Schumer visits Glens Falls, announces $500k for Fort Ti restoration

GLENS FALLS | During a visit to Glens Falls April 21, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced $2 million in appropriations for projects in Warren, Essex and Washington counties — including $500,000 for restoration of Fort Ticonderoga, and another for $439,000 to renovate the infrastructure of Glens Falls City Hall. The allocations also feature $950,000 to convert the former General Electric Dewatering site into the Canalside Energy Park in Washington County, as well as the $205,000 pledged to develop and support new child care enterprises in the region — already detailed in the April 2 issue of The Sun. All of these federal grants are provisions of the bipartisan federal budget for fiscal year 2022. The project to renovate City Hall includes providing it with a new roof and replacing the gas-fired boiler heating system with a high-efficiency heat pump — considered a consequential upgrade because it would lessen the city's reliance on fossil fuels. He said upgrading Glens Falls City Hall was important because it has continuously been the center of city management and community services since it was built in 1908, and it serves as a prime example of the city's historic architecture. Schumer said the $500,000 allocated to Fort Ticonderoga rehabilitation was to restore the exterior walls of the Fort which had deteriorated over the past two centuries. He said the restoration work was vital to preserve a "significant national historic site," noting that years ago, he and his family had visited the Fort. He described Fort Ticonderoga as a "vital community anchor" of tourism in the region — a key element in the North County's economy. "This preservation funding will ensure that students, families and other visitors from around the world can continue to visit and learn about the site firsthand," he said in a statement following his Glens Falls visit. In announcing the appropriations, Schumer addressed a gathering of a few dozen people in front of Glens Falls City Hall — Behind him was scaffolding in use for the building's repair work. He pledged to work with new Glens Falls Mayor Bill Collins, who took over his position in January from Dan Hall. Schumer praised Hall and prior mayor Jack Diamond as well as former area economic development guru Ed Bartholomew for their work on behalf of area communities. Schumer said he was pleased to participate in steering more than $2 million to the tri-county area. "My job is to help our local communities, our local groups and organizations — and have the federal government be a help, not a hindrance," he said. "We are here to do that."

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Schumer visits Glens Falls, announces $500k for Fort Ti restoration

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