U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that critical projects based in Rochester and Finger Lakes communities will receive over $9 million in funding from the recently revealed bipartisan omnibus spending package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. The senators highlighted the below Rochester-area projects:
- $225,000 for the City of Rochester to bolster its mental health crisis and intervention response services.
- $200,000 for the Urban League of Rochester to bolster an entrepreneurship and business development program to provide support minority business startups, dislocated workers, economically disadvantaged individual and underserved communities.
- $750,000 for the Foodlink food bank to increase capacity to safely store and distribute more fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy and lean protein to hunger relief partners.
- $900,000 for the G.L.O.W. YMCA in Batavia to construct a Healthy Living Campus.
- $3,877,500 to deploy a wireless broadband network across Orleans and Niagara Counties.
- $105,000 to the Hornell Area YMCA to upgrade the equipment of the new Dansville YMCA branch.
- $379,432 for the Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Orleans County to construct a rural community response learning center.
- $1,966,000 for the Town of Seneca Falls – Pump station and wastewater infrastructure improvements.
- $640,000 for the Village of Dundee in Yates County to replace their aged municipal water tank and make control system upgrades.
- $180,000 for Newark-Wayne Community Hospital to added new healthcare and defibrillator equipment.
“From public safety, to better healthcare, to water system upgrades to helping our communities seek new economic opportunities, these projects get the heart of the challenges facing Rochester and the Finger Lakes today,” said Senator Schumer. “This funding mean jobs, new businesses, feeding the hungry, bridging the digital divide and better serving the public. I am proud to deliver this over $9 million investment into the people of Rochester and the Finger Lakes and to help fund the future of our communities.”
“This funding will lay the groundwork for the future of Rochester and the Finger Lakes region,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I am proud to have worked to secure nearly $10 million in funding to address some of the region’s most pressing problems – from supporting mental health initiatives to making sure no one in New York experiences hunger – and I’ll keep fighting to bring federal dollars back home.”
Both senators delivered big for these ongoing community led projects in Rochester and throughout the Finger Lakes.
The $225,000 for the City of Rochester will allow the city to bolster its Crisis Intervention Services infrastructure to better provide mental health intervention and community based approaches to address behavioral health and similar incidents. These approaches will now help increase connection to community crisis services and strengthen supports post crisis to prevent future incidents.
The $750,000 the senators secured for Rochester’s Foodlink will fund its fresh food expansion project and significantly expand their cooler for fresh food. The senators said that this substantial increase in their fridge capacity will provide more fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy, and lean protein than ever before. This not only means more fresh produce for them, but also their network of more than 200 emergency food providers.
The $200,000 for the Urban League of Rochester will help establish it’s Entrepreneurship Assistance Center’s Community Business Academy. This program will provide business development services to communities of color, women, dislocated workers, economically disadvantaged individuals, veterans, and individuals with disabilities who would like to start or are in the beginning stages of starting their own business. These services include informational seminars, workshops, mentoring, financial education, and one-on-one technical assistance. Schumer and Gillibrand said the program will empower local Rochester residents to build up their community and spur new growth in the city.
The $3,877,500 for Orleans and Niagara County will provide high-speed, reliable, and affordable Internet access to 22 towns, 9 villages, 15 school districts, and 1 hospital. The coverage area would provide service to approximately over 4,000 homes and businesses, greatly improving internet access in the region. The senators said that the pandemic has highlighted how essential reliable internet access is for work, school, healthcare and more, and that this funding will finally allow this underserved region to start to receive the full reliable internet coverage it needs and deserves.
For the G.L.O.W. YMCA in Batavia Schumer and Gillibrand explained that the $900,000 would be used for construction to develop a healthy living campus in partnership with Rochester Regional and United Memorial Medical Center (UMMC). This long-sought facilities expansion will ensure the G.L.O.W. YMCA and UMMC can sustain existing jobs and also create new jobs by providing space for new programs and services that require additional staff. The senators said the proposed campus will be located right in Downtown Batavia offering essential services and facilities, that will spur economic growth and foot traffic in the community.
The $379,432 for the Cornell Cooperative Extension Association of Orleans County will construct an all seasons center for providing a gathering space for crucial medical services like testing, mammogram clinics, rabies clinics, as well as other community services like job fairs, and education initiatives that are not be as easily accessible and currently do not have a large enough space for Orleans and many surrounding communities to gather in.
The $105,000 in funding the senators secured for the Hornell Area Family YMCA will be used at the new Dansville location, operating out of the former Dansville High School, to purchase essential equipment for the branch to fully begin operations. Currently, there is no YMCA in Livingston County and this space will be essential for meeting the ongoing health needs of the community.
The $1,966,000 for the Town of Seneca Falls will upgrade the Town’s Pump station and force main wastewater collection system in order to improve the Town’s wastewater conveyance infrastructure.
The $640,000 for the Village of Dundee in Yates County will be used to replace their outdated 34-year old water tank with a new bolted steel-glass lined storage tank municipal water tank and to make control system upgrades.
Finally, the senators said that the $180,000 for Newark-Wayne Community Hospital will enable the hospital to add new healthcare and defibrillator equipment.