“At the annual Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) Awards, Long Island was awarded $84.3 million in state funding that will be used to create more good-paying jobs, allow local businesses to expand and attract new businesses to our region. This is a victory for our community, and I want to congratulate and thank the organizations that put in the hard work to secure these REDC grants.

“I want to highlight four grant recipients in our community. Farmingdale State College’s Emerging Technologies in Undergraduate Education program was awarded $400,000 to help renovate and equip STEM teaching and lab spaces. This investment demonstrates Long Island’s commitment to higher education and providing students with the skills they need to enter the modern workforce. Suffolk County, in partnership with Long Island Software Technology Network (LISTnet) and the Urban League of Long Island, received $210,000 to create the Wyandanch Digital Ballpark, a technology-focused business incubator, co-working and event space in the village. This project will attract new businesses to the area and assist small, local tech companies with startup resources.

“YMCA of Long Island also received $3.5 million to establish a community center in Wyandanch, an instrumental component of the Wyandanch Rising initiative. This facility will be a tremendous asset for our community, creating jobs and providing resources for child care and healthy-living programs to local residents. In addition, the Village of Lindenhurst was awarded $40,000 to help complete its downtown development and revitalization plan, allowing the Village to assess the re-use potential of underutilized properties, which could lead to more parking in the central business district.

“These projects, along with other REDC-backed initiatives on Long Island, will help improve our region’s competitiveness in the 21st-century, tech-centric economy, putting us on the road to continued economic growth.”