Brockport receives $200,000 grant

The Greater Brockport Development Corporation recently received a $200,000 Environmental Protection Fund Grant through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. The money is earmarked for the purchase, remediation and restoration of the historic canal side factory building located at 60 Clinton Street in the Village of Brockport. The building is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The grant was announced by DEC Commissioner Erin Crotty during a ceremony at Braddock Bay Park in the Town of Greece. A $200,000 grant for the Town of Greece and a $40,000 grant for the Village of Albion were also announced at the event. The grant will require matching funds from Brockport before it will be awarded. Economic Development Director Scott Winner said the village's portion will be offset through fundraising and corporate donors.

"I am thankful that Governor George Pataki selected this historic landmark to be rehabilitated for the Brockport Community Musuem. The governor has again demonstrated his commitment and vision for waterfront revitalization, historic preservation and economic development," Mayor Josephine Matela said.

The museum will feature interactive interpretive exhibits, a media room, outdoor patio area and restrooms. Chuck LaDue and his family have owned the Clinton Street property, currently a working garage, for over 50 years. The building was originally constructed in 1850 on the site of Hiel Brockway's brickyard and boatyard that had burned in 1848. Over the decades it was used as a lumberyard, then a canning factory until purchased by LaDue's father in 1948. LaDue expressed his desire for the site to be purchased by the Greater Brockport Development Corporation and used as a canal side museum.