29 museums from across New York State received a total of $8,564,033 from Round 13 of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative.

Capital Region

Historic Cherry Hill

$ 100,000.00

Historic Cherry Hill (HCH), a cultural attraction and historic site in the South End of Albany, will construct a parking area and update existing paved surfaces to make the site more attractive, accessible, welcoming, and walkable. Updates will improve visitor experiences and accommodate attendance growth.

The Albany Institute of History & Art

$ 51,000.00

The Albany Institute of History & Art will use grantee funds towards the marketing of Two Worlds: The Dutch and Mohican Commemoration Project, the Albany Institute of History & Art’s upcoming commemoration of 400 years of Dutch culture in the region, including the founding of Fort Orange, the first permanent Dutch settlement that developed into the city of Albany.

Museum Association of New York

$ 135,500.00

Museum Association of New York will use tourism funding to produce an interactive website and execute a comprehensive and targeted marketing campaign to attract over 50,000 visitors to 12 museums across NYS, promoting a special Smithsonian Institute exhibition “Voices and Votes: Democracy in America.”

Albany County Historical Association (Ten Broeck Mansion)

$ 119,952.00

The Albany County Historical Association will acquire, plan, and restore critical contributing elements to the Ten Broeck Mansion historic landscape. Acquisition involves the permanent protection of part of the 1764 Ten Broeck Mansion land plot, including a burial lot and orchard, preserving a viewshed of the historic grounds. Planning and archaeological surveys allow the installation of accessible walkways, stabilization, interpretive signage and Phase 1 of the historic orchard restoration.

Underground Railroad History Project of the Capital Region, Inc.

$ 1,107,457.00

The Interpretive Center is a new net zero energy building that includes reuse of salvaged materials, geothermal HVAC, and solar. The Center will incorporate CORE Living Building Challenge Standards whose sustainability goals include energy efficiency, reduced carbon emissions, sustainable materials, and universal access. The building will be a model of carbon-neutral performance in addition to being the go-to place for educational opportunities related to African American history.

Central NY

Discovery Center of Science and Technology (The Museum of Science and Technology, MOST)

$ 300,000.00

Discovery Center of Science and Technology will build out currently unused space to support the MOST's mission. The new space will create more classrooms for the MOST's day camps and programs, STEM Library, and education offices.

Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnett Park

$ 432,000.00

Friends of the Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnett Park will use grant funds to construct a Botanical Garden and replace the existing Sound/Visual System with a state-of-the-art enhanced system. This project will enhance the zoo as a destination and key attraction for visitors to the CNY region of NY.

Finger Lakes

The Strong Museum

$ 131,250.00

The Strong Museum will use the grant funds to support a portion of the costs to market and promote a Canadian focused marketing initiative to significantly increase tourism from the Toronto region to the museum and surrounding Finger Lakes region.

Genesee Country Museum

$ 71,450.00

Genesee Country Museum will use funding to host and promote special events, including unique solar eclipse related events, at this tourism attraction promoting visitation to the Genesee Valley and Finger Lakes region, and increasing spending per visitor

Rochester Museum & Science Center

$ 263,157.00

Rochester Museum & Science Center will use capital grant funds to construct a Treehouse Village in the iconic Red pine forest at the Cumming Nature Center (CNC). The Treehouse Village will be a one-of-a-kind space for educational programming and events and will grow the CNC as a year-round recreational and tourist destination.

George Eastman Museum

$ 500,000.00

The George Eastman Museum, a National Historic Landmark, will address necessary and urgent repairs to the Rock Garden’s Grape Arbor so that it may be safely enjoyed. Significant accessibility improvements will provide a welcoming experience for all visitors and community members. Restoration work will ensure that this key structure in the original Rock Garden design is sustained for future generations.

1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse Museum

$ 481,592.00

The 1816 Farmington Quaker Meetinghouse Museum will restore the nationally significant 1816 Meetinghouse for use as an interpretive center and community gathering place. Highlighting the national importance of movements for equal rights in the Finger Lakes region, the restored Meetinghouse will enhance the quality of life for residents and promote regional economic development through heritage tourism.

Long Island

The Whaling Museum & Education Center at Cold Spring Harbor

$ 150,000.00

The Whaling Museum will use a portion of the funds for the expansion of the new Conservation Pavilion, which will house New York State's first Sperm Whale skeleton; the opening of the historic 1894 Wright House to public visitation; and the renovation of the existing gallery space and gift shop.

Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame

$ 125,000.00

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame will use tourism marketing funding to host and promote a year-long exhibition featuring the life and music of world-renowned music artist Billy Joel with the debut of the "Billy Joel-My Life" exhibit.

Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum

$ 500,000.00

The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum will stabilize and restore its shuttered, deteriorating boathouse, and adapt it for educational and recreational use. The project will preserve an important piece of history for future generations to enjoy. The stabilized boathouse will attract heritage tourism, benefit local businesses, and stimulate economic growth. It will serve as an educational resource, with programs and events that promote maritime history and cultural learning.

