Revitalizing Long Island, one downtown at a time

When Westbury won the region's first Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant in 2016, the state program was entirely untested.

Nine years later, it's clear that DRI, which provides $10 million to at least one Long Island community each year, has broadly told a story of success, allowing plans for new housing, retail and restaurants to take shape in key neighborhoods such as Huntington Station and Hicksville. Calmer streets, communal areas and walkable downtowns are, slowly, becoming a reality. And the accompanying New York Forward program, which has awarded $5 million to other areas like Farmingdale, Long Beach and Lindenhurst for small-scale development, provides an added boost for the Island.

In many winning communities, residents have readily embraced change. In others, the promise o