Proposed NY budget includes money for the Finger Lakes. Here's where it's going

In a wide-ranging talk of past, present and future state investments in the Finger Lakes region, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced that $10 million is included in the 2023-24 executive state budget for expansion of the Susan B. Anthony Museum & House in Rochester. 

The funding is expected to help draw more people and further cement the Rochester suffragette’s home as a tourist attraction. 

“It is a jewel,” Hochul told Rochester and Finger Lakes leaders.  

Hochul also spoke of her previously announced focus areas of mental healthcare reform and addressing what she calls a housing shortage crisis – with funding possibly coming for local municipalities in areas such as planning and infrastructure for housing growth.  

Many of the investments in the Finger Lakes are tied to economic growth - "This is an area we're counting on to be an economic engine for the rest of the state," Hochul said - while at the same time trying to make the area more affordable and more livable while attempting to attract more young people to the region.

“When you invest in communities, you invest in facilities and places and businesses that will create jobs,” Hochul said. "You're also giving people the ability to control their own destiny and don't have to be captive to their own circumstances or the neighborhood they were born in or the school they went to -- they can have the chance to rise up."

Here are other areas of proposed state investment locally:

Public safety 

• As part of an overall $337 million investment in public safety, a "dramatic amount of money" for programs aimed at reducing and preventing gun violence and for providing alternatives to violence for young people
• Increased funding for district attorneys' offices and court-appointed attorneys

Healthcare 

• As part of $1 billion to transform New York’s mental healthcare system, $45 million is included for the Finger Lakes to support addiction treatment, recovery and prevention. 

Education 

• As part of $34.5 billion in school aid – what Hochul said is the largest increase in history -- $2.6 billion is coming to the Finger Lakes as is a $222.5 million increase in foundation aid. A portion of the aid for schools is targeted to support mental health programs in schools. 

Economic development 

• $45 million is included to create an office of semiconductor expansion, management and integration, and $17 million is coming to Monroe Community College for new advanced technology. Finger Lakes Community College will see $1.4 million for biology labs and nurse training facilities, among other projects. 
• $20 million is included for the Cornell Food Tech Innovation Hub in Geneva for modernization projects and to recognize that “agriculture is one of our bread-and-butter industries,” Hochul said. 

Infrastructure 

Hochul said 101,000 potholes in the Finger Lakes alone have been filled since she became governor, but there’s more to do. 

• Included as part of $96 million in state Department of Transportation projects are $42 million to replace I-490 bridges that need it and $21.1 million to pave Route 104.  
• $2.5 million for Monroe County multimodal hub planning 

Investments in regional assets 

In addition to funding for the Susan B. Anthony Museum and House, other regional attractions also will see state money. They include: 

• $3 million for the Genesee Valley Greenway 
• $10 million for Letchworth State Park in Livingston and Wyoming counties 
• $4.5 million for Running Track Bridge over the Genesee River in Rochester 

Investments in communities 

• The state budget includes funding for $100 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding for communities of all sizes, and $100 million for NY Forward program for smaller communities. 
• Hochul also announced that the village of Perry in Wyoming County will be getting $10 million to revitalize its downtown as part of the DRI program. 
• The villages of Medina, in Orleans County, and Geneseo, in Livingston County, will be getting $4.5 million each as part of the NY Forward program. 

Specific projects in each will be announced at later dates, Hochul said.