FY2027 Community Project Funding Submissions

Buffalo Niagara International Airport Baggage Handling Improvements
Account/Program: Airport Improvement Program/Department of Transportation
Project Request: The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is seeking funding to upgrade baggage handling software and equipment at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, located at 4200 Genesee Street, Cheektowaga, New York 14225. As this equipment is nearing the end of its useful life, it is critical that it be updated and operating at a sustainable level. This will further BNIA's standing among its peers as one of the most customer-friendly airports in the country. As the third largest airport in New York, BNIA is one of the premier economic drivers in the region and state, with an annual economic impact of $1.7 billion, $139 million in annual state and local tax contributions, and nearly 14,000 jobs supported.
Funding Request: $2,000,000
Recipient Name: Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
Recipient Address: 181 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203
Project Address: 4200 Genesee Street, Cheektowaga, NY 14225
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Airport Corridor Transit Enhancement Study
Account/Program: Transit Infrastructure Grants/Department of Transportation
Project Request: The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority is seeking funding for the Airport Corridor Transit Enhancement Study, which will explore, develop, and prepare for transportation improvements between Buffalo Niagara International Airport and Buffalo's Central Business District. The corridor is currently served by NFTA Metro's Route 24, which enjoys robust ridership. As one of the few U.S. transportation providers with aviation and public transit under common management, the NFTA is uniquely positioned to create synergies between these two modes to provide travelers with better transportation options and more seamless travel experiences. This study will optimize service delivery along the route through the East Side of Buffalo and the Town of Cheektowaga.
Funding Request: $2,000,000
Recipient Name: Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority
Recipient Address: 181 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Port of Buffalo Safety and Resiliency Project
Account/Program: Port Infrastructure Development Program/Department of Transportation
Project Request: The Erie County Industrial Development Agency, in collaboration with the Port of Buffalo/Gateway Trade Center, is seeking funding to improve the safety and resiliency of the Port by upgrading its stormwater collection and treatment system and implementing security measures identified in the Port's Facility Security Plan. Significant and severe flooding events are overwhelming the Port's existing antiquated stormwater infrastructure, threatening worker health and safety, delaying loading and offloading operations, and contributing to the Port's competitive disadvantage. The Port of Buffalo is a critical component of Western New York's manufacturing and logistics economy, supporting 61,360 workers across 1,581 firms.
Funding Request: $4,842,468
Recipient Name: Erie County Industrial Development Agency
Recipient Address: 95 Perry Street, Suite 403, Buffalo, NY 14203
Project Address: 1951 Hamburg Turnpike, Lackawanna, NY 14218
Notice of Financial Disclosure

SUNY Erie Workforce Satellite: BUL Campus
Account/Program: Community Development Fund – Economic Development Initiatives/Department of Housing and Urban Development
Project Request: This project supports the development of a workforce training satellite campus on Buffalo's East Side, led by SUNY Erie Community College in partnership with the Buffalo Urban League. The initiative will expand SUNY Erie's construction-related training into a community-based setting, increasing access to education and training in the skilled trades. Funds will support the buildout of instructional space, including classrooms and hands-on training environments, within the Buffalo Urban League's facility at 1147 Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14208. The program will prepare participants for in-demand careers in construction management, with pathways to further education, connecting underserved residents to employment opportunities, and addressing regional labor shortages.
Funding Request: $5,000,00
Recipient Name: SUNY Erie Community College
Recipient Address: 121 Ellicott Street, Buffalo, NY 14203
Project Address: 1147 Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14208
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Blighted Structure Demolition and Removal for Infill Housing
Account/Program: Community Development Fund – Economic Development Initiatives/Department of Housing and Urban Development
Project Request: The City of Buffalo will use funding to facilitate the demolition of blighted, vacant, City-owned properties to prepare parcels for affordable infill housing along the Jefferson Avenue and Bailey Avenue corridors, where poverty rates reach 35 percent and there is a high concentration of derelict vacant properties. Specific activities include acquisition and stabilization of tax-foreclosed commercial structures, blight removal through demolition with environmental remediation, and streetscape integration via complete streets infrastructure. By funding the front-end costs of demolition and remediation, this investment will lower barriers for developers to build affordable housing, increase neighborhood density and safety, and create shovel-ready sites for infill housing and community-serving commercial space.
