UDA - Urban Development Corporation Act 174/68
Chapter 174 of the laws of 1968 Section 1. Short title. 2. Statement of legislative findings and purposes. 3. Definitions. 4. New York state urban development corporation. 5. Powers of the corporation. 6. Sale or lease of land use improvement projects. *6-a. Sale or lease of infrastructure projects. * NB Not implemented due to defeat of the Jobs for the new, New York bond act in November, 1992 7. Sale or lease of residential projects. 8. Sale or lease of industrial projects. 9. Sale or lease of civic projects. 9-a. Financial assistance for small and medium-sized business assistance projects. 9-b. 9-c. Rules and regulations. 9-d. Reports and evaluation. 9-e. Creating a Puerto Rican and Latino business development center. 9-f. Special assistance for small and medium-sized businesses which are adversely affected by the absence of eligible reservists ordered to active duty with the armed forces. 10. Findings of the corporation. 11. Construction contracts. 12. Subsidiaries: how created. 13. Acquisition of real property. 13-a. Conveyance of state lands. 14. Acquisition of real property from a municipality or an urban renewal agency. 15. Special provisions relating to residential projects. 16. Cooperation with municipalities. 16-a. Regional revolving loan trust fund. 16-b. Job retention and defense industry working capital loan program. 16-c. Minority- and women-owned business development and lending program. 16-d. Urban and community development program. 16-e. Regional economic development partnership program. 16-f. Bonding guarantee assistance program. 16-g. Child care facilities construction program. 16-h. The JOBS Now program is hereby created. 16-i. The empire state economic development fund. 16-j. Strategic training alliance program. 16-k. Capital access program. 16-l. Rural revitalization program. 16-m. The empire state economic development fund. 16-n. Restore New York's Communities Initiative. 16-n*2. Collection of payments in lieu of taxes pursuant to leases with respect to parcels within the Brooklyn bridge park civic project. 16-o. The community development financial institutions program. 16-p. The investment opportunity fund. 16-q. The upstate regional blueprint fund. 16-r. The downstate revitalization fund.
16-s. The upstate agricultural economic development fund and healthy food / healthy communities initiative. 16-t. Small business revolving loan fund. 17. Bonds and notes of the corporation. 18. Bond authorization. 19. Security for bonds or notes; construction and acquisition of projects. 20. Reserve funds and appropriations. 21. Trust funds. 22. Exemption from taxation. 23. Notes and bonds as legal investments. 24. Agreement with the state. 25. State's right to require redemption of bonds. 26. State payments to municipalities and political subdivisions. 27. Remedies of noteholders and bondholders. 28. Monies of the corporation. 29. Assistance by state officers, departments, boards and commissions. 30. Reports and evaluations. 30-a. (Enacted without section heading). 31. Court proceedings; preferences; venue. 31-a. Actions against corporation. 32. Special provisions relating to directors of the corporation and members of the business advisory council for urban development. 33. Inconsistent provisions of other laws superseded. 34. Construction. 35. Separability. 36. Limitation on new projects 37. Assistance; application and evaluation, generally. 38. Small business and minority-owned and women-owned business enterprises transportation capital assistance and guaranteed loan program. 39. Lease and operation of seventh regiment armory. 41. International computer chip research and development center. 42. New York state modernization projects. 43. 2008 Economic development initiatives. § 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "New York state urban development corporation act". § 2. Statement of legislative findings and purposes. It is hereby found and declared that there exists in urban areas of this state a condition of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment which causes hardship to many individuals and families, wastes vital human resources, increases the public assistance burdens of the state and municipalities, impairs the security of family life, contributes to the growth of crime and delinquency, prevents many of our youth from finishing their educations, impedes the economic and physical development of municipalities and adversely affects the welfare and prosperity of all the people of the state. Many existing industrial, manufacturing and commercial facilities in such urban areas are obsolete and inefficient, dilapidated, and without adequate mass transportation facilities and public services. Many of such facilities are underutilized or in the process of being vacated, creating additional unemployment. Technological advances and the provision of modern, efficient facilities in other states will speed the obsolescence and abandonment of existing facilities causing serious injury to the economy
of the state. Many existing and planned industrial, manufacturing and commercial facilities are, moreover, far from or not easily accessible to the places of residence of substantial numbers of unemployed persons. As a result, problems of chronic unemployment are not being alleviated but are aggravated. New industrial, manufacturing and commercial facilities are required to attract and house new industries and thereby to reduce the hazards of unemployment. The unaided efforts of private enterprise have not met and cannot meet the needs of providing such facilities due to problems encountered in assembling suitable building sites, lack of adequate public services, the unavailability of private capital for development in such urban areas, and the inability of private enterprise alone to plan, finance and coordinate industrial and commercial development with residential developments for persons and families of low income and with public services and mass transportation facilities. It is further found and declared that there exist in many municipalities within this state residential, nonresidential, commercial, industrial or vacant areas, and combinations thereof, which are slum or blighted, or which are becoming slum or blighted areas because of substandard, insanitary, deteriorated or deteriorating conditions, including obsolete and dilapidated buildings and structures, defective construction, outmoded design, lack of proper sanitary facilities or adequate fire or safety protection, excessive land coverage, insufficient light and ventilation, excessive population density, illegal uses and conversions, inadequate maintenance, buildings abandoned or not utilized in whole or substantial part, obsolete systems of utilities, poorly or improperly designed street patterns and intersections, inadequate access to areas, traffic congestion hazardous to the public safety, lack of suitable off-street parking, inadequate loading and unloading facilities, impractical street widths, sizes and shapes, blocks and lots