To aid the repairs, the city of Albany’s Recreation Department applied for funding from the New York State Regional Economic Development Council, which responds to local and regional needs across New York with investments toward infrastructure and economic development. On Monday, city officials announced the city has been granted $675,000 to help fix Swinburne’s roof.
While officials say the rink’s opening date is still uncertain, the city plans to complete the renovations and potentially improve the existing playground and skating rink in the process. That’s according to Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who said she was looking forward to further development of the park, even after she leaves her position at the end of the year.
“It was one of the very first playgrounds that we redid, but that was now almost a dozen years ago, and this facility itself is something that is used year-round," she said. "It's not just for skating, and we want to work with the community, and I'm sure the next mayor will engage the community in what the future of all of Swinburne Park, and this incredible resource is going to be.”
In addition to the funding for Swinburne, Albany officials also announced Monday $225,000 in state funding to update and implement the city’s comprehensive plan, Albany 2030.
Sheehan told WAMC News this was one of several investments she hoped would revitalize the city and better serve its residents.
“I've really focused on what we can do to invest our dollars in the city infrastructure to demonstrate to the rest of the community, to the people that live there, that we care, but then also to those who might be thinking about becoming a homeowner moving into the city, that when they see those amenities and when they see the city making those investments, that they feel confident that this is a place where they would want to invest and live and raise their family,” she said.
The REDC investments have also been awarded to other organizations and projects in the area, including $750,000 to In Our Own Voices, an organization that works to serve LGBTQ+ people of color in Albany, and $675,000 to the Cathedral of All Saints for the restoration of the historic Guild House.
State Sen. Pat Fahy, a Democrat, said the investments make a difference in local communities.
“The REDC is something that has now been around just over a dozen years as well, and it has been controversial at times, but it's something I've always supported, because it allows regional areas to nominate regional projects," she said. "It's really locally driven, and it is projects like this that really might get overlooked otherwise.”
Democratic Assemblywoman Gabriella Romero said the award given to In Our Own Voices was particularly important following its loss of federal funding due to the Trump administration’s cuts to organizations that provided gender-affirmative care earlier this year. The funding from the REDC will go to the development of a new LGBTQ+ Community Empowerment and Equity Hub on Lark Street.
“In Our Own Voices does trans and gender non-conforming [care] assistance, especially for black and brown people," she said. "And so when they lost that funding, there was just a massive gap when they were planning on doing this new and innovative hub. So now they received that funding for that Lark Street specific location - that's the point of the Regional Economic Development Councils, is to find this local need, the need for local investment, and invest.”
