Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday that Haverstraw and Ossining will each receive $10 million for development projects meant to revitalize their downtowns.

The two villages were winners in the fifth round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). In total, the state committed $200 million “million in funding and investments to help communities boost their post COVID-19 economies by transforming downtowns into vibrant neighborhoods.”

“I know, personally, how transformative a day like this could be,” said the governor, who recalled what happened to her hometown of Buffalo when jobs began to dry up.

She says the money will be used on projects that the communities “believe in the most.”

“This is the ecosystem that's making New York so attractive, investments into the future.”

According to the state, each selected community will “develop a strategic plan through a bottom-up, community-based planning process that articulates a vision for the revitalization of its downtown and identifies a list of signature projects that have the potential to transform the downtown and leverage further private and public investments.”

DRI funds will be awarded for selected projects that have the greatest potential to jump-start revitalization.

Ossining Mayor Rika Levin and Haverstraw Mayor Michael Kohut thanked the governor and said the money would be spent wisely.

Earlier in the day, Hochul was in Mount Vernon to announce that the state is investing $6.2 million to expand community- and hospital-based gun violence intervention programs in New York City and eight other cities across the state that have experienced significant increases in shootings and firearm-related murders over the past year.