Development commissioner outlines $67M in pending grant applications, warns of federal/state funding risks

Commissioner of Development Adam Salgado briefed the City Council’s Committee of the Whole on June 10 about the city’s grant funding strategy, previously awarded grants and a set of at-risk programs the city is monitoring.

Salgado said the city has secured over $22 million across infrastructure, economic development and sustainability programs in recent cycles and currently has roughly $67 million in competitive grant applications pending for 2025. Those pending applications, he said, span public-space enhancements, housing support and transit-adjacent projects.

Why the briefing matters

Salgado framed the presentation around both opportunities and specific risks: some large state and federal funding streams have language or pending amendments that could rescind awards or change eligibility. The most immediate threat he identified was a budget reconciliation measure that, if enacted in its then-current form, could rescind certain state grants described as neighborhood access and equity programs and end some "direct pay" clean energy tax-credit mechanisms; the city had a $16 million award in one equity program that Salgado said could be rescinded if the reconciliation language becomes law.

Priority projects and funding status

Salgado listed projects the development department is pursuing and the grant status for each: - Station Plaza South access improvements (Pro Housing Supply Fund): design and streetscape changes near the train-porch/Shearwood Place area. The project is coordinated with an approved Toll Brothers site plan and the developer will provide local match where needed. - 11 Garden Street community incubator: an estimated $3 million fit-out (commercial kitchen, tech center and flexible spaces); one grant under consideration would cover roughly $600,000 of that cost. - Residential rehabilitation financing: a program to help owners of naturally occurring affordable housing make repairs while preserving affordability. - Quaker Ridge Road complete-streets: a programmatic effort to close a $9 million funding gap; Salgado said a Phase 1 scope is imminent and city staff will sequence work as funding is secured. - Emergency operations center and maintenance equipment: applications for Smart Communities and stormwater-response vehicles (vacuum truck and flusher) tied to stormwater mitigation strategy. - Stormwater construction projects: a portfolio of construction projects (Devonshire Road area, Interlochen and Robins Road, Emerson/Wilmont/Barnard, Bloomingdale Estates, Paine Lake and Valley Road) that leverage state funds as matches for federal money already awarded. - Hughes Oil facility upgrades and e-bike storage at police headquarters (Recreational Trails Program): targeted smaller grant proposals.

The Link project, NEPA and contingency planning

Salgado said the city is pursuing a large Link corridor project with a roughly $46 million budget. A critical near-term requirement is federal environmental review (NEPA) clearance; the city is coordinating with NYSDOT and USDOT to resolve outstanding NEPA questions. He warned that one of the state equity grants tied to the Link ($16 million) carried language in a budget-reconciliation package that could lead to rescission by early July; Salgado described mitigation strategies: (1) aggressive advocacy with federal and state partners and lobbyists, (2) seeking alternative state or federal funding not subject to the same rescission language, and (3) phasing the project using city funds if necessary.

Timing and advocacy

Salgado said the state opened a $436 million portal for high-value regional projects with a July 31 submission deadline and the city planned to nominate shovel-ready projects. He described ongoing advocacy with the governor’s office, state legislators, NYS DOT and federal lobbyists (the Ferguson Group) to preserve awards and keep projects moving.

Council response and staff follow-up

Council members asked for more specificity on potential alternative funds, phasing strategies, and inclusion of green-infrastructure and urban forestry elements in stormwater and planting grants. Councilmembers also asked for clearer decision criteria the administration would use if it must choose among competing projects for city-funded contingency dollars; Salgado agreed to develop higher-level guidance for the council in coming weeks.

Ending

Salgado asked staff to continue pursuing multiple funding tracks and to rapid-cycle NEPA responses for the Link project. He said the administration will return with recommendations as the federal and state budget processes move through July and the federal fiscal calendar for FY 2026.