presented by Vision Long Island and the Long Island Main Street Alliance

August 21st, 2020

Quotes of Day

	“The federal government needs to provide our small businesses, our communities, our cities, our states, the resource that they need. It's not acceptable to ignore the needs within the state and local governments. Previous efforts, like the Paycheck Protection Program, clearly did not work for everybody. Businesses and industries that weren't able to bring staff back were often ineligible. Moreover many small businesses, especially minority owned businesses, didn't have the relationships with the right banks that could easily access the SBA loans and that made getting access to capital even harder.” - Hon. Kirsten Gillibrand, United States Senator
	“We are proud to be here. We are proud to have found this site and to have worked collectively with the community to provide 50 more affordable apartments in this area.” - Sam Leone, Senior Vice President of Development, Conifer Realty
	“The desired vision is to create safe, affordable housing for the younger generation in a vibrant, downtown Port Jefferson community. [The Gitto Group is] aware of the importance of getting projects like this done; the importance of being an economic engine, providing beautiful new housing, and mixed use opportunity. We want to make sure we always have a retail component to keep our Main Street vibrant and alive. We welcome this project.” - Hon. Margot Garant, Mayor, Port Jefferson Village
	“The Village is one square mile, so everything in this Village [of Sea Cliff] is walkable. The concept is to get people out of their cars. Our goal is to create a safe road, a safe place to walk. We want to be able to say this is one of the best bikeable and walkable villages in Nassau County.” - Dan Flanzig, member of the Board of Directors and legal advisor to the New York Bicycling Coalition

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The 2020 Long Island Smart Growth Awards will be held virtually on September 3rd at noon. Vision has begun delivering the awards to projects and individuals on site. We will be spotlighting each honoree in our upcoming newsletters.

The next three are summarized here:

Vineyard View Greenport, Conifer Realty & Town of Southold - Housing Choices

Wednesday, August 12th, Vision Long Island staff and board members traveled to Greenport for stop number 7 of the 2020 Vision Long Island Smart Growth Award tour to present a Housing Choices Award to Conifer Realty, LLC and the Town of Southold in recognition of the completion of Vineyard View, a brand-new, energy efficient, apartment community featuring 50 multifamily affordable apartments. Vineyard View includes seven buildings containing 14 one-bedroom, 22 two-bedroom and 14 three-bedroom apartments on a 17.2-acre site on County Road 48 in Greenport. The development offers a playground, a clubhouse, featuring a great room, fitness center, and laundry room.

“This affordable housing project is so needed for the region, for the Town of Southold and for the community,” stated Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island’s Director. “On this Island, housing choices is the biggest challenge and this year we have three honorees that are addressing this significant need.” Conifer Reality, to its great credit, has built multiple projects on Long Island and Vision has supported them all, from Coram, to Copiague, to Riverhead. With an eye towards protecting the environment, while providing affordable units in the Town of Southold, which is difficult due to rising housing prices, Conifer has been effective in meeting these challenges."

Accepting the award for Conifer was Sam Leone, Senior Vice President of Development. Mr. Leone remarked that Conifer has been both developing on Long Island and owning and managing affordable apartments for fifteen years. “We are proud to be here,” Mr. Leone stated. “We are proud to have found this site and to have worked collectively with the community to provide 50 more affordable apartments in this area.” Half of the units are affordable at 50% area median income and half are affordable at 60% area median income.

“We are proud and honored to have been able to work with the Town of Southold to help provide more affordable options here on Long Island,” Mr. Leone concluded.

Also, in attendance for this award presentation was Vision board member and principal at Trinity Solar, Michael Passantino. Vision Long Island would like to congratulate the honorees, Conifer Realty and the Town of Southold, on receiving this well-deserved award.

The Brookport, Gitto Group & Village of Port Jefferson - Mix of Uses

Wednesday, August 12th, Vision Long Island staff and board members traveled to the Village of Port Jefferson for stop number 8 of the 2020 Vision Long Island Smart Growth Award tour to present the Mix of Uses award to the Gitto Group and the Village of Port Jefferson in recognition of The Brookport, a new mixed-use apartment building being developed at 440 Main Street, the former site of Cappy’s Carpets, a long time Port Jefferson business.

