installed<\/a> downtown are also the result of a pair of grants \u2014 $124,613 in community development block grants in 2019 and an additional $200,000 in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe private sector is also cashing in. Riverhead\u2019s downtown Business Improvement District Management Association alone has nearly a quarter-million dollars in grant applications currently pending, according to the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The town\u2019s community development department is hoping to land a long-sought $24.6 million grant to build a parking garage near the LIRR train station on Railroad Avenue, complete flood mitigation projects near the riverfront and construct a \u201cComplete Streets\u201d pedestrian path from the train station to Main Street. Complete Streets is a widely adapted approach to urban planning designed to better accommodate pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and public transportation facilities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When it comes to successful grant applications, Riverhead has some unique advantages over other East End municipalities. Decades ago, the town designated three key locations as urban renewal districts: the Enterprise Park at Calverton, the Railroad Avenue LIRR station and East Main Street. That designation gives the town much more leverage within these districts to negotiate with developers to get the best deal for the town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt gives us tools that we don\u2019t normally have,\u201d said Riverhead\u2019s community development director, Dawn Thomas. \u201cUnder urban renewal, I can make a deal to get what I need with a developer. So I can use the land to leverage what we need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said that \u201cthe demographics of Riverhead are also very helpful to us in getting funding, because we are in an area of persistent poverty. Our downtown census tract is a historically disadvantaged area, social justice, all these things bear on our scoring.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, town officials and local business leaders said that the true engine driving Riverhead\u2019s renaissance is Ms. Thomas and her community development team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn communities like ours, the only way for us to grow and revitalize and change \u2014 is with grant money,\u201d said Kristy Verity, executive director of Riverhead\u2019s downtown BID, who works closely with the town community development team to plan projects eligible for county, state and federal funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have the highest regard for Dawn; she\u2019s done a fantastic job,\u201d said Riverhead Town Councilman Tim Hubbard. \u201cShe has a very personal commitment to Riverhead. She really lives it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s more, he said, \u201cwe have the best [community development department] around \u2014 [assistant community project supervisor Joe Maiorana] and [associate administrator Carissa Collins], [grants analyst Frank Messina] \u2026 they\u2019re unbelievable. They\u2019re constantly working on grant money, putting grant applications together and submitting them [for projects] all over town.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas said that when she joined the community development department in 2017, \u201cwe had lots of high-level theoretical planning, but not detailed, strategic planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo, we took the planning down from 100,000 feet down to 100 feet and said, \u2018Okay, this is what we want, but what do we really, actually want and how do we get that?\u2019\u2009\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas said that an enormous amount of work, thought and planning goes into each grant application. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGrants are like icebergs,\u201d she said. \u201cThey look great on top and they\u2019re just this giant pile of work below. That\u2019s not easy work. That\u2019s hard work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Persistence is also key to grant writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas said before Riverhead was awarded a $10 million state Downtown Revitalization grant last year, \u201cwe\u2019d been applying since 2017.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each successive year\u2019s application was tighter and more fine-tuned, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe always get mad when we don\u2019t get it. But every year that we move further into the plan, we\u2019re like, \u2018I\u2019m glad we didn\u2019t get it last year, because now we know this.\u2019 So, we were happy it took a long time because our plans were so distilled by that point, they were practically shovel-ready.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas said the very first step of the grant writing and application process is the simplest. Successful grant applications \u201calways start with a vision \u2014 so what do you want?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI always like to say, when you go to the grocery store, do you take your coupon book and buy things that you don\u2019t need because they\u2019re on sale? Or do you find the things you need, and then find the coupons for the things you need?\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas said the projects and funding revolving around redevelopment of properties adjacent to the LIRR station are a good example of how Riverhead plans and executes development projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is the worst area in town, by far,\u201d Ms. Thomas said. \u201cSo how do you get someone to invest in that? What can we do as a town to draw in investments? We can give IDA benefits and we can give development yields,\u201d she said, referring to tax breaks and increased density allowances for development projects, over and above what the area is zoned for. \u201cWe have to give something to get something.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A transit-oriented grant in 2018 allowed the community development department to hire a planning consultant who did a detailed strategic plan and traffic analysis for how best to develop the area. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that information in hand, Ms. Thomas and her team presented a plan and the necessary zoning changes to the town board \u2014 which endorsed the proposal and passed the necessary zoning changes, \u201cand within a month we had a developer\u201d interested in the project, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project is well underway, she said. \u201cSo that\u2019s how fast you can make it happen if you focus strategically.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas repeatedly cited the town\u2019s current Town Board and Supervisor Yvette Aguiar as key to Riverhead\u2019s grant funding successes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis board has been incredibly brave \u2026 because they\u2019ll pull the trigger on stuff,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause the grants don\u2019t just come in at 100% \u2014 it\u2019s usually a match \u2014 so we have to pony up half to show that we have skin in the game, and they have to authorize that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a very poor town,\u201d she added. \u201cThe budget is to the skin at all times, and you never know what\u2019s going to happen, so to say to them, \u2018Okay, I want $60,000,\u2019 I better be able to show why it makes sense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas said increasing home and apartment ownership in Riverhead is a crucial part of revitalizing the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor all these young kids in the 20- to 30-year-old range, it\u2019s hard to afford a single-family house in Riverhead,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo young people can start at the apartment, move to the condo, and then move to the single-family home, while the older people are moving out of their single-family houses and going back to the condo or the apartment, or wherever they want.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, Ms. Thomas said her development department has for years been pursuing a $24.6 million grant \u2014 and may be close to winning it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a federal [Department of Transportation] grant, but we [want to] use it for downtown revitalization, as an alternative transportation network \u2014 it\u2019s all walk and bike [lanes].<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is our fourth round. We want people to be able to come to Riverhead, get off the train, see the \u2026 beautiful train station, feel welcome and know where they are going, so it\u2019s about lighting, signage, pleasant sidewalks. We want people to understand where this path leads. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas \u2014 whose dedication to Riverhead is well-known around town hall \u2014 grew emotional when talking about her admiration for the Army Corps of Engineers as her eyes welled up with tears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Army Corps of Engineers is just the most amazing agency the government has ever spawned,\u201d she said, describing how the corps worked closely with town officials in 2020 and 2021 to create and partially fund a flood planning management study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ms. Thomas said Riverhead\u2019s portion of the funding came from grant money.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In recent years, Riverhead has been swinging for the fences when it comes to seeking grant money \u2014 securing more than $26 million in public funding since 2017, according to town officials. That bonanza includes a $627,000 grant to replace lead water-service pipes, an $800,000 state economic development grant for the Town Square project, a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2010,"featured_media":108680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28,3693,1744,35,4299,7539],"tags":[11345,9175,9901,13186,240,354,9],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-116313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-community","category-government","category-main-story","category-news","category-outdoors-environment-2","category-riverheadprofiles","tag-community-development-block-grants","tag-dawn-thomas","tag-grant-money","tag-premium","tag-riverhead","tag-riverhead-town","tag-riverhead-town-board"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Secret to Riverhead\u2019s renaissance: grant money - Riverhead News Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/riverheadnewsreview.timesreview.com\/2023\/05\/116313\/secret-to-riverheads-renaissance-grant-money\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Secret to Riverhead\u2019s renaissance: grant money - Riverhead News Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In recent years, Riverhead has been swinging for the fences when it comes to seeking grant money \u2014 securing more than $26 million in public funding since 2017, according to town officials. 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