The historic Broadway Theatre in Monticello as it looked approximately three decades ago
Monticello, NY – Sullivan County is set to receive over $800,000 for two major restoration projects, thanks to State funding just announced through the CFA (Consolidated Funding Application) program.
“I look forward to partnering with the Town of Fallsburg and the Village of Monticello on initiatives that promise to greatly enhance their respective communities,” Sullivan County Planning Commissioner Freda Eisenberg related. “I’m already grateful for their collaboration with our hardworking Planning team to ensure we won State backing for these transformative efforts.”
A combination of $750,000 in funding awarded to the Town of Fallsburg from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic preservation will be leveraged with funds from other State, Federal, local and private sources to construct a bridge over the Neversink River. The “Neversink Crossing” project will connect two existing sections of Sullivan O&W Rail Trail to create a 13-mile route between Mountaindale and Ferndale.
The Town is partnering with the County on this segment of what will one day be a 50+/-mile rail trail spanning nearly the entire width of Sullivan County from Mamakating to Rockland. Currently, Fallsburg is working on a piece of this project that will connect the Neversink crossing to downtown South Fallsburg, where the trail picks up the existing segment into Hurleyville.
Separately, $54,690 from the State will go to the Sullivan County Land Bank Corporation to develop a feasibility study and operating plan to redevelop the Broadway Theater in the Village of Monticello. This landmark downtown theater has been an eyesore for over two decades. The project will pave the way to identify a developer and operator to renovate the theater into a community asset and contributing business for residents and visitors to enjoy.
“This is an exciting win that will literally get us ‘across the river’ and closer to the finish line,” noted Legislator Ira Steingart, whose District 8 encompasses both the rail trail and theater properties. “My thanks to our Planning Division, the Town of Fallsburg, the Village of Monticello, Sullivan Renaissance, Granite Associates, Congressman Antonio Delgado, former NYS Senator Jen Metzger, current NYS Senator Mike Martucci and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther for their support.”
“I have long envisioned a bikeway over the Neversink River to connect the O&W Rail Trail from Mountaindale to Hurleyville,” said District 9 Legislator Alan Sorensen, long a champion of local trails. “This project will help to transform the segments of the O&W Rail Trail into a cohesive trail system that will become a regional recreational destination.”