Mid-Hudson

Boscobel

$ 250,000.00

Boscobel is a nonprofit museum established sixty years ago and is now an esteemed Historic House Museum containing one of the finest collections of decorative arts from the Federal period. Boscobel Restoration, Inc. has a larger campus-wide capital improvement plan they will be undertaking intending to secure Boscobel as a thriving cultural site and community resource, focused on serving a wider audience through programming that explores nature, design, and history. This phase of the project will increase public access and safety; become a hub for regional visitors; and improve traffic congestion by streamlining vehicles entering and departing the site. To improve climate resiliency and mitigate flooding, Boscobel will convert a significant portion of its site to a native planting meadow in addition to installing a new maintenance barn with photovoltaic panels.

Dia Beacon

$ 1,397,000.00

Dia Art Foundation will use tourism capital funding to support a portion of the costs to develop a landscape design project that will convert the museum’s large south lawn space into a public outdoor area with walkable connections to the Beacon Train Station and the regional trail network.

Storm King Art Center

$ 141,750.00

Storm King Art Center will use the funds to support marketing efforts promoting both the opening of the Capital Project and our 2025 Season, the first full season to make use of the Capital Project

Hudson River Museum

$ 50,000.00

Hudson River Museum will use grant funds to develop and promote solar eclipse related programming to increase visitation to this attraction and to the overall Mid-Hudson region.

Mohawk Valley

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

$ 232,500.00

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will be launching a marketing initiative focused on Japanese baseball, coinciding with Ichiro Suzuki’s first year of being eligible for election into the Hall of Fame. Known simply as Ichiro by baseball fans around the world, his Induction would be a first for a Japanese player.

Greater Oneonta Historical Society

$ 82,500.00

The Greater Oneonta Historical Society (GOHS) is a non-profit organization that works toward a mission of promoting Greater Oneonta’s past by collecting and preserving authentic objects and documents, disseminating knowledge, and providing stimulating educational experiences through dynamic programs and exhibitions. The Historical Society will replace the brickwork on the Oneonta History Center building located in Downtown Oneonta to adequately secure and protect the building’s exterior and structure, and to keep the center open and accessible.

New York City

National September 11 Memorial and Museum

$ 216,925.00

The National September 11 Memorial and Museum will be used to support a portion of the costs to host a commemorative public art installation on the night of September 11, an iconic symbol that both honors those killed and celebrates the unbreakable spirit of New York.

American Museum of the Moving Image

$ 150,000.00

MoMI will present Welcoming the World through Film and Media at MoMI, a year-long marketing campaign to increase regional, national, and international audiences. This marketing will drive visitors to Queens for exhibitions, festivals, film screenings, and promotional events, bringing economic benefits to MoMI and the region.

North Country

The Fort Ticonderoga Association

$ 660,000.00

The Fort Ticonderoga Association will create a marketing plan to promote and market northern New York historic sites, including Fort Ticonderoga, Saratoga, and other New York State Historic Sites as part of the national 250th commemorative period

Historic Saranac Lake

$ 115,000.00

Historic Saranac Lake will perform repairs to the historic slate roof at the Saranac Laboratory Museum in Saranac Lake, New York. The repairs will protect and stabilize this architecturally and historically important building that is a center for downtown revitalization.

Southern Tier

Tanglewood Nature Center

$ 600,000.00

Tanglewood Community Nature Center, Inc. will use the capital tourism grant funds to support a portion of the costs to construct a Canopy Walkway in the heart of the Southern Tier REDC and Finger Lakes Tourism Region, providing residents and tourists with a new perspective of the natural environment, bringing people eye-level with the tree canopy and its many inhabitants.

Western New York

Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House

$ 50,000.00

Frank Lloyd Wright's Martin House will use grant funding to increase marketing efforts to boost off-season visitation to this exceptional historic site and the Western NY region during the off-season months.

Old Fort Niagara Association

$ 50,000.00

Old Fort Niagara Association will be used to support a marketing campaign focused on raising awareness of Old Fort Niagara, a significant historical attraction in Western NY, keeping the Fort top-of-mind for locals and tourists.

The Aquarium of Niagara

$ 100,000.00

The Aquarium of Niagara will use grant funds to amplify the Aquarium of Niagara’s planned marketing efforts to celebrate the opening of Great Lakes 360. This campaign will drive local, regional, and international visitation towards the Aquarium’s largest expansion, connecting guests with wildlife found in the Great Lakes region.

The application for Empire State Development Grant funds remains open, and applications are being reviewed on an on-going basis until funds are exhausted. Applicants with strong, shovel-ready projects that align with the state and region's economic development priorities can apply through the Consolidated Funding Application.

Learn more: https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-announces-more-57-million-awarded-through-round-xiii-regional-economic