Empire Center Digs Through Albany's Pork Barrel - Empire Center for Public Policy

Albany steered over $226 million in grant awards to 581 local projects between June 2024 and April 2025 through the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), according to data the Empire Center recently received under a Freedom of Information Law request.

The governor and state legislators hand-picked the grantees for more than $110 million, under a program that allows them to direct DASNY dollars to state and local projects. Authority for the grants comes from the State and Municipal Facilities Program (SAM), a slush fund created in 2013 that lets state lawmakers and the governor name the recipients.

Another $50.5 million went to child care providers under a program announced by Governor Hochul last fall.

The largest grant was a $7.7 million award to a Village of Baxter Estates coastal erosion and flooding mitigation project, including elevated overlook walkways, upper shoreline landscaping, benches, and energy efficient lighting. The second largest grant was $5 million to The Humane Society of Rochester and Monroe County for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Inc. for improvements to its Lollypop Farm Facility animal shelter and adoption center.

Other SAM-funded projects include:

$2,500,000 for beach restoration at Montauk and $500,000 to renovate the water infrastructure system at the Hamptons’ exclusive Georgica Pond;
$2,000,000 to construct a spray park in Tonawanda in Western New York;
$750,000 to for the creation of a splash pad for Middletown in Orange County;
$500,000 to create a cafeteria and wellness lounge for a school in Dobbs Ferry in Westchester County;
$125,000 to purchase a street sweeper for Kings Point, aka Jay Gatsby’s West Egg, on Long Island; and
$125,000 to purchase a UTV and related equipment for Bedford Hills Fire District in Westchester County.

More than $62 million was channeled to local entities state-wide, including $18.3 million to 37 villages; $15 million to 61 towns; $8.4 million to 29 New York City public schools; $6.2 million to 15 cities outside the Big Apple; $2.3 million to 14 counties; $4.3 million to 19 elementary/secondary schools outside New York City; $6.3 million to colleges and universities and $1.4 million to public libraries.

The grants are not awarded on a competitive or transparent basis, and most get disbursed outside the normal budget process, meaning state lawmakers never vote on the individual recipients.

“These are projects that local taxpayers could be funding, but instead they get charged to the state outside public view,” said Empire Center president & CEO Zilvinas Silenas. “Even if these projects warranted support from state taxpayers, they should be funded in the state budget, not through Albany’s secret credit card.”

The funds are being dished out through ten separate programs using borrowed funds, meaning state taxpayers will pay not only the cost, but also the interest on DASNY-issued bonds.

The Empire Center, based in Albany, is an independent, not-for-profit, non-partisan think tank dedicated to promoting policies that can make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family.