

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

COUNTY	HUD	USDA	TOTAL
Allegany	$1.9 million	None	$1.9 million
Cattaraugus	$4 million	None	$4 million
Cayuga	$771,700	$503,650	$1.3 million
Chautauqua	$600,000	None	$600,000
Monroe	$391,700	$1,758,450	$2.1 million
Niagara	$2.1 million	$1.2 million	$3.3 million
Ontario/Seneca	$4.2 million	$4.6 million	$8.8 million
Orleans	$4,669,400	$5,437,185	$10.1 million
Steuben	$1.3 million	None	$1.3 million
Tompkins	$400,000	None	$400,000
Wayne	$2.8 million	$3.5 million	$6.3 million

SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT

COUNTY	HUD	USDA	TOTAL
Clinton	$2.1 million	None	$2.1 million
Cortland	$1.2 million	None	$1.2 million
Essex	$3,181,806	$1.5 million	$4.7 million
Franklin	$1.6 million	None	$1.6 million
Fulton	$2,917,800	$401,510	$3.3 million
Jefferson	$788,707	$9 million	$9.8 million
Oswego	$7.9 million	$1.8 million	$9.7 million
St. Lawrence	$4,370,000	$3.4 million	$7.8 million
Tioga	$1.8 million	None	$1.8 million

Cuomo planned news conferences in Rome and Green Island on Friday to list specific HUD and USDA assistance to additional communities in the Mohawk Valley and Eastern New York, as part of the total $172 million assistance package for New York communities.

Cuomo and Glickman signed an agreement at a Canal Corridor Conference in Johnstown, NY last December agreeing to work together to aid communities along the Canal Corridor, as part of the Canal Corridor Initiative. The initiative was begun by Cuomo when he served as an Assistant Secretary at HUD, with strong support from Senators Moynihan and D'Amato.

HUD's assistance is part of the Department's Small Cities Program, which assists communities with populations of less than 50,000. Many of the these small communities are along the Canal Corridor, and more than 4 million people live in surrounding counties.

The Canal Corridor Initiative is designed to put federal resources to work as part of a long-term and coordinated commitment to upstate New York. The locally driven initiative seeks to turn the Erie Canal and connecting waterways that make up the Canal Corridor into a major tourism destination that will spark economic development across upstate. The Initiative complements the New York State Canal Revitalization Program, both in its details and overall goals. It is based on a careful review of existing state and local plans for the region, including the landmark New York State Recreationway Plan, completed in 1995. As a result, it provides a template for close cooperation between federal, state and local governments in revitalizing the Canal Corridor.

More information on HUD and USDA Assistance to Central and Western New York

Content Archived: January 20, 2009