BY PAUL MITCHELLNorth Country This Week

CANTON – A continuance of a May 30 open house to provide input on what to do with $4.5 million in NY Forward funding is an online survey.

Both Canton’s Office of Economic Development and MJ Engineering & Land Surveying, Clifton Park, are encouraging the public to take the 13-question community survey.

“The survey is just to get more community input to inform the vision for the plan that is being developed,” said Leigh Rodriquez, Director of Economic Development.

“The Canton NY Forward Local Planning Committee is seeking public input that will help inform an overall downtown vision for the NY Forward Strategic Investment Plan. The process used in developing the Canton NY Forward Strategic Investment Plan must involve a broad section of the community in creating the concepts that will guide the process,” an email reads.

The survey can be found at https://www.research.net/r/CantonNYForward .

For more information about the NY Forward program, visit https://www.cantonnyforward.com/ .

“Your thoughts and ideas are critical to the NY Forward process. Please continue to share your thoughts and ideas about Canton’s downtown through the community survey,” stated Daniel Madigan, planner for MJ Engineering in an email. “We look forward to your continued input throughout the NY Forward process and hope to see you at future NY Forward public engagement events.”

The process used in developing the Canton NY Forward Strategic Investment Plan must involve a broad section of the community in creating the concepts that will help guide the process. Please help the Local Planning Committee and the project team through this community-informed process by taking this short survey (about 5 minutes). Responses will be anonymous and confidential,” the email states. 

​​NY Forward was launched in 2022 and serves as a central component of the State's economic development efforts, working together with the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), to accelerate and expand the revitalization of New York's downtowns. NY Forward supports smaller communities with historic character that distinguishes them from the larger, more urban central business districts typically funded through DRI. 

NY Forward communities are walkable, less dense areas that serve the immediate local community, and are more local in nature - focusing on the immediately surrounding residential or rural agricultural-centric development. Through the NY Forward program, these smaller downtowns will receive planning and project implementation support needed to attract more businesses, residents, and visitors, while also providing a higher quality of life for all residents.

The NYS Department of State (DOS) administers the NY Forward program in close coordination with Empire State Development (ESD), NYS Homes & Community Renewal (HCR), and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA).

In the second year of the NY Forward program, each of the State’s 10 Regional Economic Development Councils had the option of nominating two communities for $4.5 million NY Forward awards or three communities, one receiving $4.5 million and two receiving $2.25 million. NY Forward funds are also used to provide robust capacity-building and technical assistance directly to communities throughout each phase of the program.

For more information, email lrodriguez@cantonny.gov or call (315) 386-2871 ext. 5.