U.S. Department of Agriculture
Office of Communications
Washington, D.C. 20250-1350
(202) 720-4623

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development
Office of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C. 20410
(202) 708-0685


News Release

                                                Release No. 0334 .98
                                                 http://www.usda.gov

GLICKMAN AND CUOMO ANNOUNCE $172 MILLION IN USDA AND HUD AID TO REVITALIZE CANAL
CORRIDOR AND OTHER NEW YORK COMMUNITIES 

     LOCKPORT, NEW YORK, August 13, 1998 - Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman and
Housing and Urban Development's Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced their
Departments will provide $172 million in assistance to small communities along New
York's Canal Corridor and elsewhere upstate to spark economic growth, job creation,
increased tourism, housing construction and infrastructure improvements.

     Appearing at news conferences in Lockport and Oswego, the Cabinet Secretaries
said HUD will provide $90 million and USDA is providing $82 million this year in
assistance to projects along the 524-mile Canal Corridor and elsewhere upstate. 

     The funding comes on top of $131 million in HUD assistance announced by Cuomo
in August of last year to Canal Corridor communities. USDA has already provided $57
million to Canal Corridor communities this year, and released the remaining $25
million today to bring its total assistance to Canal Corridor communities to $82
million this year.

     "These funds will help raise the quality of life in upstate New York, create
jobs and transform the Canal Corridor into a vibrant center of commerce," Glickman
said.  "This major allocation of federal resources underscores the Clinton
Administration's commitment to a new tide of prosperity along the Canal Corridor. 
Our goal is to create economically healthy communities along the Canal with an
environment that will attract business and tourism, create jobs and generate
economic activity that benefits the entire region."

     HUD's $90 million in grants is expected to create and preserve about 2,000
jobs and spark additional investment of more than $88 million in communities and
businesses receiving the HUD assistance.

     "The Canal Corridor Initiative is transforming New York by bringing new life
to the Erie Canal and its connecting waterways," Cuomo said. "We've built a
successful partnership between local communities, businesses and the federal
government that is creating thousands of new jobs and will turn the Canal into a
world-class tourist destination. Because of our efforts, the Canal that brought
prosperity to New York in the 19th century will bring a new prosperity in the 21st
century."

     In a related development, Congressman John LaFalce said he has introduced
legislation to establish the New York Canal National Heritage Corridor as an
affiliated unit of the National Park System. The designation would allow the
National Park Service to provide assistance to increase tourism in the Canal region
without infringing on the autonomy of local governments and private property owners.
HUD is working closely with Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Alfonse D'Amato,
along with Congressmen LaFalce and James Walsh and other members of New York's
Congressional delegation, on related legislative efforts to establish a Heritage
Corridor. 

     At their Lockport and Oswego news conferences, Glickman and Cuomo announced
assistance to the following New York counties: (See attachment for details). 

FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

COUNTY              HUD            USDA           TOTAL
Allegany            $1.9 million   None            $1.9 million
Cattaraugus         $4 million     None            $4 million
Cayuga              $771,700       $503,650        $1.3 million
Chautauqua          $600,000       None            $600,000
Monroe              $391,700       $1,758,450      $2.1 million
Niagara             $2.1 million   $1.2 million    $3.3 million
Ontario/Seneca      $4.2 million   $4.6 million    $8.8 million 
Orleans             $4,669,400     $5,437,185      $10.1 million
Steuben             $1.3 million   None            $1.3 million
Tompkins            $400,000       None            $400,000
Wayne               $2.8 million   $3.5 million    $6.3 million            
       

SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT
  
COUNTY                   HUD            USDA                    TOTAL
Clinton                 $2.1 million    None              $2.1 million
Cortland                $1.2 million    None              $1.2 million
Essex                   $3,181,806      $1.5 million      $4.7 million
Franklin                $1.6 million    None              $1.6 million
Fulton                  $2,917,800      $401,510          $3.3 million
Jefferson               $788,707        $9 million        $9.8 million
Oswego                  $7.9 million    $1.8 million      $9.7 million
St. Lawrence            $4,370,000      $3.4 million      $7.8 million
Tioga                   $1.8 million    None              $1.8 million


     Glickman and Cuomo signed an agreement at a Canal Corridor Conference in
Johnstown, NY last December agreeing to work together to aid communities along the
Canal Corridor, as part of the Canal Corridor Initiative.  The initiative was begun
by Cuomo when he served as an Assistant Secretary at HUD, with strong support from
Senators Moynihan and D'Amato. 
                                        
     Cuomo planned news conferences in Rome and Green Island on Friday to list
specific HUD and USDA assistance to additional communities in the Mohawk Valley and
Eastern New York,  as part of the total $172 million assistance package for New York
communities.  

     HUD's assistance is part of the Department's Small Cities Program, which
assists communities with populations of less than 50,000.  Many of the these small
communities are along the Canal Corridor, and more than 4 million people live in
surrounding counties. 

     The Canal Corridor Initiative is designed to put federal resources to work as
part of a long-term and coordinated commitment to upstate New York. The locally
driven initiative seeks to turn the Erie Canal and connecting waterways that make up
the Canal Corridor into a major tourism destination that will spark economic
development across upstate. The Initiative complements the New York State Canal
Revitalization Program, both in its details and overall goals.  It is based on a
careful review of existing state and local plans for the region, including the
landmark New York State Recreationway Plan, completed in 1995.  As a result, it
provides a template for close cooperation between federal, state and local
governments in revitalizing the Canal Corridor.



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