Town wins $195,000 through Main Street Grant

AMENIA — New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday, Dec. 8, that Amenia was one of the communities to receive a part of the $785 million in Economic Development Funding through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.The town of Amenia received $195,000. The Mid-Hudson region received a total of $67 million, which was divided among 67 projects, including Amenia’s grant.The grant requires a 25 percent match on the funds received.Amenia will use the grant money to “rehabilitate and revitalize three commercial and eight residential units in mixed-use buildings and streetscapes on Main and Mechanic Streets.”Many of the buildings that will be repaired with funds from this grant are historic Victorian Era constructions, so preserving them will preserve Amenia’s history, explained the grant application.Town Supervisor Wayne Euvrard said he was pleased that the town received the grant money.“Any grant like that is going to help,” he said. “Hopefully it will help the town grow.”The grant money came from the Main Street Grant program, which was one of 29 existing programs that were consolidated by the Regional Economic Development Council to “streamline and expedite access to economic development funding,” according to the press release.Amenia’s grant writer, Mike Hagerty, who worked closely with Councilwoman Victoria Perotti to write the grant proposal, said this was the fourth time the town proposed a downtown revitalization project to the Main Street Grant program.“I think it will help the town in its revitalization efforts. Amenia really needs this,” Hagerty said. “It could be a great shot in the arm.”He said the grant is important for the town because it will revive Amenia’s business district, which sits in the heart of the hamlet. He explained that the town plans, including the Hamlet Plan and the Master Plan, call for investments in the downtown area to build the local economy.The grant is also important, he said, because it gives the town the funds to invest in projects that the town would not otherwise be able to afford due to the socio-economic makeup of the area.“The core downtown area has been struggling in these tough economic times,” he said in the Need and Impact Statement portion of the grant application. “The existing condition of Amenia’s downtown business district is bleak. There are several empty storefronts and residential units in the hamlet at the present time. The downtown area also lacks the necessary infrastructure to spur new economic investments. Many of the buildings are in a state of disrepair.“There are multiple businesses and residences now in the hamlet, and yet there remains a pressing need to enhance the appearance of the downtown business district in an effort to make it more inviting and pleasant for residents and visitors alike,” he continued. “By restoring the hamlet to its original glory, the town will be able to encourage increased private investments, which are greatly needed right now.”Hagerty said that part of the grant money — roughly $25,000 — will go toward streetscaping and landscaping in locations like Fountain Square.Hagerty said he believes part of the reason for the successful grant application was the leverage that the town got by mentioning other revitalization grants it has received, including the New York State Parks grant, the Tribute Gardens grant and the M&T Banks grant, which demonstrate the town’s continuous dedication to its downtown revitalization efforts.The grant application also included a letter of support from New York Assemblyman Marcus Molinaro, who will become the Dutchess County Executive in January.The Regional Economic Development Council initiative “represents a fundamental shift in the state’s approach to economic development from a top-down development model to a community-based, performance-driven approach which empowers individual areas to develop comprehensive strategic plans that invest in regional solutions to create jobs and economic growth,” said the press release from the governor.“Regional collaborations and planning is a roadmap to get New Yorkers back to work,” Gov. Cuomo said. “The plans submitted by all 10 regions were truly extraordinary. For the first time, we are putting the power of the state government behind the innovation of our people, giving them the tools to rebuild our economy.”

Latest News

South Kent School’s unofficial March reunion

Elmarko Jackson was named a 2023 McDonald’s All American in his senior year at South Kent School. He helped lead the Cardinals to a New England Prep School Athletic Conference (NEPSAC) AAA title victory and was recruited to play at the University of Kansas. This March he will play point guard for the Jayhawks when they enter the tournament as a No. 4 seed against (13) Samford University.

Riley Klein

SOUTH KENT — March Madness will feature seven former South Kent Cardinals who now play on Division 1 NCAA teams.

The top-tier high school basketball program will be well represented with graduates from each of the past three years heading to “The Big Dance.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Hotchkiss grads dancing with Yale

Nick Townsend helped Yale win the Ivy League.

Screenshot from ESPN+ Broadcast

LAKEVILLE — Yale University advanced to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament after a buzzer-beater win over Brown University in the Ivy League championship game Sunday, March 17.

On Yale’s roster this year are two graduates of The Hotchkiss School: Nick Townsend, class of ‘22, and Jack Molloy, class of ‘21. Townsend wears No. 42 and Molloy wears No. 33.

Keep ReadingShow less
Handbells of St. Andrew’s to ring out Easter morning

Anne Everett and Bonnie Rosborough wait their turn to sound notes as bell ringers practicing to take part in the Easter morning service at St. Andrew’s Church.

Kathryn Boughton

KENT—There will be a joyful noise in St. Andrew’s Church Easter morning when a set of handbells donated to the church some 40 years ago are used for the first time by a choir currently rehearsing with music director Susan Guse.

Guse said that the church got the valuable three-octave set when Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center closed in the late 1980s and the bells were donated to the church. “The center used the bells for music therapy for younger patients. Our priest then was chaplain there and when the center closed, he brought the bells here,” she explained.

Keep ReadingShow less
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Picasso’s American debut was a financial flop
Penguin Random House

‘Picasso’s War” by Foreign Affairs senior editor Hugh Eakin, who has written about the art world for publications like The New York Review of Books, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker and The New York Times, is not about Pablo Picasso’s time in Nazi-occupied Paris and being harassed by the Gestapo, nor about his 1937 oil painting “Guernica,” in response to the aerial bombing of civilians in the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War.

Instead, the Penguin Random House book’s subtitle makes a clearer statement of intent: “How Modern Art Came To America.” This war was not between military forces but a cultural war combating America’s distaste for the emerging modernism that had flourished in Europe in the early decades of the 20th century.

Keep ReadingShow less