Village plans to reapply for NY Forward grant

The village of Dryden fell short in its pursuit of winning a $4.5 million grant through the inaugural round of the NY Forward program, but Mayor Mike Murphy said the village isn’t giving up.

Murphy confirmed recently that the village is planning to reapply for a NY Forward grant, whether it is for the $4.5 million or $2.25 million award.

“We think it will really benefit the village,” Murphy said. “There’s a lot of things you can do with that grant money to make [Dryden] a more thriving and growing community.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Feb. 22 that villages of Montour Falls and Waverly each won a $4.5 million NY Forward grant in the Southern Tier region.

“Competition was tough for the NY Forward grant,” Murphy said.

The NY Forward program was created “to invigorate and enliven downtowns in New York’s smaller and rural communities, the type of downtowns found in villages, hamlets and other small, neighborhood-scale municipal centers,” according to the state’s website.

NY Forward was formed from the success of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). The state has allocated $100 million for the first round of the NY Forward program grants.

Murphy noted that the village of Dryden’s disadvantage in its first attempt to win the grant was applying for it by themselves. The second time around, the village will work with Rich Cunningham and Thoma Development Consultants of Cortland on the reapplication process.

Cunningham and Thoma Development have a track record of success in winning DRI and NY Forward grants. The consulting firm helped the village of Homer take in a $10 million DRI grant, and assisted in the efforts of the village of Johnson City, winning a $4.5 million NY Forward grant.

“We’re looking forward to working along with [Thoma Development],” Murphy said, noting that the firm has won five DRI and/or NY Forward grants since 2017.

If the village of Dryden is successful in winning a NY Forward grant in the second round, Murphy has a list of projects and upgrades in mind. 

This includes:

• Major improvements to some of the buildings along West Main Street
  
• Upgrades to the facades of storefronts in the village
  
• Improvements to sidewalks, lighting and crosswalks
  
• A dog park
  
• A community building
  

The buildings on West Main Street, as described by Murphy, are “old and have had minimal maintenance.” The goal for the facades of the storefronts, Murphy added, is to make them “more attractive.”

“It would change our Main Street drastically,” Murphy said. “We want to make it a pleasant place to drive through, and hopefully to stop and check out.”

For sidewalks and crosswalks, the village has made upgrades to a good portion of the area, thanks to other grants awarded in the past. Murphy mentioned that more money is needed to improve other walkways.

“It’s a great asset to make people comfortable and safe to walk on sidewalks instead of the road,” Murphy said. “They’d like to have more areas to walk.”

“The dog park has been something village residents have wanted,” Murphy said. According to Murphy, the dog park would be located in between a baseball field and the village’s wastewater treatment plant off Wall Street.

Murphy noted that the dog park would have specific amenities, including an area that can be used year-round and an additional, taller fence.

The community building is last on Murphy’s list, but he hopes it can come to fruition in the future. Murphy imagined that the building would include a start-up business, a farmers market, a section for food trucks on the weekends and government agencies that provide services.

“We don’t have a community building in Dryden. This could benefit the community in the long run and help them avoid that trip to Ithaca [for services],” Murphy said.

Murphy said the village formed a NY Forward committee that consisted of community members, local figureheads and individuals who grew up in the area. The plan is to bring back the committee, with additional assistance from the Dryden Business Administration.

The deadline to apply for the DRI or NY Forward grant is typically in the fall. The state encourages municipalities to submit a letter of intent in the summer. 

Details on when the state would pick grant winners this year remain to be seen. 

Dryden Dispatch appears weekly in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com.

In brief: 

Dryden Central School District moves Dr. Seuss Night to this Friday

The Dryden Central School District (DCSD) moved its Dr. Seuss Night to this Friday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Dryden Elementary School.

Friday’s event, part of DCSD’s Dr. Seuss Week earlier this month, will include face painting, Dr. Seuss games and crafts, free books, cupcakes and more.

Dryden High School’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ scheduled for March 24-25

Dryden High School’s production of Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” is scheduled for March 24 and 25 in the high school auditorium.

The musical is slated for 7 p.m. March 24, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. March 25. The cost for each show is $10 for general admission, and $5 for students and seniors.

Registration open for upcoming Dryden Little League season

Registration is now open for the 2023 Dryden Little League season at drydenlittleleague.com.

An in-person registration opportunity will be held from 11 a.m. to noon on March 18. Early-bird reduced rate registration ends on March 19.

Boys and girls aged four through 12 are eligible. Children who are four-years-old will be on a wait list.

For more information, send an email to baseball@drydenlittleleague.com. Age and division information, and practice, game and location information can be found at the drydenlittleleague.com website.