October 1, 2024
Champlain Hudson Power Express, Queens Together Create Restaurant Guide to Support Locally Owned Businesses in Astoria During Project Construction
Initiative puts emphasis on supporting Minority, Women-Owned, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises
Astoria, New York – October 1, 2024 – In an effort to boost and support local businesses in Astoria, the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) today announced it has partnered with Queens Together to create a comprehensive neighborhood restaurant guide to provide to the hundreds of contractors and tradespeople who will be working locally on the project through 2026.
Work is continuing to progress on the segment of the innovative 339-mile transmission line that will connect CHPE to New York City’s power grid, traveling from the Converter Station in the Astoria Con Edison Complex to the Astoria Rainey Substation. This increased activity will bring an influx of construction-related workers to the area who will be frequenting local businesses, restaurants and hotels, driving direct positive economic impacts during project construction and beyond.
“One of CHPE’s core principles is delivering equitable economic development outcomes to communities across New York state, with a particular focus on communities in Queens who will be some to most directly benefit from the clean energy and reduction in harmful pollutants and job opportunities as part of the green economy,” said Transmission Developers Director of Workforce Development Laura Gibson. “This important initiative will make sure that local establishments are directly benefiting from the economic opportunities driven by project construction and that we are supporting our neighbors in Astoria.”
The initiative will place an emphasis on supporting minority, women-owned, and disadvantaged business enterprises, such as Sandro’s Latin Food, Ramos Deli, and 3Greeks Grill.
“Ensuring local businesses can thrive as New York transitions to a green economy has been a top priority for CHPE, and this is something that can be achieved with efforts both big and small,” said Hydro-Québec Senior Director of Stakeholder Relations Pete Rose. “This neighborhood guide will connect the hundreds of workers the project is bringing to Astoria with local businesses, making it easy for them to know all of the amazing options Astoria has to offer and especially benefitting disadvantaged and underrepresented establishments.”
CHPE partnered with Queens Together, a 501c3 restaurant-driven food relief organization that raised funds for local restaurants struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic, on this effort.
“The CHPE Restaurant Guide celebrates and supports the rich diversity of Astoria’s small business community,” said Queens Together Director Jonathan Forgash. “Hats off to CHPE for finding an innovative way to promote economic development. This project means a lot of workers will be visiting the area and on site every day, and thanks to this guide, our local businesses and restaurants will directly benefit.”
CHPE is a 339-mile fully-buried transmission line that will bring clean, renewable hydropower from Québec to Queens. The project broke ground on its Astoria converter site last fall, where direct current electricity will be converted to alternating current electricity and injected into NYC’s energy grid, which will power 1 million homes. This effort to drive business coming from CHPE to support local restaurants will be ongoing as construction work continues toward the project’s expected operation in 2026.
About the Champlain Hudson Power Express
CHPE involves the construction of an underground and underwater transmission line spanning approximately 339 miles between the Canada–U.S. border and New York City.
CHPE will also provide competitively priced hydropower from Québec that is expected to lower climate emissions and local air pollutants, as well as electricity generation costs throughout the state by $17 billion over the first 25 years of operation, all the while providing increased reliability and resiliency for the downstate grid. The project also provides a total of $3.5 billion in economic benefits to New Yorkers and creates approximately 1,400 family-sustaining jobs during construction, with a commitment to use union labor. CHPE will provide an economic boost to 73 municipalities and 59 school districts throughout New York State with an increase in incremental tax revenue of $1.4 billion in funding for local communities over the first 25 years of the project.