of irregular form, shape or insufficient size, width or depth, unsuitable topography, subsoil or other physical conditions, all of which hamper or impede proper and economic development of such areas and which impair or arrest the sound growth of the area, community or municipality, and the state as a whole. It is further found and declared that there is a serious need throughout the state for adequate educational, recreational, cultural and other community facilities, the lack of which threatens and adversely affects the health, safety, morals and welfare of the people of the state. It is further found and declared that there continues to exist throughout the state a seriously inadequate supply of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons and families of low income. This condition is contrary to the public interest and threatens the health, safety, welfare, comfort and security of the people of the state. The ordinary operations of private enterprise cannot provide an adequate supply of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations at rentals which persons and families of low income can afford. It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to promote a vigorous and growing economy, to prevent economic stagnation and to encourage the creation of new job opportunities in order to protect against the hazards of unemployment, reduce the level of public assistance to now indigent individuals and families, increase revenues to the state and to its municipalities and to achieve stable and diversified local economies. In furtherance of these goals, it is the policy of the state to retain existing industries and to attract new industries through the acquisition, construction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of industrial and manufacturing plants and commercial
facilities, and to develop sites for new industrial and commercial building. It is further declared to be the policy of the state to promote the development of such plants and facilities, reasonably accessible to residential facilities, in those areas where substantial unemployment or underemployment exists, to the end that the industrial and commercial development of our urban areas will proceed in sound fashion and in coordination with development of housing, mass transportation and public services, and that job opportunities will be available in those areas where people lack jobs. It is further declared to be the policy of the state to promote the safety, health, morals and welfare of the people of the state and to promote the sound growth and development of our municipalities through the correction of such substandard, insanitary, blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating conditions, factors and characteristics by the clearance, replanning, reconstruction, redevelopment, rehabilitation, restoration or conservation of such areas, and of areas reasonably accessible thereto the undertaking of public and private improvement programs related thereto, including the provision of educational, recreational and cultural facilities, and the encouragement of participation in these programs by private enterprise. It is further declared to be the policy of the state to promote the safety, health, morals and welfare of the people of the state through the provision of adequate, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations and facilities incidental or appurtenant thereto for persons and families of low income. For these purposes, there should be created a corporate governmental agency to be known as the "New York state urban development corporation" which, through issuance of bonds and notes to the private, investing public, by encouraging maximum participation by the private sector of the economy, including the sale or lease of the corporation's interest in projects at the earliest time deemed feasible, and through participation in programs undertaken by the state, its agencies and subdivisions, and by municipalities and the federal government, may provide or obtain the capital resources necessary to acquire, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate or improve such industrial, manufacturing, commercial, educational, recreational and cultural facilities, and housing accommodations for persons and families of low income, and facilities incidental or appurtenant thereto, and to carry out the clearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation of such substandard and insanitary areas. It is further declared to be the policy of New York state to encourage the development of research and development facilities and high technology industrial incubator space at institutions of higher education located in this state and authorized to confer degrees by law or by the board of regents, or on lands in reasonable proximity to such institutions provided that (i) in the case of research and development facilities such facilities are for the cooperative use of one or more such institutions and one or more business corporations, research consortia or other industrial organizations involved in research, development, demonstration, or other technologically oriented industrial activities; and (ii) in the case of high technology industrial incubator space, such space shall be for rental to business concerns which are in their formative stages and which are involved in high technology activities, including but not limited to business concerns initiated by students, employees of such institution, including faculty members and other persons or firms academically associated with such institution. It is hereby declared that the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of such industrial,
manufacturing and commercial facilities, and of such cultural, educational and recreational facilities including but not limited to facilities identified as projects and called for to implement a state designated heritage area management plan as provided in title G of the parks, recreation and historic preservation law; the clearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation of such substandard and insanitary areas; and the provision of adequate, safe and sanitary housing accommodations for persons and families of low income and such facilities as may be incidental or appurtenant thereto are public uses and public purposes for which public money may be loaned and private property may be acquired and tax exemption granted, and that the powers and duties of the New York state urban development corporation as hereinafter prescribed are necessary and proper for the purpose of achieving the ends here recited. § 3. Definitions. As used in this act, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless the context shall indicate another or different meaning or intent: (1) "Bonds" and "notes". The bonds and notes respectively issued by the corporation pursuant to this act. (2) "Comptroller". The comptroller of the state. (3) "Corporation". The corporate governmental agency created by section four of this act. (4) "Housing Company". A company organized