U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-Brooklyn) on Tuesday called for federal and state agencies to “unlock” $2 million in unused transportation funds for the Town of North Hempstead to make necessary improvements to the town.
Speaking in front of the Port Washington Long Island Railroad station, Schumer said the Federal Highway Administration and state Department of Transportation have the authority to restore the funds, which were initially awarded in 2005.
“For over a decade, $2 million in funds for the Town of North Hempstead have been under lock and key, guarded by federal bureaucracy,” Schumer said. “But now we have the means to unlock this money and FHWA and NYSDOT should allow the Town of North Hempstead to use these funds on local, critically-needed projects that are ready-to-go….These are the Town of North Hempstead’s dollars and they must remain the Town of North Hempstead’s to use on their projects.”
In 2005, the town was awarded $2 million in funding for a repaving project on Grand Boulevard in Westbury, but the project was completed using other funds, so the money was left untouched.
Schumer helped pass a new provision in the 2016 Consolidated Appropriations Act that allows the FHWA and NYSDOT to authorize the repurposing of unused funds for a new project.
Until that provision was passed, federal rules prevented municipalities from reusing any federal funding, even if the original project was no longer needed.
Schumer said that if a newly needed project was within 50 miles of the originally funded project, then the funds could be used.
He also said there were four specific transportation projects the town was considering using the funds on, including drainage and infrastructure improvements on Main Street near the Port Washington LIRR station, a two-mile expansion and development project of the Hempstead Harbor Shoreline Trail, a reconstruction project for the culvert that connects Leeds Pond in Plandome Manor and the Manhasset Bay and a planning, design and engineering project for the Garden City Park Industrial Zone.
Since the money was never spent, Schumer said, $500,000 could be allocated for the Port Washington revitalization project, $700,000 for the Hempstead Harbor Shoreline Trail project, $500,000 for the culvert reconstruction project and $300,000 for Garden City Park Industrial Zone project.
North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth, who joined Schumer at the press conference, said if the funds were “unlocked,” then the town can address necessary projects without having to borrow money.
“The repurposing of federal transportation dollars for North Hempstead is essential to assist us in completing projects that benefit our residents and improve our infrastructure,” Bosworth said. “The funding would also reduce the need for borrowing for the projects, and that’s great news for the town and its taxpayers.”
