Babylon Village facade improvement program entices businesses with matching funds

Babylon Village is looking to give out money.

The village has officially launched its facade improvement program, which will award matching funds for exterior building improvements.

The grants will come out of a $2-per-square-foot “downtown business improvement fee” that the village collects from developers who are creating new retail space in the village, according to Mayor Mary Adams. The fund currently has more than $13,000, said village trustee Jeff Szabo, who is serving in an advisory role to the village's Façade Improvement Board overseeing the program.

Improvements could include things such as power washing, a new coat of paint or new landscaping, Szabo said, but there isn’t a set list of improvements that the board will approve.

“We want people to be creative,” Szabo told Newsday. “We want them to sort of challenge us.”

Money is available to any commercial business in the village, officials said, as long as the business has the property owner’s permission for the work. Applications can be picked up at Village Hall or downloaded online but must be printed out and submitted in person, Szabo said. Applications for the first round of grants will be accepted until Labor Day, he said.

The launch comes three months after a paid facade board was created by the village to oversee the program. The village had done a soft launch of the program last year using an informal volunteer board that resulted in one business receiving funding of $500 toward a new awning and painting.

The new board’s five members — Charles Torres, Peter Buser, Carrie O’Farrell, Tom Vitale and Ken Rogers — will each get paid $1,000 annually. They will reach out to business owners, make site inspections and meet monthly to discuss the applications.

“We want to do whatever we can to help these small businesses because some of these things can get expensive in maintaining your property and the facades, and if we can do something to encourage them and help out with the cause, I think everyone is going to benefit,” said Torres, who is chairman of the board.

Torres told Newsday that in their outreach, board members are not targeting any businesses in particular for sprucing up, but they are “noticing things” as they walk around downtown.

“Sometimes it could just be that awnings need some power washing or a little bit of touch-up paint, or maybe one of the light fixtures is broken and needs replacement, or maybe there’s an opportunity for some landscaping or shrubs that would improve the facade,” Torres said.

The board will review all applications and determine which proposed works are feasible and cost-effective and whether they will make a significant improvement, he said.

“The money that we have as a whole, we want to share that as best we can throughout the community,” he said.

Torres stressed that the grant money is only available for exterior renovations.

“We’re talking about the visibility ... what’s going to show to the public, what’s going to draw more people to shop and live here,” he said.

By Denise M. Bonilla

denise.bonilla@newsday.comdenisebonilla

Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.