ALBANY – We’ve all heard of re-gifting when we give someone a present we received from someone else.  Many of the ballyhooed grants announced by the governor this week as a new economic development initiative were essentially grants that would have been announced individually, but were simply repackaged to add up to the $67 million announced for 61 Mid-Hudson Valley projects as well as millions more in other areas of the state.

There was $400,000 from the state Parks Department to be applied toward the price of building the elevator on the east side of the Hudson River to the Walkway Over the Hudson, $400,000 to develop a new home port and education center for the Sloop Clearwater and $125,000 for Scenic Hudson to develop the West Point Foundry Preserve trail in Cold Spring.

Scenic Hudson President Ned Sullivan said the grants prove economic development and tourism go hand in hand.

“On a statewide basis, it demonstrates that the environment and the economy go together in creating jobs, providing a quality of life that is going to retain the jobs that we have in the Hudson Valley and attract new businesses to create prosperity for the foreseeable future,” he said.

The new money that was granted statewide was to four of 10 regional economic development councils created this year by the governor based on plans they put forth. The Mid-Hudson was not one of those four.