Funding Request: $3,000,000
Recipient Name: City of Buffalo
Recipient Address: 65 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202
Project Address: Jefferson Avenue and Bailey Avenue corridors, Buffalo, NY
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Town of Amherst: Boulevard Community Recreation and Resource Center
Account/Program: Community Development Fund – Economic Development Initiatives/Department of Housing and Urban Development
Project Request: The Town of Amherst will transform a vacant 30,000-square-foot building at 1185 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Amherst, New York 14226 into a vibrant, multi-purpose community facility that expands access to recreation, youth programming, and essential community services. The renovation will create fitness space, a mini-gymnasium, flexible classrooms, dedicated teen rooms, an emergency food pantry, a commercial kitchen, reading rooms, gathering spaces, an indoor playground, and exterior greenspace with sport courts. By repurposing an existing structure rather than constructing a new facility, the project will revitalize an underutilized property in a low-to-moderate income neighborhood while creating a central hub for health, learning, and community connection serving residents across Amherst.
Funding Request: $4,000,000
Recipient Name: Town of Amherst
Recipient Address: 5583 Main Street, Williamsville, NY 14221
Project Address: 1185 Niagara Falls Boulevard, Amherst, NY 14226
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Town of Tonawanda Lincoln Pool House Replacement
Account/Program: Community Development Fund – Economic Development Initiatives/Department of Housing and Urban Development
Project Request: The Town of Tonawanda will replace the existing pool house at Lincoln Pool, located at 1200 Parker Boulevard, Tonawanda, New York 14223, which has deteriorated to a condition where replacement is the most practical and cost-effective solution. A 2025 building condition assessment identified widespread structural, architectural, and mechanical deficiencies, including a failing roof system, deteriorated masonry, and aging building systems that have exceeded their useful life. The project includes demolition of the existing structure and construction of a new facility designed to meet current building codes, ADA standards, and modern operational needs, ensuring safe and accessible public access to a heavily used community recreation facility serving Town of Tonawanda and Village of Kenmore residents.
Funding Request: $1,125,000
Recipient Name: Town of Tonawanda
Recipient Address: 2919 Delaware Avenue, Tonawanda, NY 14217
Project Address: 1200 Parker Boulevard, Tonawanda, NY 14223
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Town of Tonawanda Mang Pool House Rehabilitation
Account/Program: Community Development Fund – Economic Development Initiatives/Department of Housing and Urban Development
Project Request: The Town of Tonawanda will rehabilitate the Mang Pool House complex, located at 255 Mang Avenue, Kenmore, New York 14217, including the Bathhouse and Equipment Building, to address aging infrastructure and improve safety, accessibility, and functionality for public use. A 2025 building condition assessment identified significant deficiencies in the building envelope, structural components, and mechanical systems. The project includes full roof replacement, masonry restoration, ADA-compliant restroom upgrades, plumbing and mechanical improvements, electrical modernization, and pool slide replacement. These improvements will extend the useful life of the facility, ensure code compliance, and maintain safe public access to a heavily used community recreation asset serving Town of Tonawanda and Village of Kenmore residents.
Funding Request: $1,580,000
Recipient Name: Town of Tonawanda
Recipient Address: 2919 Delaware Avenue, Tonawanda, NY 14217
Project Address: 255 Mang Avenue, Kenmore, NY 14217
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Memorial Hall (Milton J. Brounshidle Post No. 205) Improvements
Account/Program: Community Development Fund – Economic Development Initiatives/Department of Housing and Urban Development
Project Request: The Town of Tonawanda will address critical infrastructure deficiencies at Memorial Hall, located at 3354 Delaware Avenue, Kenmore, New York 14217, an important veterans' and community facility. The project includes design and construction of an on-site stormwater collection system connected to the NYSDOT stormwater conveyance system, parking lot re-grading and replacement, roof replacement, and HVAC installation in the main hall. The existing roof has reached the end of its useful life, and roof drains previously disconnected from the sanitary sewer now cause water to collect at the building and near pedestrian walkways. Completing the roof replacement and HVAC installation simultaneously improves construction efficiency and reduces long-term maintenance costs.
Funding Request: $750,000
Recipient Name: Town of Tonawanda
Recipient Address: 2919 Delaware Avenue, Tonawanda, NY 14217
Project Address: 3354 Delaware Avenue, Kenmore, NY 14217
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Jericho Road Community Health Center – Electronic Health Record Implementation
Account/Program: Health Resources and Services Administration/Department of Health and Human Services
Project Request: Jericho Road Community Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving over 25,000 patients annually across six Buffalo clinic sites, is seeking funding to implement an enterprise-grade Electronic Health Record system, replacing a platform that has been in use for over 20 years. Kaleida Health and Erie County Medical Center, the two largest hospital systems in the region and the primary inpatient destinations for Jericho Road's patients, are both completing transitions to Epic by end of 2026. Epic's Care Everywhere tool will give providers real-time access to patient histories, discharge summaries, and medications across care settings, eliminating dangerous fragmentation in care for Erie County's most vulnerable residents.
