Rochester communities get share of HUD funding

Dozens of New York localities will share an additional $2.4 billion in funding from the Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD), a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The funds are to be used for economic development and public infrastructure in upstate communities.

“The Community Development Block Grant is a vital stream of investment that supports local economic growth, community revitalization and affordable housing. Even in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, we must not forget to invest in our future, and this funding does just that,” said Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a statement Tuesday. “I worked hard to get this funding on the negotiating table and into the final deal because this program delivers real results to Upstate New York by creating good-paying jobs, delivering essential services that will help communities and investing in affordable housing for our vulnerable populations. I will always fight tooth and nail to protect this critical investment for our communities.”

The city of Rochester is slated to receive nearly $4.9 million in CDBG “Corona 3” funding, while Monroe County will receive nearly $1.1 million. The town of Greece will receive more than $250,000 and the town of Irondequoit will receive nearly $540,000. Nearly 50 municipalities will receive CDBG funding.

“Investing in local economic growth is more important now than ever,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) said in the statement. “This funding will help rebuild our communities and ensures the needs of our most vulnerable populations are met today and for years to come.”

Communities in New York state will use the funding to address a wide range of needs and enable local governments to support community nonprofits perform essential services, fund workforce development and training, retrofit community facilities for medical or quarantine use, support food and essential supply delivery to vulnerable populations and support vital governmental functions, officials said.

The additional CDBG funding was allocated to states and units of local governments that received an allocation under the fiscal year 2020 CDBG formula. The funding is 70 percent entitlement communities and 30 percent states. The senators said that the $2.4 billion secured in the bipartisan “Corona 3” negotiations is the first of a series of allocations that localities may be eligible for.

New York state will receive $1 billion in order to support a coordinated response across entitlement and non-entitlement communities. In addition, depending on whether or not a community is affected by COVID-19, resulting in related economic and housing disruption, HUD can respond accordingly with an additional targeted assistance pot of $2 billion.

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