Recipients Recognized By Lt. Governor Donohue In Albany

Albany and Cortland, NY -- Lieutenant Governor Mary O. Donohue announced the recipients of the first-ever Governor's Quality Communities Award for Excellence at a reception held as part of the Quality Communities, Quality Coasts Conference at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center on October 23. Receiving the prestigious award, which was the culmination of a nearly three-year statewide Quality Communities initiative, was Cortland County.

The Cortland County BDC nominated Cortland County for the award, and BDC Executive Director Linda Hartsock accepted it for the county at the Albany event, which was attended by 800 people from communities across New York State. The inaugural Quality Communities Award for Excellence recognizes communities, neighborhoods, organizations and citizens across the State who have improved the quality of life of their region by finding solutions to their area's challenges including effective land development and preservation and rehabilitation strategies.

"Cortland created an action plan to implement Quality Communities Principles," said Lt. Governor Donohue in making the award. "Results include a downtown effort to place high tech business in restored Main Street buildings, the creation of the first public foundation for farmland protection, and the clean up of a scrapyard that had been the gateway to Finger Lakes region. "This year's awardees demonstrate that huge strides in the rehabilitation and revitalization of our state's waterfronts and communities are taking place. I commend all of the nominees for their efforts to improve their waterfronts and the quality of life in their communities. Their projects and achievements are exceptional and serve as a model for other communities."

"The nominations that the Department of State received this year from areas in Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes Region, Great Lakes Communities and along the State Canal System are indicative of the outstanding waterfront communities and projects that we have in the Empire State and the committed individuals who strive to improve their communities," said Secretary of State Randy A. Daniels. "All of these projects contribute to their community's economic revitalization and quality of life."

Governor Pataki an signed Executive Order in January 2000 creating the Quality Communities Interagency Task Force which was given the mission to study community growth in New York State and develop measures to assist communities in implementing effective land development, preservation and rehabilitation strategies that promote both economic development and environmental protection.

"The Quality Communities Task Force, which I am honored to Chair, conducted a three-phase effort to inventory key local, state and federal programs, gather public comment and develop recommendations designed to enhance local community development efforts throughout New York State," according to Lt. Governor Donohue. "This initiative is designed to promote effective land development, preservation and rehabilitation programs at the local level and will foster intermunicipal cooperation in responding to the needs and opportunities arising at the local level. The intent of the Quality Communities Task Force is to ensure that New York's initiatives in economic development and environmental protection take into account and complement the priorities of individual communities."

"The Quality Communities Task Force will lay the foundation for a dynamic partnership between local and state government that fosters economic and community development, protects the environment and promotes home rule," added Lt. Governor Donohue. "The Task Force will develop bottom-up strategies to assist local governments to implement land use plans that best meet their needs."

Participating on the Task Force are New York State Cabinet-level members from the Department of Agriculture and Markets, Department of State, Department of Transportation, Department of Environmental Conservation, Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, Empire State Development, Division of Housing and Community Renewal, Department of Health, and Division of the Budget.

The Task Force published a comprehensive 115-page report, "State and Local Governments Partnering for a Better New York" in January 2001. Cortland was one of the featured communities in the report, and actively participated in roundtables sponsored by the New York State Department of State. Cortland used the recommendations in the report to create its own Quality Communities action agenda, according to Hartsock. The agenda focused on:

• Historic preservation that takes advantage of Cortland's beautiful turn of the century architecture, and works to maintain village centers and historic downtowns as vibrant business districts with a sense of place that suggests Americana at its best
• Adaptive reuse of older industrial buildings, encouraging reinvestment in older city and village centers, as a principle of sustainable development
• Waterfront development and resource protection, as tools for intermunicipal planning
• Development of intermodal transportation facilities
• Brownfield redevelopment projects
• Implementation of farmland protection programs
• Development of 21st Century infrastructure, including education/industry partnerships, with an emphasis on technology park development and the creation of digital downtowns
• A focus on small business development, including financing, technical assistance and training
• Interagency interaction and intermunicipal collaboration to deliver economic and community development
• Community consensus building about the principles and importance of "Quality Development"

"We are very honored that Cortland County was recognized for this approach to development," said BDC/IDA Chairman Paul Slowey. "This is a triple play for Cortland, having also recently won Empire State Development's Small Business Nonprofit Organization of the Year and the New York State Economic Development Corporation's top marketing honors. Clearly, Cortland is now on New York State's radar screen as a place where good things are happening, and as a model for other communities."

On Thursday, October 31 at 10 am at the Cortland County Office Building, Chairman of the Cortland County Legislature, W. Stephen Harrington, will join the BDC/IDA, Cortland County Planning Department, Cortland County Convention and Visitors Bureau and Cortland County Chamber of Commerce to raise a custom "Quality Community" flag, presented by Lt. Governor Donohue at the Albany event. The public is welcome to attend.

Also sharing inaugural awards were Cattaraugus County for a guidebook series, Suffolk County for its Affordable Housing Opportunities Program, and the Town of Warwick for a new town zoning ordinance directing growth toward the villages.

For more information on the Quality Communities program, visit http://www.dos.state.ny.us

For comments about the Governor's Quality Award and the NYS Quality Communities Program:

Barbara "Charlie" Murphy,
Assistant Secretary of State for Local Government
(518) 473-336