The 65,300-square-foot, three story building will have stores, office space and a restaurant on the first floor and two floors of apartments above. The development will incorporate 44 units and amenities for residents, including a roof-top deck, fitness center, outdoor courtyard with fire pits and barbecues, and a community room. Foundations are in place and the outer walls are beginning to take shape. The project should be completed by summer 2021.

“We are talking about a mix of residential and commercial uses on a Main Street and that’s exactly what this project is," explained Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island’s Director. “It’s a companion piece to what is a fantastic destination. There are great opportunities here as a destination, but also for living.”

James Tullo, Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency Deputy Director, was on hand to support both the project and award. “We are very proud to not only help provide housing and mix-use for the Village of Port Jefferson, but also to be able to continue to create jobs and do the things that are necessary from an industrial development agency standpoint; to continue to move forward and revitalize certain areas, villages, and downtowns that really need to undergo certain types of revitalization.”

Explaining how important political leadership is to get anything done on Long Island, Mr. Alexander introduced Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant. “Not only is she bold enough to advance projects, she has a vision, she put a masterplan together and works with the public consistently,” he stated.

Mayor Garant, talking about this vision, stated, “The desired vision is to create safe, affordable housing for the younger generation in a vibrant, downtown Port Jefferson community.” Referring to Village government, Mayor Garant noted, “They are aware of the importance of getting projects like this done; the importance of being an economic engine, providing beautiful new housing, and mixed use opportunity. We want to make sure we always have a retail component to keep our Main Street vibrant and alive. We welcome this project.”

Upon accepting the award, Rob Gitto, vice president of the Port Jefferson-based Gitto Group said, three or four years ago, he walked over from his office and asked Peter Capobianco, owner of the property, if he would ever be interested in redeveloping his site. “I asked him the question and he said ‘Sure, let’s see if it makes sense,’ and here we are today." He added, “We are excited to be a part of it with him and thank him for allowing us to partner with him on this project.”

After thanking the Village, the Brookhaven IDA and Vision Long Island, Mr. Gitto stated, “We are excited about this project. We are going to extend the Main Street of Port Jefferson further south. It’s going to be a special project; it’s going to be better than anything seen in the area.”
 
Vision Long Island would like to congratulate the honorees, the Gitto Group and the Village of Port Jefferson, on receiving this well-deserved award.

Sea Cliff Village Traffic and Safety Committee & Village of Sea Cliff - Walkability

Thursday, August 13th, Vision Long Island traveled to the Village of Sea Cliff for stop number 9 of the 2020 Vision Long Island Smart Growth Award tour to present a Walkability award to the Sea Cliff Village Traffic and Safety Committee and the Village of Sea Cliff.

“Today, we are in the beautiful Village of Sea Cliff,” began Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island’s Director, “to present this walkability award for the great work that has been done by the Village, and some of the committees in the Village, to create walkable, bikeable alternatives to enhance the great village they already have.” Mr. Alexander continued, “As a result of the coronavirus, folks are walking and biking more, folks are looking at outdoor dining. People are looking to get out of their homes in a way that’s safe and healthy.”

Also, in attendance for the award presentation was Elissa Kyle, Vision Long Island’s Sustainability Director. Mrs. Kyle explained that one of the main and most important aspects about complete streets and walkability is the fundamental baseline of safety; safety on bike, on foot, in a motor vehicle, whatever the mode of transportation. Beyond that, it’s about making places for people, enhancing lives. Mr. Alexander added, “We are excited when towns and villages prioritize these types of activities, like they have in Sea Cliff.”

Village of Sea Cliff Mayor Edward Lieberman was present to receive the award on behalf of the Village. Speaking about the history of Sea Cliff, Mayor Lieberman described it as a walking community since it was incorporated in 1883. “Although it’s not the same,” the Mayor stated, “residents still look forward to walking. Three years ago, when I became mayor, I believed it was very important to create a traffic and safety committee.” Village Trustee Dina Epstein was appointed to formulate the committee. Soon after, local attorney Daniel Flanzig was chosen to chair the committee. 

The Traffic and Safety Committee makes recommendations and works hand in hand with the Village and the County. “We are trying to encourage and enhance walkability throughout the Village,” the Mayor concluded.

According to Village Trustee Dina Epstein, the Traffic and Safety Committee has been involved in all the different streetscapes and walkability features of Sea Cliff. “We have many different committees, run by volunteers, making the streets walkable and beautiful.”

