on Jun 10, 2024

Governor Hochul Announces Transformative Projects for NYC: HR&A Advisors Celebrates Community Development in East Harlem, Garment District, and Far Rockaway

Governor Kathy Hochul announced 19 transformative projects for New York City under the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and NY Forward programs. This investment aims to create vibrant and livable communities in East Harlem, the Garment District, and Far Rockaway.  

 

HR&A Advisors are thrilled to congratulate the recipients of the DRI and NY Forward awards! We are incredibly proud to have served and engaged with these communities, helping to develop projects that will catalyze growth and improve the lives of residents. Congratulations to all the award recipients! 

 

In East Harlem, the winner of a $10 million DRI award, ten projects will support local businesses, enhance community health, and preserve cultural heritage. Key projects include a $956,000 Community Wellness and Healthy Food Center to transform a thrift store into a wellness center offering healthy food, cooking classes, and health screenings. The Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute will receive $1.4 million for structural improvements and expanded community space. There will be a $1 million investment in storefront revitalization along East 116th Street, and $2 million will go towards transforming the 125th Street Plaza to enhance community spaces and introduce artistic elements. HR&A Advisors supported the planning team led by MUD Workshop that guided the East Harlem community through the DRI process. 

 

In the Garment District, a $4.5 million NY Forward award will support four projects aimed at bolstering the local fashion industry and improving public spaces. These include a $1.086 million Fashion Career Design Hub to create a training and coworking space for fashion professionals, a $1.5 million Technology Grant Fund to support fashion manufacturers and studios, $587,000 for green initiatives like street trees and planters, and $1.327 million for pedestrian walkway improvements along Seventh and Eighth Avenues. HR&A served as lead consultant for the NY Forward process in the Garment District, joined by MUD Workshop. 

 

Far Rockaway, another $4.5 million NY Forward winner, will see five projects aimed at revitalizing the community. These include the $2.44 million Rockaway Music, Arts & Cultural Center to transform the O’Kane Building into a cultural hub, $196,000 for Community Justice Center renovations, $1.233 million for a new affordable daycare center at JCCRP, $368,000 for maternal healthcare modernization at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, and $263,000 for modern waste bins and wayfinding signs to improve waste management and signage. HR&A was lead consultant assisting members of the Far Rockaway community throughout the NY Forward process, partnering with Fu Wilmers Design (FWD).  

 

HR&A Advisors is proud to support these transformative efforts to foster livable, vibrant, and resilient NYC communities through our continuing strategic planning and consulting efforts. Since 2017, HR&A has supported 12 communities throughout New York in the DRI and NY Forward programs.

 

Photo: Rachel Martin