New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced plans to set aside $200 million for the new Focused Attraction of Shovel-Ready Tracts New York (FAST NY) grant program, which aims to attract and expand key growth industries to New York State. 

The money has been made available through Hochul’s fiscal year 2023 budget. The grants will be disbursed through Empire State Development (ESD), the umbrella organization for New York’s two principal economic development financing entities: The New York State Urban Development Corporation and the New York Job Development Authority. The program will use the funds to prepare land tracts for future construction that will host high-tech manufacturing, particularly semiconductor manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and logistics businesses across the state. 

"The hundreds of millions of dollars invested into the development of shovel-ready sites will help us diversify our economy and jumpstart New York's next great comeback," said Governor Hochul during her announcement of the program on February 28th.

FAST NY grant funding will be used to improve the shovel-readiness of existing, mature sites by enhancing elements such as water infrastructure, sewer infrastructure, roads, electrical substations, and power and gas lines. It will also prepare an emerging pipeline of future shovel-ready sites by addressing necessary pre-development site planning and reviews. 

"Currently, with the federal government poised to invest billions of dollars under initiatives such as the proposed CHIPS Act and the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the time is ripe for New York to invest in a new generation of shovel-ready sites, and FAST NY will help usher in a new era of growth," said ESD Acting Commissioner and President and CEO-designate Hope Knight. 

ESD is currently in the process of developing more detailed FAST NY program guidelines, with the organization aiming to launch applications for the grant program later this year. Applicants are expected to work in close collaboration with municipally appointed economic development organizations such as industrial development agencies and local development corporations.