Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano today awarded a $255,020 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to the Village of Rockville Centre. The grant will fund a variety of projects in the Village, including improvements to the Reverend Morgan Days Park, the Reverend Martin Luther King Center, the L. Sandel Senior Center, and the Rosa Lee Young Childhood Center. Funds will also go towards providing for tutors and counselors at Confide, R.V.C. Consultation Center, R.V.C. Economic Development Council, and the Hispanic Brotherhood of Rockville Centre, along with providing entry level job training programs at the Youth Employment Program (YET).
“The Community Development Block Grant Program is essential to help our communities make critical infrastructure improvements and promote neighborhood development,” said County Executive Mangano. “These funds will greatly assist the Village of Rockville Centre’s efforts to improve the quality of life for residents and provide much-needed funding for worthwhile community organizations programs for children and senior citizens.”
Allocations for the Village of Rockville Centre include:
“The Village of Rockville Centre is grateful for Nassau County’s approval of this year’s Community Development Block Grant funding. These funds provide crucial support to our parks, recreation, youth and senior programs as well as assisting several community service non-profit organizations. This success was made possible by the resident volunteers on our Community Development Advisory Committee who spent many hours reviewing grant proposals and preparing the successful grant application,” said Village of Rockville Centre Mayor Francis X. Murray.
The CDBG Program is a Federal entitlement program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of unique community development needs. CDBG funds can be used for a wide range of activities related to housing, economic development, commercial revitalization, public services, infrastructure and public facilities. An estimated 90% of CDBG funds are used annually to benefit very low, low and moderate income individuals.
In Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2011, which began on September 1, 2011, the County consortium has received an allocation of $14,136,015 under the CDBG Program for use on eligible projects within the County. FFY 2011 is the 37th year that Nassau County has participated.