North Hempstead, NY – North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth is proud to announce that the Town has been named the recipient of four New York State Regional Economic Development Council Initiative awards, totaling $757,950, that will address projects such as the creation of an environmental master plan, a cultural master plan, and several mapping projects. The awards were part of a total of more than $2 billion in economic grants announced this week by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

“These grants will enable the Town to address several environmental initiatives that are critically important to the Town’s environmental health, as well as other projects that will improve our infrastructure and enhance our communities,” said Bosworth. “The more than $757,000 in funding will serve as a great economic engine for our Town.”

The state-wide competitive awards were established in 2011, along with the 10 Regional Councils, as part of the Governor’s plan to jumpstart the economy and create jobs. The Regional Councils are intended to empower communities, businesses, and academic leaders, as well as members of the public in each region, to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to their region’s unique strengths and resources in order to create jobs, improve quality of life and grow the economy.

The awards for North Hempstead include:

• $316,250 for a North Hempstead Storm Water Mapping Project-The Town will conduct a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping on behalf of the Town and 20 villages within the Town’s borders and the village of Sea Cliff. The project will generate a “Surface Water Priority Action Zone” to support policymaking and capital planning and create a GIS attribute layer that identifies and characterizes septic systems to support municipal efforts to inspect septic systems that may be contributing to water quality impairments. The project will address water quality in Little Neck Bay, Manhasset Bay and Hempstead Harbor.
  
  
• $270,000 for a Joint Municipal Asset Mapping Project-The Town will partner with the Village of Port Washington to develop a consolidated GIS mapping program that will digitize roadways, sidewalks, curbs, catch basins, street signs, hydrants, street lighting and trees. The end result will be a central repository for all surface features that can be used as a tool to track location, condition, and age of assets as well as measure asset life cycles, maintenance costs and depreciation.
  
  
• $122,200 for an Environmental Master Plan-The Town will prepare a town-wide environmental master plan, including planning for surface and groundwater protection, habitat (preservation, restoration and enhancement) and climate change strategies. The master plan will also include conceptual designs for an environmental and waterfront recreational area comprised of 83 acres of beach parks with approximately 6,000 feet of shoreline, 200 acres of wetlands and meadow habitat.
  
  
• $49,500 for a North Hempstead Cultural Master Plan-This plan will assist the Town to prioritize arts initiatives, support traditionally underserved talent pools and raise the visibility of local artists to a platform beyond the community level.

In addition, businesses and municipalities within the Town of North Hempstead garnered more than $3.6 million in awards. For a full list of awards log on to https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-more-2-billion-economic-development-resources-awarded-through-upstate.