Partnership Pays Off
Just last week we announced with the Village of Sloatsburg the groundbreaking for the new Sloatsburg Gateway Park project which received a $249,000 USDA grant. That’s right, more Federal dollars coming to help improve Rockland.
The $249,000 grant under the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Business Development Grant Program will be used to rehabilitate a vacant parking lot and turn it into a beautified modern-rustic plaza at the doorstep of the Sloatsburg Train Station. This will provide direct connections to businesses along the Main Street/Route 17 corridor and help to propel the Village’s ongoing revitalization efforts.
This project, initiated by my Economic Development Director Jeremy L. Schulman when he served as the President and CEO of the Rockland Economic Development Corporation (REDC), was a true collaboration between the County, former Mayor Carl Wright, the Sloatsburg Board of Trustees, the Sloatsburg Chamber of Commerce, and the Sloatsburg Downtown Revitalization Committee.
When the REDC first identified the grant, Rockland County was ineligible for funding, despite having similar census and geographical characteristics as adjacent qualified areas. After a successful lobbying effort by the REDC along with county and elected officials, the USDA deemed Rockland eligible. The western portion of Rockland was inserted into the grant program which included Sloatsburg because of its position as a premier gateway to and from the county and its potential to augment the momentum generated by the recent development of the Valley Rock Inn project. This milestone was further validated by the village being a recipient of the REDC’s Gateway Award in 2018.
The USDA Rural Business Development Grant is designed to fund projects that benefit small and emerging businesses in rural areas. The Sloatsburg Gateway Park project will be an integral component of the village’s transit-oriented development (TOD) redevelopment plans and will complement the Valley Rock Inn project in fashioning a one-of-a-kind tourist and corporate destination. The plan calls for the development of a vacant parking lot adjacent to the Village’s Metro North/NJ Transit Train Station and will turn it into a passive park, increasing public parking significantly, and creating pathways and interpretive signage that will direct visitors to Sloatsburg’s businesses.
The park will include decorative lighting, landscaping and amenities for residents, visitors, and tourists. The Sloatsburg Train Station is located on Mill Street immediately opposite of the property and readies availability of commuter parking which will encourage the use of public transportation and invite visitors to the village’s downtown business district. I’ll keep you posted on progress, but we are planning a ribbon cutting for early summer.
This is a perfect example of how by working together with our community partners we can make a bigger impact and accomplish our goals to enhance our local economy. Thank you again to all of those involved in seeing this much anticipated project come to fruition.
