ESD funding awards are offered as an incentive to undertake a project. Therefore, ESD cannot consider assistance for project activities commenced or committed to (such as ordering machinery and equipment and committing to land purchase) prior to the announcement of funding awards. In addition, investment and expenses incurred prior to submission of a CFA should not be included in project budgets. By selecting no, you are confirming that project activity (or, in the case of a project with multiple stages, activity for the project stage described in this application) will not commence or be committed to prior to the announcement of funding awards.  If your project has extenuating circumstances that present a conflict with this requirement, please contact your ESD Regional Office.

Equity is defined as cash injected into the project by the Applicant or by investors and should be auditable through Applicant financial statements or accounts, if so requested by ESD.  Equity cannot be borrowed money secured by the assets in the project or grants from a government source.

Describe how the proposed project advances the REDC/URI plan for the region, specifically linking the project to the region’s goals, strategies, and targeted industry clusters. A response to this question should directly and specifically link the project to a section or sections of REDC/URI plan for the region.

Applicants will be required to provide the specified ID number upon request by the funding agencies.

If applying in the name of a business please type in the name as it appears on your business papers. If applying as an individual insert your name here.

To look up a zip code, click HERE

Please include details relevant to all programs on this application. Programs on this application are: {{program_list}}

Provide a brief summary of the need for the project in the geographic area proposed, the project's financing needs, including funding gaps and, where applicable, describe the additional short and long term jobs that will be created through the development of the proposed project.

A Full-time Contract Employee a full-time private sector employee (or self-employed person) who is not on the Recipient’s payroll but who works exclusively for the Recipient at the project location for a minimum of 35 hours per week for not less than four consecutive weeks, providing services that would otherwise be provided by a Full-time Permanent Employee. The position held by a Full-time Contract Employee must be a year-round position.

A Full-time Contract Employee is a full-time private sector employee (or self-employed person) who is not on the Recipient’s payroll but who works exclusively for the Recipient at the project location for a minimum of 35 hours per week for not less than four consecutive weeks, providing services that would otherwise be provided by a Full-time Permanent Employee. The position held by a Full-time Contract Employee must be a year-round position.

A Full-time equivalent job equals any combination of two or more part-time jobs that, when combined together, constitute the equivalent of a job of at least 35 hours per week.  NOTE: Your base employment for Excelsior is calculated using the prior 4 quarters from when you are accepted into the program.

 NOTE: A full-time equivalent job equals any combination of two or more part-time jobs that, when combined together, constitute the equivalent of a job of at least 35 hours per week. Please note if any of these positions are contract employees and if so, how many of the total are contract employees.

"At Risk" shall mean a permanent Full-time employee position currently located in New York State that is found by ESD to be at risk of being lost or moved out of state based on compelling information provided by the applicant.

K. Construction Jobs: Estimate the number of construction jobs to be created by the proposed project.

Please reference job definitions at the top of this page.

The base employment for Excelsior is calculated using the prior 4 quarters from when you are accepted into the program.

Information and forms can be found at https://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/357.html 

Block grant projects and revolving loan funds are not eligible to apply for ESD Grant funds. Fully describe the infrastructure investments required including: cost, ownership, timeframe for improvements, and who will maintain the infrastructure improvements.

 If "yes", the project requires consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). 

 If "yes", the project requires consultation with the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). 

Applications to the State, including their accompanying documents, are subject to the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) found in Article 6 of the N.Y. Public Officer Law. FOIL provides that certain records are exempt from disclosure, including those that contain (1) trade secrets, (2) information that, if disclosed, would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of your organization, or (3) critical infrastructure information. Records may be redacted to protect only the portions of documents that fall within a FOIL exemption. An entire document may not be withheld if only a portion of the document is exempt from disclosure. Blanket assertions that information is a trade secret, confidential, or proprietary are insufficient to justify withholding information under FOIL. The identified information will be reviewed and a determination will be made as to whether the information is exempt from disclosure under FOIL.  The State’s determination may be appealed pursuant to POL §89(5)(c). Pursuant to POL §87(2)(b), the State will redact information that “if disclosed would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.”

 Examples:

Q_1234 - The information provided in Line 6 includes the vendor, equipment specifications and a cost structure that will give “John Smith’s Manufacturing Inc.” a competitive disadvantage if our competitors were to find out the specifications of the machines used to manufacture our product.

Q_4321 (Attachment) – Page 3, lines 6, 7, and 8, contains specifics of our manufacturing process that are proprietary and if revealed would put “John Smith’s Manufacturing Inc.” at a competitive disadvantage.

Excelsior Jobs Program: Qualified investments are tangible personal property, including a building or structural component of a building, owned by the applicant that is depreciable per IRC Section 164, has a useful life of 4 years or more, is acquired by purchase as defined in IRC Section 179(d), is located in NYS, and is placed in service on or after the date certified eligible for the Excelsior Jobs Program.

* Eligible investment for ESD Grant Funds; generally not eligible investment for Excelsior Jobs Program.

Municipal Centers are areas of concentrated and mixed land use that serve as centers of various activities (civic, commercial, recreational, and residential, among others).  Specific examples include Central Business Districts; Brownfield Opportunity Areas (BOAs); Downtowns in Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) Areas; Transit-Oriented Development, Environmental Justice Areas and Hardship Areas; in many instances, an entire city, village or hamlet can be considered a municipal center.  This definition can include development “adjacent to municipal centers” and a “future municipal center” – an area planned and zoned to be a municipal center.   

For specific guidance on rail/port, aviation, and other transportation projects please refer to Smart Growth Public Infrastructure Policy Act