Governor Andrew Cuomo during his last public appearance in Jamestown in July 2013 to announce details of the StartUp NY program at Jamestown Community College. (Photo from Gov. Cuomo’s Press Room)
JAMESTOWN – There may be some major news involving economic development for downtown Jamestown next week.
Governor Andrew Cuomo has made stops in five different cities across the state this week to announce $10 million in economic development funding for each city. It is part of the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative competitive grant program announced in April as part of the 2016-17 State Budget.
The DRI program involves one community being selected from 10 different regions of the state to receive a $10 million grant to help revitalize downtown areas by using the funding for various projects that benefit local economies.
The five cities that have already been announced as recipients of the funding are Elmira, Geneva, Middletown, Plattsburg, and Westbury. A recipient for the eight counties that comprise the Western New York district hasn’t been announced yet, but there’s reason to believe it will be Jamestown.
On Wednesday night the Governor’s office announced he would be coming in to town for a special announcement on Thursday at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts. However, later on Wednesday it was announce they had to postpone his appearance, adding that he would instead be in town at some point next week.
The governor’s office didn’t give any indication on what he would be announcing during his visit to Jamestown, but considering the timing and the fact he has been going to each city to announce the winner of the DRI award, it appears the city will likely be selected as the WNY region recipient for the funding – although that has not been confirmed by state officials.
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