Introducing the chair of the committee, Mayor Lieberman applauded the work of Dan Flanzig, acknowledging his vast knowledge of pedestrian and bicycle safety. Mr. Flanzig is a member of the Board of Directors and legal advisor to the New York Bicycling Coalition, the State's leading bicycle advocacy group.

Mr. Flanzig thanked Vision Long Island for the award and for years of support. He also thanked Mayor Lieberman, noting, “We are very lucky that we have an administration in Sea Cliff that’s progressive and open minded. Anytime we go to them with an idea to make it a more walkable and bikeable community, they never say no.”

“The Village is one square mile,” Mr. Flanzig stated, “so everything in this Village is walkable. The concept is to get people out of their cars. Our goal is to create a safe road, a safe place to walk. We want to be able to say this is one of the best bikeable and walkable villages in Nassau County.”

LI Main Street Alliance holds Zoom Meeting with US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Thursday, August 19th, the Long Island Main Street Alliance held a zoom meeting with over 70 Long Island small businesses, chambers, civics and local officials in virtual attendance. The Alliance, assembled by Vision Long Island, includes over 35 Long Island communities that have downtown revitalization plans and programs. It creates a unified public voice to bring both attention and resources to these downtowns. This objective is even more critical in this post COVID-19 world. The featured speaker during this bimonthly meeting was United States Senator Kristen Gillibrand.

Senator Gillibrand started by thanking LI Main Street Alliance for inviting her to participate in the call, and thanked the members for their hard work and everything they are doing in their communities. She acknowledged that Long Island has been hit extremely hard by COVID, including its accompanying economic recession.

Understanding Long Island’s goal to build back stronger and better, Senator Gillibrand stated, “You obviously can’t do it alone… The federal government needs to provide our small businesses, our communities, our cities, our states, the resource that they need. It's not acceptable to ignore the needs within the state and local governments.” The Senator continued, “Previous efforts, like the Paycheck Protection Program, clearly did not work for everybody. Businesses and industries that weren't able to bring staff back were often ineligible.” Moreover, she noted, “many small businesses, especially minority owned businesses, didn't have the relationships with the right banks that could easily access the SBA loans and that made getting access to capital even harder.”

To address the first issue, Senator Gillibrand stated she is working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on a bill titled the Restart Act. “This would help small businesses and midsize business that can’t reopen at capacity, like theaters, restaurants, businesses in the hospitality industry, by creating a new loan program to fund six months of their payroll benefits and operating expenses.”

To address the second issue, Senator Gillibrand noted, “We have to provide capital and support to community focused lenders who tend to work with small businesses in communities of color, and who were largely left out of round one and two of PPP. I support Senator Schumer's push to get $20 billion to support those community leaders. I also support the Saving Our Street Act, which would establish $125 billion fund to aid the smallest minority and women owned businesses. It's also critical, as I said, to help our state and local governments, the next federal package has to include substantial relief for state and local government so that we can continue to provide the frontline response, whether it's firefighters or teachers. We need those budgets to be restored.”

The Senator added, “In addition to getting States the money they need, I also introduced the Direct Support for Communities Act, which would provide funding directly to counties cities, towns and villages of all sizes so that people aren't forced to compete for the very small piece of the pie. Building stronger communities also means addressing the harm caused to disadvantaged communities and communities of color by red lining, intentional disinvestment and unregulated pollution. That's why I support the Environmental Justice For All Act which would invest in long term sustainable environmental justice solutions.”

“Like all of you,” the Senator explained, “I know how critical access to public transit is as well, so I called on the MTA to get the funding they need to remain operational and remain the engine of the economy that it is. The big picture is, we have to get families the support they need so they can participate in the economy and support for local businesses. But as you know, the best ideas never come from Washington. They always come from people who are affected by these issues and that's why I am so grateful to have the opportunities to listen to all of you, to hear directly from you what's on your mind. The more I can hear, the more I can do a better job for you in Washington and get the resource that you need. Thank you for inviting me, I appreciate it.”

Senator Gillibrand took questions from participants. Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant detailed the plight of every local government, “We put out a lot of our own money from other budget lines to provide the PPE that we needed to keep our staff, our essential workers, from code enforcement officers to EMT’s, safe. You know, it's really just baffling to me that we don't have any refund of those funds as we're losing other revenue lines. I mean, we're sinking and we're sinking fast, especially if we're going to go into another season of this come the fall into winter… Main streets are suffering, we need to figure out a way to get funding, any level of funding, to us as quickly as possible.”

Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand advised the Senator that his village has spent over $277,000 due to the pandemic. “That’s a lot of money,” Mayor Ekstrand stated, “and we need aid.”

Senator Gillibrand agreed with both Mayors, “Our local governments, our smaller towns, our smaller cities have no ability to make up for the lost revenue that COVID has caused. Every single town has seen an exponential rise in expenses. The truth is, everything you spend money on that is discretionary, you will have to cut.” The Senator identified areas that will suffer from lack of resources, including homelessness, drug abuse, hunger issues, essential worker funding. “That’s why Senator Schumer and I wrote a bill to give direct support to communities.” The Direct Support for Communities Act would allow a portion of the funding in the next COVID package to be split 50/50. Half would go to cities, towns and villages and the other half would go to counties. This would be a unique fund separate from what money gets sent to the state. “That's why it would be so important,” the Senator stated. “The other thing it would do to help is to send direct funding to the smaller businesses that did not get money because of either the relationship with existing banks or because they just were left behind. The combination of those two, I think, would very much help Long Island get back on its feet.”

Eric Alexander, Vision Long Island’s Director who oversaw the call, noted that people are walking and biking more than ever. There is increased outdoor dining. There is really a record number of folks out, which is positive. With that though, there are issues related to transportation funding. To that end, Jean Celender, the Mayor of Great Neck Plaza, asked about dedicated funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects.

The Senator agreed, “We need sidewalks and we need bike lanes and we need resources so that we can put this type of infrastructure in place, it is absolutely critical.” She went on to express the State’s need for all kinds of infrastructure, such as sewers. To remedy these deficits, the Senator noted she wrote a bill called the PIPE Act (Promoting Infrastructure and Protecting the Economy Act) which would create a new federal grant program so that localities could apply for federal grants to be able to pay for these large-scale infrastructure projects.

Clariona Griffith, president of the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce, expressed concerns about businesses that owe back rent and are still not in the financial situation to pay. Senator Gillibrand noted, “This is an area of contention in the Senate. Democrats have asked to have rental relief into next year, at least six months into next year. Republicans really pushed against it. We did get a compromise where they are willing to do rent relief through the end of the year.”

“In the next package we are asking for a couple things,” the Senator explained. “One such ask is for $100 million in emergency rental assistance and that would take us through next year, and it could be used to provide rental assistance, help families or individuals pay their rent, including back rent and remain housed during the entire length of the crisis.”

Senator Gillibrand again discussed her work on the Saving Our Street (SOS) Act. This legislation would provide federal support to microbusinesses throughout America during the COVID-19 crisis. The SOS Act would lift up local economies and allow for small neighborhood businesses to stay open during this crisis. This bill focuses on businesses that have less than 20 employees where at least half of their employees are from low income communities. “It would help put people back to work,” she noted. “It is reserved for those businesses that need the most help.”

Senator Gillibrand spoke about the need for bipartisan work to reach these important goals, which she said often exists. She stressed the need for these bills to be moved out of the majority leader’s office and onto the senate floor for a vote. “We want to help our businesses not only survive, but come back better and stronger,” she concluded.

We thank Senator Gillibrand for her participation in this meeting and for making herself available to answer all our questions. We also thank the Long Island Main Street Alliance members for their insightful participation during this meeting.

Pink Tie Delivers to Mastic Beach and the Shinnecock Reservation

The Pink Tie Delivers team was out last Friday for two stops in Mastic Beach and the Shinnecock Reservation, both of which included food and financial donations. 

The first delivery was to St. Jude’s Parish Outreach in Mastic Beach.  Their pantry is seeing continued increased need.  Beth Wahl from the Chamber of Commerce and the William Floyd Summit filled us in on the ongoing concerns.

The second stop was out to the Shinnecock Indian reservation where we met up with their transportation coordinator Lauryn Randall and the Shinnecock Tribal Nation team.   Their summer youth program helped deliver the food to young families and our group learned a lot from the stories from tribal members.

The Pink Tie Delivers team for these drops included 1st Equity Title, Late Night Chauffers, Trinity Solar, National Grid and Vision LI. 

