Governor Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday that East Williamsburg had won grants totaling $20 million from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and NY Forward.

The grants will be used to strengthen commercial corridors, create and improve public spaces, support workforce development and expand housing opportunities.

The Office of the Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and the Graham Ave and Grand Street Business Improvement District (BID) led the application for the DRI grant. The application included “extensive community outreach, hundreds of survey responses, and detailed feedback from residents, business owners and community organizations like St. Nick’s Alliance, Evergreen Exchange, RiseBoro, Boricua College and Williamsburg Houses,” Reynoso said during a press conference at the Williamsburg Community Center.

Some of the proposals Hochul highlighted during the announcement to improve quality of life in the neighborhood involve upgrading Cooper Park, including a new playground and running track; turning the area around Boricua College into an outdoor plaza, opening STEM innovation centers, and improvements in public housing. 

“For too long, East Williamsburg has watched investment flow to other parts of North Brooklyn while its own needs and opportunities went overlooked, but not anymore,” said Reynoso. He  described the investment as “a resounding victory for the generations of families, workers, small business owners and community organizations that have built East Williamsburg and stood by it through decades of change.”

The Grand Street and Graham Avenue BIDs, established in the 1980s, together represent 395 businesses. In 2025 they hosted more than 20 events, including Restaurant Week, community clean-ups, small business consultations and street festivals. In September, the two BIDs were also awarded a $350,000 Avenue NYC Commercial Revitalization Grant by the New York City Department of Small Business Services.

“Our neighbors in East Williamsburg have been showing up for decades, through the hard times and underinvestment, advocating at local meetings, caring for their blocks and building community,” said Francesca Fernandez Bruce, executive director of the Grand Street BID. “Now it’s our turn to honor that commitment and help our neighbors not just survive, but thrive.”