Valley Stream village to submit plans for $10 million revitalization grant

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Village officials presented an application for the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative on June 9 at Village Hall to an audience of about 20.

Communities near Valley Stream that won the $10 million grant in 2016 were Westbury and Jamaica, Queens.

Deputy Mayor Vincent Grasso outlined the village’s plans to use the funds to invest in making the community more walkable, bikeable and to help give it a sense of place.

“One complaint we’ve got a lot is, ‘Where’s the parking?’” Grasso said. “Well there’s tons of parking in the downtown. But unfortunately, you don’t always know where it is.”

Specific uses of the funds, if Valley Stream were selected, were not discussed because, according to Grasso, the village wanted to maintain its competitiveness in the process. However, Grasso said the full details of the plan would be available to the public once the submission process ends.

Some of the highlights he discussed were creating a dome over portions of the village pool to make it a 12-month facility, creating more affordable transit-oriented housing near the downtown and making the village green more accessible for activities throughout the year.

Grasso said that the village would know if it were selected on or after July 15.