Best Public Infrastructure Grants in New York

New York State Department of State

The New York State Department of State — one of the oldest and most diverse agencies in state government--works to make New York State a more welcoming, equitable, and prosperous place.

The New York Department of State’s core mission is to provide a better quality of life and expand opportunities for all New Yorkers by fostering community revitalization, catalyzing economic growth through business formation, protecting consumers, helping new Americans, supporting local governments, assisting individuals and families to achieve upward economic mobility, and ensuring safety and integrity through the regulation of licensed occupations and the development of building standards and codes.

Downtown Revitalization Initiative Grant

New York State's Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) is a cornerstone of the State's economic development program. The DRI transforms downtown neighborhoods into vibrant centers that offer a high quality of life and are magnets for redevelopment, business, job creation, and economic and housing diversity. These compact, walkable downtowns are a key ingredient to helping New York State rebuild its economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to achieving the State’s bold climate goals by promoting the use of public transit and reducing dependence on private vehicles.

The DRI is led by the Department of State, in close partnership with Empire State Development, NYS Homes and Community Renewal and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.

The Brownfield Opportunity Area Program in New York aims to revitalize underutilized and contaminated properties, enhancing community investment and growth. Managed by the New York State Department of State, the program provides grants and technical assistance to develop strategic redevelopment plans. This initiative targets areas with known contamination, especially in disadvantaged communities, transforming them into valuable assets that promote economic development and improve quality of life for residents.

The Smart Growth Community Planning Program, managed by the New York State Department of State, aims to enhance community planning by integrating Smart Growth principles. This program supports the development of comprehensive plans and zoning codes that prioritize equity, economic development, environmental stewardship, and energy efficiency. By fostering inclusivity and sustainability, it empowers communities to create vibrant, livable spaces that cater to diverse populations and promote long-term resilience.

New York State Homes and Community Renewal

HCR develops, preserves and protects affordable housing and invests in economically vibrant communities. We work with many private, public and nonprofit partners to create safe, healthy and affordable housing opportunities for all New Yorkers.

HCR is charged with carrying out Governor Hochul’s new $25 billion, five-year, comprehensive housing plan to increase housing supply by creating or preserving 100,000 affordable homes across New York including 10,000 with support services for vulnerable populations, plus the electrification of an additional 50,000 homes.

Community Development Block Grant

The NYS Community Development Block Grant or CDBG Program is a unique source of federal funding for Cities, Town, Villages, and Counties to assist low- and moderate-income communities, households, and people.

CDBG funding assistance can include everything from drinking water and sanitary sewer projects to grants for home repair, senior and community center improvements to grants to small business for start-up and expansion.

The NYS CDBG program provides financial assistance to eligible cities, towns, and villages with populations under 50,000 and counties with an area population under 200,000, in order to develop viable communities by providing decent, affordable housing, and suitable living environments, as well as expanding economic opportunities, principally for persons of low and moderate income. 

Expert technical assistance is always available to help your community apply for and administer CDBG funds, and to help direct assistance to where it is needed most.

Eligible Activities

CDBG funding may be used for eligible activities as outlined below. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of eligible activities and applicants are encouraged to develop projects in response to local need that may not fit neatly in any one category. In these cases, applicants are encouraged to contact OCR for additional guidance prior to applying.

Funding is available for the following activities: 1) Public Facility; 2) Community Planning; 3) Economic Development - Stand-Alone Business Assistance; 4) Economic Development - Microenterprise Assistance; and 5) Imminent Threat.

Public Facility

NYS CDBG funds support a variety of public facility and public improvement projects, such as the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or installation of public facilities. Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Senior centers
• Accessibility modifications for the removal of architectural barriers
• Neighborhood facilities, including but not limited to, libraries, childcare centers, recreational facilities, parks, playgrounds
• Facilities for persons with special needs such as facilities for the homeless or domestic violence shelters, nursing homes, or group homes for the disabled
• Infrastructure improvements including construction and installation of streets, curbs, lighting and broadband
• Emergency facilities and equipment

In general, public facilities and public improvements include all facilities and improvements that are publicly owned, or that are owned by a nonprofit and open to the public. 

Northern Border Regional Commission

The Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) is a partnership between the federal government and the states of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. The NBRC targets resources to promote economic growth strategies and projects in designated counties within its member states. The Commission was enacted by Congress through the 2008 Farm Bill which amended 40 US Code to include the creation of the NBRC as well as other similar Commissions nationwide.

The mission of the Northern Border Regional Commission is to catalyze community vitality and economic prosperity in the northern border region with flexible funding and strategic support. We envision a future where heritage industries are celebrated, preserved, and supported, vibrant local communities form a rich tapestry of culture, ideas, and experiences, and the seamless integration of emerging technologies fosters a new era of prosperity and economic resiliency.

Timber for Transit Program - Implementation Award

The Timber for Transit Program advances the use of domestic forest products in transportation infrastructure projects across Maine, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont to showcase the capabilities of wood in these applications. Highly competitive projects will demonstrate and widely promote the utility of high value forest products (e.g. glued laminated timber, cross laminated timber, composite materials, etc.) in transportation infrastructure and commit to enhancing climate resilience in rural communities. Transportation Infrastructure shall mean construction, alteration, or repair of physical transport facilities, systems and structures, including fixed installations and rights of way necessary for transporting from one point to another, that: are open to the general public for use, facilitate reliable movement of people and goods, and influence local and regional economies.  