Funding Request: $1,513,957
Recipient Name: Jericho Road Ministries, Inc.
Recipient Address: 184 Barton Street, Buffalo, NY 14213
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Expediting Access to Lifesaving Blood Cancer Treatments
Account/Program: Health Resources and Services Administration/Department of Health and Human Services
Project Request: The City of Buffalo, in partnership with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, is seeking funding to purchase three sequencing platforms that will run continuously at Roswell Park. Roswell Park has been a global leader in the development of faster PanHeme assay testing for blood cancers, but the equipment needed to reduce blood cancer testing wait times from 3–4 weeks to 72 hours is expensive. With this funding, turnaround time for these tests will drop from 5–6 days to under 3 days from clinical order and sample receipt to clinical reporting. Faster sequencing will allow patients with ALL, AML, MDS, CLL, and lymphoma to start the right therapy sooner, improving response and overall survival. This rapid blood cancer testing will dramatically improve treatment and patient outcomes for adult and pediatric patients across Western New York.
Funding Request: $900,000
Recipient Name: City of Buffalo
Recipient Address: 65 Niagara Square, Buffalo, NY 14202
Project Address: 665 Elm Street, Buffalo, NY 14203
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Erie County Water Authority Lead Service Line Replacement Program
Account/Program: State and Tribal Assistance Grants – Drinking Water State Revolving Fund/Environmental Protection Agency
Project Request: The Erie County Water Authority's lead service line replacement program is intended to improve water quality for residents throughout the service area in conformance with the EPA Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. It is estimated that there are roughly 12,000 lead and galvanized service lines requiring replacement in the ECWA system, many located in disadvantaged communities across Erie County, at a total replacement cost of nearly $150,000,000. Federal funding will directly reduce the burden on ratepayers in disadvantaged communities while advancing compliance with federal drinking water standards. ECWA has previously received $960,000 through the FY2025 Community Project Funding program and $1,600,000 through the FY2026 Congressionally Directed Spending program for this effort.
Funding Request: $5,000,000
Recipient Name: Erie County Water Authority
Recipient Address: 295 Main Street, Room 350, Buffalo, NY 14203
Project Address: Various locations system-wide, Erie County, NY
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Town of Amherst Cryogenic Plant Upgrades
Account/Program: State and Tribal Assistance Grants – Clean Water State Revolving Fund/Environmental Protection Agency
Project Request: The Town of Amherst is seeking funding for the construction and installation of a new cryogenic oxygen separation system at the Amherst Water Pollution Control Facility, located at 455 Tonawanda Creek Road, Amherst, New York 14228. The existing system is over 45 years old and subject to continual failures, forcing the Town to rely on emergency liquid oxygen deliveries to maintain wastewater treatment operations. Continued reliance on this aging system puts the Town at risk of an environmental disaster that would negatively impact Tonawanda Creek and its wildlife. Replacing the system with a modern, energy-efficient unit will protect water quality, eliminate operational failures, reduce energy consumption, and lower long-term operating costs for taxpayers.
Funding Request: $2,000,000
Recipient Name: Town of Amherst
Recipient Address: 5583 Main Street, Williamsville, NY 14221
Project Address: 455 Tonawanda Creek Road, Amherst, NY 14228
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Laboratory Equipment Expansion & Advancement (LEAP) Project
Account/Program: Scientific and Technical Research and Services/National Institute of Standards and Technology
Project Request: D'Youville University seeks funding for its Health Education Laboratory Equipment Expansion & Advancement (LEAP) Project to acquire advanced digital anatomy technologies for its College of Osteopathic Medicine. Funding will support four Anatomage Tables with life-size, ultra-high-definition digital anatomy; immersive virtual reality systems for anatomical and clinical simulation; and high-resolution interactive displays. These calibrated systems enhance instructional accuracy, reduce variability, and provide repeatable learning experiences. The LEAP Project modernizes medical education, strengthens workforce development, and expands high-quality training capacity in Western New York.
