There’s nothing like starting a week on a positive note and I’m happy to report that the Town of
Clarkstown received some really great news on Tuesday, October 15, 2024 courtesy of
Congressman Mike Lawler. In a press conference held outside the Rockland County Sheriff’s
office, Congressman Lawler announced that Clarkstown would receive $5,000,000 in federal
grants for infrastructure improvements in Nanuet as part of $33,000,000 in overall funding the
Congressman worked hard to secure for various projects in our area. This funding will provide a
tremendous boost toward bringing Nanuet’s TOD revitalization to life.
Back in 2019, the Town Board officially voted to create a Transit Oriented Development zone in
the hamlet center of Nanuet. This zone was created to encourage mixed-use development and
workforce housing near the commuter railway station in Nanuet aimed at revitalizing the
hamlet’s Main Street area into a thriving “live, work, play” community. Since then, the Town has
continued to work collaboratively with property owners, residents, community associations, and
businesses to identify potential enhancements that could be made in the area to encourage
investment.
In addition to a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and inflation, the need for
infrastructure upgrades in the TOD zone has been an obstacle to development. The $5,000,000
in federal funding will allow the town to put a number of improvements in place to better set the
table for a vibrant, walkable downtown center. This grant will be applied to infrastructure
improvements to facilitate a rebirth of Nanuet. In the coming weeks and months, the Town will
be working with all its community partners to optimize the allocation of these funds.
I am extremely grateful to Congressman Lawler for this significant award. The competition for
federal funding is fierce, as there are many worthy projects across many different municipalities
and only so much money to go around. We are fortunate to have a project that not only checks
a lot of boxes in being a priority for federal funding, but also has the potential to make a real
transformation in Nanuet. A thriving TOD enhanced by the work that can be done with these
funds will boost the small businesses along Main Street, beautify the streetscapes, and create
more walkable connections between the train station, residential areas, and the major shopping
district along Route 59.
It has been a long and deliberate road to get to this point and I am encouraged by the recent
level of renewed interest of some key property owners in the zone. And once again, I cannot
thank Congressman Lawler enough for bringing this funding into our area in general and into the
Town of Clarkstown to breathe new life into the hamlet of Nanuet.