With the aftermath of storm damage and power loss due to the tropical storm it is even more important to help folks with food donations. The Pink Tie Delivers team has been learning a lot from our fellow neighbors.

If you haven’t jumped in to help with food insecurity, we can tell you that there is a need across Long Island.

For more info on how you can take part in the doorstep donation program or join the Delivers Team check out pinktie.org or please email us at contact@pinktie.org.

Spotlight at The Paramount is All New this Summer

Enjoy delectable burgers, salads, live local music performed streetside plus food and drink specials every day at the Paramount’s Spotlight concerts this summer.

Make your indoor / outdoor table reservations through OpenTable OR call 631-637-1225. Food delivery available via UberEats & GrubHub.

Also, be sure to check out the newest art exhibit - Quarantine Art - on display all Summer long at Spotlight @ The Paramount! For more info, and the latest lineup of live music, visit spotlightny.com.

Live music events include:

Fri. 8/21 at 6pm – Brian Ripps brianripps.com
Sat. 8/22 at 6pm – MJT mjttheband.com/
Sun. 8/23 at 3pm – Chelsea Takami chelseatakami.com/
Mon. 8/24 at 4pm – Industry Night *25% off for Industry Workers*
Tues. 8/25 at 6pm – AUDITION NIGHT II spotlightny.com/audition-night-at-spotlight/
Tues. 8/25 at 4pm – Essential Workers Night *25% off for Essential Workers*
Wed. 8/26 at 6pm – Kieran Black
Thr. 8/27 at 6pm – Kavi itskavi.com/
Fri. 8/28 at 6pm – Doug Pfeifer www.facebook.com/steelrib/
Sun. 8/30 at 3pm – Chelsea Takami chelseatakami.com/
Mon. 8/31 at 4pm – Industry Night *25% off for Industry Workers*
Tues. 9/1 at 6pm – Trivia Night II Hosted by DJ Orland from 94.3 The Shar

Long Island Arts Council at Freeport Hosting Live, Free Concerts

The Long Island Arts Council at Freeport will be hosting live, free summer concerts at the Esplanade on the Nautical Mile.  Events will take place Thursday nights from 7pm to 8:30pm

COVID-19 requirements that must be followed

•             Attendees need to bring their own chairs
•             You must set up your chairs six feet apart from other attendees
•             You must wear a mask - The Arts Council will have customized face masks for sale with all proceeds going to our programs and services

Here's the line-up of performers. Please check our website for updates, possible changes, and rain date location.

Aug 27
East End Trio

September 3
Carlos Pavan

September 10
Columbus Circle

Upcoming SBA Webinars

Tues. Sept. 1st at 10:30am “PPP Forgiveness Application update”

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZckcOmppzgjGNDNpviv3gzovrOdJGqGrbLH

Learn about PPP Flexibility Act Seven changes of PPP, SBA New Announcements on August 11th, the Most Common FAQs, the Revised PPP Forgiveness Application SBA Form 3508 and Instructions, and the new SBA Form 3508EZ and Instructions.

• Flexibility Act PPP’s Seven changes
• Covered Payroll Period and Alternative Covered Payroll Period;
• Cash Compensation for employee and owner-employee/Self-employee/General Partners;
• Full Time Equivalent (FTE) Calculation;
• FTE Reduction Safe Harbors 1 and 2;
• FTE Reduction Exception;
•   Eligible Payroll and Non-Payroll Costs;
• SBA Form 3508 Calculation, Schedule A, Worksheet and instructions; 
• SBA Form 3508EZ and instructions;
• Documents Must to be Submitted with the Forgiveness application Required for PPP Forgiveness;
• Documents Borrower Must Maintain.
• checklist for using SBA Form 3508EZ and Forgiveness Application Form 3508EZ and instructions.

Thurs. Sept. 10th at 9:30am “Expand Your Business to Global Market”

Register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMpfumprT0oHNwGJZzKlGgIn7vuyU8xNgYC

95% of the consumers are outside of US. Join the webinar to learn Why, How, and Where, to sell to the Global Market. This presentation is intended to be a guide for a small business to help determine if exporting as business strategy make sense and whether the basic ingredients for export readiness are in place.

