Tompkinsville Facade Improvement Program Overview

Downtown Staten Island’s New York Main Street Program

About New York Main Street

Throughout the country, Main Streets – the once thriving centers of commerce and social activity of most communities – have struggled to compete with shopping malls and experienced a period of decline. Realizing this underutilized potential, Governor George E. Pataki announced creation of the New York Main Street Program (NYMS), an innovative funding program that is designed to strengthen the economic vitality of the State’s traditionally designed central business districts or “Main Streets” and is alive and well under Governor David Paterson’s administration. The cornerstone of the NYMS Program is a multi-million dollar Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) grant program administered by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to provide financial and technical resources to help New York communities with their Main Street revitalization efforts. The NYMS Program was established in 2004.

The New York Main Street program provides financial resources and technical assistance to communities to strengthen the economic vitality of the State’s traditional Main Streets and neighborhoods. The New York Main Street grant program provides funds from HTFC to business improvement districts and other not-for-profit organizations that are committed to revitalizing historic downtowns, mixed-use neighborhood commercial districts, and village centers. New York’s Main Streets are in transition. While many downtown and neighborhood retail districts have seen new life, with significant investment in the development of civic, commercial and residential projects, others have not yet experienced this trend. Many of these communities can once again thrive with proper management and strategic investment of public and private resources.

Main Street grants are revitalizing our downtowns through targeted commercial/residential improvements such as facade renovations, interior residential building upgrades and streetscape enhancements. Cultural anchors, such as theatres or museums, have also been renovated with Main Street funds. Funds are not available for new construction.

Availability of Funds for Tompkinsville Property and Business Owners:

The Office of Community Renewal (OCR) has awarded $200,000 to the Downtown Staten Island Council, LDC (DSIC) in August 2009; the DSIC received these funds to help subsidize costs for the much needed streetscape enhancement and façade improvement in the Tompkinsville area of Downtown Staten Island.

The DSIC will receive $175,000 in matching grants for property and store owners who wish to participate in the program, and $25,000 in streetscape enhancement funds for town center signage, outdoor art and plantings. These streetscape and building improvements will challenge the poor perception of the area and encourage residents and tourist to shop or reside within the neighborhood of Tompkinsville and will seek to connect shoppers, tourists and residents to the commercial district and enhance the aesthetic appeal of the neighborhood, and complement a newly renovated Tompkinsville park.

Funds are to be allocated as $10,000 matching grants to property owners that choose to rehabilitate their entire building facades, or to property owners or merchants interested in renovating both their storefront interiors and exteriors. The match is a 1:1 grant up to $10,000, meaning that if you spend up to $20,000 you will be reimbursed for 50% of your expenditures; expenses over $20,000 will still only be matched at $10,000.

Due to limited funds and strict program guidelines, DSIC will choose those proposals that best comply with the NYMS Grant Program vision: To respect the original design of the buildings, and to be consistent with the Tompkinsville main street commercial corridor.

Target Area and Boundaries:

The boundaries that are eligible for NYMS funding include Victory Blvd beginning at the intersection of Bay Street to 84 Victory Blvd; Corsen Avenue; from 3 Corsen Avenue to 15 Corsen Avenue; 2 St. Pauls Avenue to 16 St. Paul’s Avenue beginning at Victory Blvd; and even numbered street addresses from 206 to 220 Bay Street off Victory Blvd.

Priority Areas:

 

1. Immediate health and safety concerns and the correction of Code violations
2. Buildings where immediate action will stop deterioration of a significant façade
3. Historic properties in danger of being lost to disrepair
4. Vacant properties where façade improvement or retail space renovation would reduce blight and improve commercial activity
5. Building that will undergo substantial façade renovation

Note: DSIC encourages you to discuss your proposed plans at the earliest stages of planning and to begin construction once your proposal has been approved for funding.

Application Documents:

Please submit the following documents to the DSIC at 63 Montgomery Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301:

1. A completed application form
2. An historic photo of the building (A high-quality photocopy is fine). Between 1939 and 1941, the city photographed every house and building in the five Boroughs.  Copies of these images are available for purchase online for about $35 at http://www.nyc.gov/dorforms/photoform.jsp or by mail (see the attached form: 1940 Tax Photos Order Form).
3. Exhibit F. This form allows the NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation to have use of the photo.

Project Selection Guidelines

1. Applicants will be notified of their status within 30 days of application submission.
2. Attention will be given to those projects that address the priority areas (mentioned above) and the Design Criteria.
3. The DSIC will focus on projects that have the greatest potential to positively impact the Tompkinsville Improvement corridor. Namely, buildings that need significant amounts of repair to be brought up to code or address immediate health and safety concerns.
4. The DSIC will distribute available funds as equitably as possible. Therefore, no one property shall receive more than one grant before other candidates are reviewed. Nevertheless, buildings with more than one façade are eligible to receive two grants ($20,000); this is generally the case for large, corner-lot buildings.
5. Projects selected to be funded are determined by the NYMS-DSIC Advisory Committee and DSIC staff according to previously mentioned program principles and guidelines.
6. Applicants must consent to sign Exhibit E upon project completion. This is a maintenance agreement which requires that improvements be maintained for a period of a minimum of 7 years (“Regulatory Period”). Improvements that are removed or altered during the Regulatory Period shall be recaptured on a pro rata basis to the HTFC. The amount to be recaptured shall be determined by reducing the original grant amount by one seventh (1/7) for each year of the Regulatory Period that the Recipient was in compliance with the Agreement.

For more information go to:

Tompkinsville Facade Improvement Program Fact Sheet

New York Main Street Grant Program: Design Criteria