119-R - Provision of mass transportation by certain municipal corporations.

§  119-r.  Provision  of  mass  transportation  by  certain  municipal  corporations.   1.  To  assure  the  provision  of  mass  transportation  services  to the public at adequate levels and at reasonable cost, every  city, town, village or county not wholly contained within a city,  shall  have power to adopt local laws to authorize:    a.   The   acquisition,   construction,  reconstruction,  improvement,  equipment, maintenance or operation of one or more  mass  transportation  projects.  Such  municipal corporation shall have power to occupy or use  any of the streets, roads, highways, avenues, parks or public places  of  such  municipal  corporation therefor and to agree upon and contract for  the terms and conditions thereof.    b. The making of a  contract  or  contracts  for  the  acquisition  by  purchase  of  all or any part of the property, plant and equipment of an  existing mass transportation facility actually used and useful  for  the  convenience of the public.    c.  The  making  of  a  contract or contracts with any person, firm or  corporation,  including  a  public   authority,   for   the   equipment,  maintenance  or  operation  of  a  mass  transportation  facility owned,  acquired, constructed, reconstructed or improved by it.    d. The making of a contract or contracts for  a  fair  and  reasonable  consideration  for  mass  transportation  services to be rendered to the  public by a privately-owned or operated  mass  transportation  facility.  Such  power shall include but not be limited to the power to appropriate  funds for payment of such consideration, and to provide that all or part  of such consideration shall be in the form of capital  equipment  to  be  furnished to and used and maintained by such privately-owned or operated  mass transportation facility.    e. The making of unconditional grants of money or property to a public  authority  providing mass transportation services to all or part of such  municipal corporation in  order  to  assist  such  public  authority  in  meeting  its capital or operating expenses, provided such money does not  consist of borrowed funds and such property has not been acquired by the  use of borrowed funds. Such purpose is hereby  declared  to  be  county,  city,  town  or  village  purposes, respectively. The provisions of this  paragraph are intended as enabling legislation only  and  shall  not  be  interpreted   as  implying  that  absent  their  enactment  a  municipal  corporation would lack the power to authorize any such grant;  but  they  shall  not  be  interpreted  as  an  authorization to public authorities  generally to accept such grants. The acceptance of any such grant  by  a  public  authority  shall not operate to make such authority an agency of  the municipal corporation making the grant.    2. The acquisition, construction, reconstruction,  or  improvement  of  any  mass  transportation  capital  project  by  a county, city, town or  village  pursuant  to  this  section  shall  not  be  subject   to   the  jurisdiction of the commissioner of transportation except as provided in  sections    sixty-eight,    sixty-nine,    sixty-nine-a,   sixty-nine-b,  sixty-nine-c, and sixty-nine-d of the transportation corporations law.    3. The powers granted by this section shall be in addition to and  not  in  substitution for any other power to acquire, construct, reconstruct,  improve, equip, maintain or  operate  any  mass  transportation  capital  project.