Governor Cuomo Announces 12 Million Grants for Schoharie County

SCHOHARIE - Following a previous announcement concerning the distribution of Community Reconstruction Zone grants to four Schoharie County municipalities, Governor Andrew Cuomo addressed an invitation only audience of fifty public officials, residents and local media at SUNY Cobleskill's Frisbee Hall this afternoon to further detail the program in attempt to assuage local worries over state heavy-handedness in how funds will be allocated.

The grants, which total $12 million, will be evenly distributed between the Town of Esperance and the three Villages of Esperance, Middleburgh and Schohaire, and although Governor Cuomo stated that he believes "that the people that know best are in the community," all projects submitted must be approved first by the CRZ committee.

Speaking on the value of the $3 million his Irene devastated municipality will receive, Village of Schoharie Mayor John Borst said, looking positively to the future, "We have the opportunity to empower ourselves to our own path of recovery." His sentiment was seconded by CRZ Committee Co-Chair Sarah Goodrich, who emphasized that the state government wont dictate how funds are spent and that local communities will make their own plans. 

Governor Cuomo, who was introduced by Town of Middleburgh Supervisor Jim Buzon, arrived shortly after twelve via helicopter and stayed for roughly an hour, speaking for fifteen minutes in mostly general terms concerning the CRZ grant program, which can be summed up by one specific statement that "We have funding that's available for the community."

Now comes the real work for local officials and the CRZ committee alike: decide where and how much of these funds should be directed towards what project and why. And once that process is completed, only then can the significance of these grants be truly measured by the competence displayed in utilizing these valuable funds towards our local communities.