Construction or non-construction projects—such as assets and facilities that align with Timber for Transit program priorities will be classified as an implementation award. Implementation projects are eligible for up to $5,000,000.

About HCR

Mission Statement

New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) is the State’s affordable housing agency, with a mission to build, preserve, and protect affordable housing and increase homeownership throughout New York State.

New York State Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program

Funds Available

The NYS CDBG Program is administered by the Housing Trust Fund Corporation’s (HTFC) Office of Community Renewal (OCR) and funds a variety of activities across the State to develop viable communities. CDBG Program funds are allocated to New York State by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the NYS CDBG Program. HTFC will make available approximately $20 million in NYS Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program funds through this Request for Applications (RFA). This RFA is limited to the activities listed below. Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year. Funding for CDBG public infrastructure and housing activities will be announced separately and subject to a future Request for Applications.

New York State Department of State

The New York State Department of State — one of the oldest and most diverse agencies in state government--works to make New York State a more welcoming, equitable, and prosperous place.

The New York Department of State’s core mission is to provide a better quality of life and expand opportunities for all New Yorkers by fostering community revitalization, catalyzing economic growth through business formation, protecting consumers, helping new Americans, supporting local governments, assisting individuals and families to achieve upward economic mobility, and ensuring safety and integrity through the regulation of licensed occupations and the development of building standards and codes.

NY Forward

NY Forward supports a more equitable downtown recovery for New York’s smaller and rural communities, with a focus on hamlets, villages, and neighborhood-scale municipal centers. Through the NYF program, these smaller downtowns will attract more businesses, residents, and visitors, while also providing a higher quality of life for residents.

In general, NYF communities are smaller geographical areas with a concentrated activity node that provides important services to the local community/neighborhood. These areas often feature a distinct sense of place due to the presence of rich cultural, historic, natural, and/ or agricultural assets. Development is often less dense than in a DRI community; however, NYF communities are still compact and walkable. Examples of a NYF community may include villages, hamlets, and residential neighborhood centers nested within a larger municipality.

About Us

The mission of Empire State Development (“ESD”) is to promote a vigorous, inclusive and growing state economy, encourage business investment and job creation, and support diverse, local economies across New York State through the efficient use of loans, grants, tax credits, real estate development, marketing, and other forms of assistance. 

FAST-NY

Under New York’s FAST NY Shovel-Ready Grant Program, Empire State Development will provide up to $400 million in grants to prepare and develop sites statewide to jumpstart New York’s shovel-readiness and increase its attractiveness to large employers, including high-tech manufacturing, particularly semiconductor manufacturing, interstate distribution and logistics businesses. The program will help diversify New York State’s economy while propelling new investments for businesses, communities and job creation.

Overview

Under the Program, ESD provides grants for pre-development activities and infrastructure investments to develop sites that will attract many eligible industries —including, but need not be limited to, high-tech manufacturing, clean-tech renewable energy, life sciences, agribusiness, optics, transportation equipment, materials processing, industrial machinery manufacturing and other advanced manufacturing. These sites can also be used for interstate distribution and logistics. However, ESD may give priority to semiconductor manufacturing projects and related industry and supply chain projects. The Program further provides ESD the ability to award a “FAST NY Shovel-Ready Certification,” for sites that meet high standards of shovel readiness, to support and enhance their marketing efforts to attract many more industries. 

Track A - FAST NY Shovel-Ready Certification 

• This no-cost designation by ESD for site-marketing purposes establishes that the applicant has worked proactively with New York State (the “State”) to address all major permitting issues prior to a business expressing interest in the location. 

Track B - FAST NY Pre-Development Grants  

• Working capital grants of up to $500,000 per site will be awarded to fund the cost of necessary pre-development site planning and reviews for future shovel-ready sites.  
• Grants will fund necessary costs to assist grantees in completing pre-development activities, such as those required for FAST NY Shovel-Ready Certification. 

Track C - FAST NY Infrastructure Improvements  

• Capital grants will be awarded to improve the shovel-readiness of existing, mature sites by funding infrastructure improvements such as water, sewer, transportation, electricity, gas and other capital-eligible site improvement costs.  
• Competitive grant awards will be available to sites that have substantially met the requirements of FAST NY Shovel-Ready certification. 

The NYS Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) supports low- and moderate-income communities through funding for various activities such as public facilities, economic development, and community planning. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and compliance with public participation requirements is essential. The program aims to enhance housing opportunities and economic growth in smaller municipalities, providing technical assistance to ensure effective use of funds for community development.

The Region Grants Open Grant Round: Community Vitality, supported by Land O'Lakes Foundation, aims to enhance the vibrancy of dairy communities in the East and West Regions. With a total investment of $500,000 annually, grants ranging from $1,000 to $20,000 are available for organizations focused on rural development, education, and community resources. Eligible applicants must have a 501c3 status and serve specific geographic areas, ensuring support reaches those in need.