Funding Request: $2,000,000
Recipient Name: D'Youville University
Recipient Address: 285 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14201
Notice of Financial Disclosure

University at Buffalo (UB) Center for Excellence in Semiconductor Technology for NYS
Account/Program: Scientific and Technical Research and Services/National Institute of Standards and Technology
Project Request: This project will acquire and install state-of-the-art direct write laser lithography and advanced semiconductor testing tools at UB's Center for Advanced Semiconductor Technology (CAST) to strengthen the U.S. semiconductor workforce, particularly in Western New York. The new tools will provide on-site and remote access to students, faculty, researchers, and entrepreneurs across regional institutions, while enhancing capabilities for high-throughput fabrication and testing of quantum chips. This investment supports workforce development for the growing AI and quantum chips industry and ensures continued U.S. leadership in critical semiconductor technologies.
Funding Request: $1,750,000
Recipient Name: The Research Foundation for the State University of New York
Recipient Address: 520 Lee Entrance, Suite 211, Amherst, NY 14228
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Town of Amherst Critical Responder Radio Acquisition Project
Account/Program: Technology and Equipment/Community Oriented Policing Services
Project Request: This project will secure essential portable and mobile subscriber radio units for Town of Amherst first responders, completing a comprehensive regional communications modernization effort. This acquisition interfaces with newly upgraded back-end dispatch infrastructure to create a unified, seamless emergency response network. Deploying these subscriber units guarantees compliance with the Town's strict 3.0 Delivered Audio Quality (DAQ) mandate, eliminating dangerous communication dead zones. By integrating with the broader Western New York interoperability framework, this project ensures Amherst first responders can communicate instantaneously with neighboring jurisdictions and mutual aid partners during critical incidents and multi-agency emergencies.
Funding Request: $2,500,000
Recipient Name: Town of Amherst
Recipient Address: 5583 Main Street, Williamsville, NY 14221
Notice of Financial Disclosure

University at Buffalo AI-Enabled Drug Discovery Infrastructure for Cancer and Addiction
Account/Program: Scientific and Technical Research and Services/National Institute of Standards and Technology
Project Request: This project will deploy advanced AI pipelines within the CANDO multiscale therapeutic discovery platform as shared national AI-enabled therapeutic discovery and translation infrastructure targeting non-small cell lung cancer and opioid use disorder. By integrating advanced AI methods with high-performance computing, the project will dramatically reduce the time and cost required for drug discovery. The infrastructure will be accessible to collaborators across the nation, enabling scalable, reproducible research. This federal investment will strengthen New York's leadership in biomedical innovation while supporting workforce development, academic-industry partnerships, and regional economic growth in Western New York.
Funding Request: $2,500,000
Recipient Name: The Research Foundation for the State University of New York
Recipient Address: 520 Lee Entrance, Suite 211, Amherst, NY 14228
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Health Professions AI Technology Training
Account/Program: Scientific and Technical Research and Services/National Institute of Standards and Technology
Project Request: Daemen University is seeking funding to establish a Health Sciences and Health Professions AI Technology Training Program, featuring research and development into the infusion of AI into health sciences curricula and long-overdue upgrades to primary health sciences laboratories. Daemen will work with health professions faculty, AI experts, and NIST to develop a national standard for AI in health professions education, creating a pathway for best practices among health professions institutions nationwide. This investment modernizes health professions training, strengthens workforce development, and advances U.S. competitiveness in AI-enabled healthcare.
Funding Request: $1,996,395
Recipient Name: Daemen University
Recipient Address: 4380 Main Street, Amherst, NY 14226
Notice of Financial Disclosure

Niagara County Sheriff's Office Forensic Laboratory DNA Expansion Project
Account/Program: Technology and Equipment/Community-Oriented Policing Services
Project Request: The Niagara County Sheriff's Office Forensic Laboratory is seeking funding to purchase the instruments and equipment necessary to bring DNA analysis capabilities in-house. The Laboratory currently services over twenty federal, state, and local police agencies across Niagara and surrounding counties. DNA analysis is currently conducted through a cooperative agreement with the Erie County Central Police Services Forensic Laboratory. Bringing this capability in-house will strengthen public safety, improve investigative turnaround times, reduce long-term costs associated with outsourcing, and enhance accuracy and accountability in the criminal justice system. The Laboratory already has two trained DNA analysts on staff ready to perform this work.
Funding Request: $2,000,000
Recipient Name: Niagara County Sheriff's Office Forensic Laboratory
Recipient Address: 5526 Niagara Street Ext., Lockport, NY 14094
Notice of Financial Disclosure