New York State Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton last week announced that Congress has approved $1.25 million for the Town of North Hempstead for the New Cassel revitalization project. The funds are listed in the Transportation, Treasury, Independent Agencies and General Government and the Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies sections of the Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, which passed Congress late last month. It is expected that the bill will be sent to President George Bush in the coming weeks for his signature.

"I want to commend the Town of North Hempstead and the residents of New Cassel for working together to rally behind this project and now for taking the necessary steps to bring it to fruition. On Long Island it is so important that we invest in the future of our main streets, like in New Cassel," Clinton said. "I am so pleased to have secured these funds because I am committed to helping the Town of North Hempstead in any way that I can, because main street revitalization is so important, especially on Long Island."

This funding comes in addition to $75,000 in HUD Economic Development Initiative funds that Clinton secured along with her colleagues last year to support the effort.

In March, Clinton met with North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jon Kaiman in Washington, DC to discuss federal support for the revitalization and to continue the ongoing conversation, started by former Town Supervisor May Newburger, about the future of the area. Clinton's office met with the town representatives and the New Cassel Revitalization Group many times and will continue to work with them on this important project.

"The town has been very aggressive at going after federal and state dollars. We're happy to say that Senator Clinton (for the senate) and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (for the house) have really gone to bat for the New Cassel community," said Kaiman. "The grant will really help us complete a project the town has been working on for years and that is the revitalization of the Prospect Avenue corridor and New Cassel. The money is much needed and will be well spent."

The Town of North Hempstead has undertaken an ambitious economic and environmental revitalization of the hamlet of New Cassel, an economically distressed community, with nine percent of its population living below the poverty level. Clinton is scheduled to attended the groundbreaking ceremony in New Cassel on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 1 p.m.

In 2002, North Hempstead gathered residents, business and property owners, civic groups, labor leaders, clergy, seniors, homeowners, renters, government officials, and youth to create a vision for a revitalized New Cassel. The resulting New Cassel Vision Plan calls for a proposed reconstruction of the Prospect Avenue and Union Avenue corridors, New Cassel's main streets to help create a walkable, mixed-use downtown area that is attractive to new retail and commercial investment.

The Vision Plan has the support of many community groups including: New Cassel Environmental Justice Project, New Cassel/Westbury Neighborhood Advisory Council, Unified New Cassel Community Revitalization Corporation, New Cassel Improvement Committee; the New Cassel Business Association; the Westbury Community Improvement Corporation; the Carman Community Association; Sustainable Long Island; the Long Island Progressive Coalition; the Institute for Sustainable Development; KeySpan Energy; and LIPA.

The details of the funding are as follows:

New Cassel Revitalization Project - $1 Million

The Town of North Hempstead to receive funding under the Transportation, Treasury, Independent Agencies, and General Government Appropriations section of the Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill to support road and streetscape improvements along the Prospect Avenue and Union Avenue corridors in the economically distressed hamlet of New Cassel. The project will transform these corridors, the community's "main streets," into a pedestrian-friendly, safe, business and shopping friendly district. Streetscape improvement plans have already been established, through a community-driven process facilitated by national "walkability" expert Dan Burden. The proposed road and streetscape improvements are critical to encouraging private investment in this long-neglected community, which is one of the poorest in the region.

New Cassel Revitalization and Redevelopment Project - $250,000

The Town of North Hempstead will receive funding under the Department of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations section of the Fiscal Year 2005 Omnibus Appropriations Bill for the construction and gap financing of mixed-use building projects along the Prospect Avenue and Union Avenue corridors in the economically-distressed hamlet of New Cassel. These projects will include retail/office/housing projects on parcels acquired by the town's community development authority, in partnership with private sector leaders.