• Why to Export?
• Exporting Myths;
• Exporting Advantages;
• Federal Government Exporting Assistance;
• Are You Ready to Export;
• U.S. Free Trade Agreements;
• International Markets Resources;
• Legal Considerations
• How to Finance Your Sales
• 3 SBA International Trade Loan Guaranty Programs;
• Counseling & Assistance.

LICH to Host Housing Discrimination Training

The Long Island Coalition for the Homeless is honored to host Long Island Housing Services in their presentation of this important workshop on Fair Housing and Housing Discrimination.

This FREE online training will take place September 24, 9:30AM to 11:30AM.

Presented by Long Island Housing Services and hosted by the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless, this training will provide a history of fair housing and the federal, state and local fair housing laws.  The training will include the different types of housing discrimination that are prevalent in Long Island, including racial discrimination, discrimination against individuals with disability, and source of income discrimination. Participants will learn to identify and report housing discrimination, including how to file a complaint.

Presenters: EJ Torres and Harriet Spiegelman

This event is FREE, but tickets are required to reserve a spot. You can access tickets by using the link below, beginning August 20, 2020 at 5PM: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/housing-discrimination-training-tickets-117665652133

Minority Owned Womens Business "Brave Is" Scholarship

The National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) is offering scholarship opportunities for women business owners of color, with preference given to women aged 45+. The two scholarship programs, proudly sponsored by AARP, will offer attendance to the NAWBO Virtual Women’s Business Conference or the opportunity to host a booth in the virtual exhibit hall for a month during the event.

These scholarship opportunities will provide a unique opportunity for recipients to engage with a large network of successful women business owners across the country and promote their businesses to a wider audience.

The two components:

Six (6) Booth Scholarships plus attendance to the WBC
Twelve (12) Attendee Scholarships for WBC

All recipients will receive:

• One-year NAWBO membership for non-members or Leadership Academy Registration for current members
• Closed roundtable discussions with recipients at conference *by invitation only
• Extended accountability groups six (6) months after WBC facilitated by NAWBO
Timeline for Both Scholarships:

Applications will be accepted Monday, August 17 - Tuesday, August 25.  The winners will be notified via email.

Criteria:
Must be a Woman-Owned Minority Business
Preference given to 45+ WBO’s

You can fill out a scholarship form to apply for this opportunity here.

NYSERDA, Affordable Solar and Storage Predevelopment and Technical Assistance (Predevelopment Program)

The Predevelopment Program provides grants to address barriers to solar installations serving low-to-moderate income (LMI) households living in rental housing, multifamily buildings or other households not served by traditional on-site residential solar. Individual awards will not exceed $200,000. Funding to proposals through this solicitation will offset costs for predevelopment and technical assistance work needed to implement solar installations for multifamily affordable housing and/or shared solar (Community Distributed Generation) installations that benefit LMI households.

- Eligibility: Applications must be submitted by or include the documented participation of any of the following: owners, providers or managers of regulated multifamily affordable housing, community land trusts, land banks or portfolios of single-family affordable housing; local government agencies; Community Development Corporations (CDC), Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) or other community organizations providing services to LMI households and/or demonstrating an LMI constituency; and prior recipients of Predevelopment Program grants seeking to replicate and expand upon the success from a prior completed Predevelopment

Program project.

- Funding: Up to $10.65 million is available with individual awards not to exceed $200,000.
- Deadline: Continuous through December 31, 2024, or until depleted
- Contact:
Email: affordablesolar@nyserda.ny.gov
Website: www.nyserda.ny.gov/funding

Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program (NLG-L)

This program supports projects that enhance the quality of library and archive services by advancing theory and practice. Successful proposals will generate results such as new tools, research findings, models, services, practices or collaborative approaches that can be widely used, adapted, scaled or replicated. All applications must designate one of the following project categories: Lifelong Learning, Community Catalysts or National Digital Infrastructures and Initiatives.

- Eligibility: Either a unit of state or local government or a private, nonprofit organization that has nonprofit status and be located in one of the 50 States of the United States of America, the District of Columbia or U.S. territories. Additional criteria is listed in the website.

- Funding: 40 awards for up to three years will be made with amounts varying by category: Planning Grants up to $100,000; National Forum Grants up to $150,000; Project Grants up to $1,000,000 and Research in Service to Practice Grants up to $750,000.

