Congressman Mike Lawler has locked in $5 million in federal funding to kick‑start redevelopment around the Nanuet train station, a long‑planned transit‑oriented makeover for the hamlet’s core. The money is pitched as the first slice of infrastructure cash to make downtown Nanuet more walkable and ready for denser, mixed‑use projects. Local officials say it will cover unglamorous but crucial repairs and safety upgrades that have been holding bigger private projects at bay.
The appropriation was listed among district projects in a March announcement and a recent social media post, according to a press release via Congressman Mike Lawler. The $5,000,000 appears in the congressional record as Community Project Funding for the Town of Clarkstown under the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the entry is available in the Congressional Record.
Locally, officials say the funds are earmarked for water and sewer upgrades, roadwork, new sidewalks and other pedestrian‑safety measures, as reported by the Rockland County Times. The outlet notes that Lawler rolled out the news in an Instagram video with Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann at his side. Supporters argue that this kind of basic infrastructure work is the necessary first step toward the town’s long‑stated vision of a more walkable Main Street and Prospect Street near the station.
A decade of planning for the station
Clarkstown formally launched work on a Hamlet of Nanuet Transit‑Oriented Development plan in 2017 and later updated zoning rules to encourage TOD‑style projects. The blueprint calls for new signage, streetscape upgrades, public green space and higher‑density housing close to the rail stop, according to the Town of Clarkstown. Those planning documents spell out how infrastructure upgrades like the newly funded work are supposed to slot into a longer redevelopment timeline.
Local leaders respond
In the Instagram clip cited by local outlets, Supervisor George Hoehmann joins Lawler to talk up better access to Nanuet’s downtown, in keeping with the town’s long‑running redevelopment pitch. “Residents across the Hudson Valley want the basics to work: safe streets, reliable water infrastructure, and public services that meet the needs of their communities,” Lawler said in a press release tied to the announcement. Town officials also stress that the federal dollars are only one piece of the puzzle, and that detailed engineering, permitting and private investment will still be needed before any sizable building project can actually break ground.
Why it matters for riders
Local leaders and lawmakers have for years argued that Rockland sends more money into regional transit than it gets back in service, a “value gap” they have pegged in the tens of millions and raised in state budget hearings. That argument resurfaced in a January legislative hearing, recorded in a transcript from the New York State Senate, where legislators pressed for more investment in West‑of‑Hudson connections and better access to stations like Nanuet. For riders and developers alike, seemingly small fixes that reduce flooding or repair crumbling sidewalks can be the difference between a stalled concept and a shovel‑ready project.
The $5 million is structured as targeted Community Project Funding for infrastructure, and Clarkstown will now have to convert that appropriation into design work, permits and, eventually, construction in coordination with state and federal partners. Residents can expect to see the funding appear in upcoming town‑board agendas and engineering reports as those next steps are mapped out. For anyone who wants the official fine print, the appropriation is listed in the Congressional Record.