- Deadline: October 2, 2020

- Contacts: Jill Connors-Joyner
Email: jconnors-joyner@imls.gov;
Sarah Fuller
Email: sfuller@imls.gov;
James Neal
Email: jneal@imls.gov;
Ashley Sands, PhD
Email: asands@imls.gov
General email: imls-librarygrants@imls.gov
Website: https://www.imls.gov/grants/available/national-leadership-grants-libraries

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Prize

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize (the Prize) elevates the compelling stories of places where residents are working together to transform education, jobs, transportation, housing and more so better health flourishes for all. A Culture of Health recognizes that where we live—such as our access to affordable homes, quality schools, good jobs and reliable transportation—affects how long and how well we live.

Through the RWJF Culture of Health Prize application process, a community comes together to tell its inspiring stories of collaboration, action and results. Communities should understand they are applying for a prize and not a grant. The Prize recognizes work that has already been accomplished, so there is no required workplan or budget.

- Eligibility: A community must be a geographically defined jurisdiction in the U.S. that falls into one of the following categories:

- County, parish, borough, city, town, village or other municipality with a publicly elected governing body;

- Federally recognized tribe or a state-designated Indian reservation;

- Native Hawaiian organization serving and representing the interests of Native Hawaiians in Hawaii; or

- Region defined as geographically contiguous municipalities, counties and/or reservations.

- Awards: Up to 10 winning communities receive $25,000 and a prize package of communications materials about their community, communications guidance and help in promoting their successes.

- Deadline: Oct. 15, 2020, 3pm ET

- Contact:
Phone: (608) 890-2045
Email: info@cohprize.wisc.edu
Website: www.rwjf.org/content/rwjf/en/library/funding-opportunities/2020/2021-culture-ofhealth-prize.html

NYS Launches Rent Relief Program

The COVID Rent Relief Program will provide eligible households with a one-time rental subsidy that will be sent directly to the household’s landlord. Applicants will not need to repay this assistance.

The Covid Rent Relief Program is not first come, first served. Applications will be accepted throughout the two-week application period. HCR will prioritize eligible households with “greatest economic and social need” accounting for income, rent burden, percent of income lost and risk of homelessness.

The rental assistance payment will cover the difference between the household’s rent burden on March 1, 2020 and the increase in rent burden for the months the households is applying for assistance. Households can apply for up to four months in rental assistance.

Eligible households must meet the following criteria:

• Before March 1, 2020 and at the time of application, household income must have been below 80% of the area median income, adjusted for household size. You can find your county’s area median income, based on your household size: www.hcr.ny.gov/eligible-income-limits-80-ami-county
• Before March 1, 2020 and at the time of application, the household must have been paying more than 30% of gross monthly income towards rent.  Gross income includes wages as well as any cash grants, child support, social security, unemployment benefits, etc.)
• Applicants must have lost income during the period of April 1, 2020 to July 31, 2020.

HCR has created a dedicated call center to provide residents with help Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. Call the COVID Rent Relief Program Call Center at 1-833-499-0318 or email at covidrentrelief@hcr.ny.gov

You can apply for assistance and check FAQ’s here.

New York State Accepting Applications for NY Forward Loan Fund

New York State has opened pre-applications for the New York Forward Loan Fund. Loans from this fund are available to small businesses, nonprofits, and small landlords in New York State that did not receive a loan from either the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) or SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) for COVID-19 in 2020. New York Forward loans must be fully repaid over a 5-year term with fixed annual interest rates of 3 percent for small businesses and landlords.

Small businesses may apply for the lesser of $100,000 or up to 100% of the average monthly revenues in any 3-month period from 2019 or the first quarter of 2020. This loan can be paid back over five years with first year being interest only.  However, if small businesses have received either a PPP loan or an EIDL loan from SBA, they would not be eligible to apply. NYS has set a goal of 18% of total funds under this Program for Long Island

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis as industries and regions reopen however, priority for New York Forward Loans will be given to industries and regions that have been reopened. Resources are available to assist in preparing applications for small businesses, landlords and nonprofits in industries and regions that have not yet reopened.

To view more details, including eligibility requirements and how to apply, click here:

If you need technical assistance through this process, please contact an Entrepreneurial Assistance Center near you and inform the counselor that you need help for the NY Forward Loan application.  You can find your closest contact center here.

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