pursuant to the provisions of either article two, four, five or eleven of the private housing finance law. (5) "Local Development Corporation". A corporation incorporated or reincorporated pursuant to the provisions of article fourteen of the not-for-profit corporation law. (6) PROJECT: A specific work or improvement including lands, buildings, improvements, real and personal properties or any interest therein, acquired, owned, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated or improved by the corporation or any subsidiary thereof, whether or not still owned or financed by the corporation or any subsidiary thereof, including a residential project, an industrial project, a land use improvement project, a civic project, an industrial effectiveness project, a small and medium-sized business assistance project, a fruit growing, fruit processing, or winery business project, or an economic development project, all as defined herein, or any combination thereof, which combination shall hereinafter be called and known as a "multi-purpose project". The term "project" as used herein shall include projects, or any portion of a project. (a) "Residential project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of providing housing accommodations for persons or families of low income and such facilities as may be incidental or appurtenant thereto. (b) "Industrial project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of providing facilities for manufacturing, warehousing, research, business or other industrial or commercial purposes, including but not limited to machinery and equipment deemed necessary for the operation thereof (excluding raw material, work in process or stock in trade). (c) "Land Use Improvement project". A plan or undertaking for the clearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation or a combination of these and other methods, of a substandard and insanitary area, and for recreational or other facilities incidental or appurtenant thereto, pursuant to and in accordance with article eighteen of the constitution and this act. The terms "clearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation" shall include renewal, redevelopment,
conservation, restoration or improvement or any combination thereof as well as the testing and reporting of methods and techniques for the arrest, prevention and elimination of slums and blight. (d) "Civic project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of providing facilities for educational, cultural, recreational, community, municipal, public service or other civic purposes. (e) "Industrial effectiveness project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of (i) improving the productivity and competitiveness of an industrial firm or group of industrial firms through such means as, but not limited to, the redesign of production facilities, the introduction of new production processes and management systems, the expansion or diversification of product lines, the development of new markets, and labor and management cooperative efforts to enhance productivity; (ii) implementing a corporate restructuring or turnaround plan for an industrial firm; (iii) effecting the transfer of the ownership and control of a viable industrial firm to its employees, managers or other investors resident in the state; or (iv) enhancing the opportunity for an industrial firm to create or retain jobs, thereby promoting fuller employment and economic development in the state. (f) "Small and medium-sized business assistance project". A project designed and intended for the purpose of providing assistance to industrial firms that employ five hundred or fewer employees within the state on a full-time basis. (g) Economic development project. The acquisition, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, or improvement of a project financed pursuant to the empire state economic development fund which will achieve the purposes of facilitating the creation or retention of jobs or increasing business activity within a municipality or region of the state. (h) "fruit growing, fruit processing, or winery business project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of establishing, maintaining, or expanding fruit growing acreage or operations, or for providing facilities for the production, manufacture, processing, warehousing, research, or distribution and sale of fresh fruits or the processing of such fruits into juices, wines, or other food products. As specified in paragraph (b-1) of subdivision 6 of section 16-l of this act, such project costs may include, but not be limited to, the cost of buildings, machinery, equipment, New York raw fruits, New York unprocessed or partially processed fruits, root stock, other personal property, materials, working capital, or stock in trade required to establish such project. * (6) "Project". A specific work or improvement including lands, buildings, improvements, real and personal properties or any interest therein, acquired, owned, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated or improved by the corporation or any subsidiary thereof, whether or not still owned or financed by the corporation or any subsidiary thereof, including a residential project, an industrial project, a land use improvement project, a civic project, an industrial effectiveness project, a small and medium-sized business assistance project, or an infrastructure project, all as defined herein, or any combination thereof, which combination shall hereinafter be called and known as a "multi-purpose project". The term "project" as used herein shall include projects, or any portion of a project. (a) "Residential project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of providing
housing accommodations for persons or families of low income and such facilities as may be incidental or appurtenant thereto. (b) "Industrial project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of providing facilities for manufacturing, warehousing, research, business or other industrial or commercial purposes, including but not limited to machinery and equipment deemed necessary for the operation thereof (excluding raw material, work in process or stock in trade). (c) "Land Use Improvement project". A plan or undertaking for the clearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation or a combination of these and other methods, of a substandard and insanitary area, and for recreational or other facilities incidental or appurtenant thereto, pursuant to and in accordance with article eighteen of the constitution and this act. The terms "clearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation" shall include renewal, redevelopment, conservation, restoration or improvement or any combination thereof as well as the testing and reporting of methods and techniques for the arrest, prevention and elimination of slums and blight. (d) "Civic project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of providing facilities for educational, cultural, recreational, community, municipal, public service or other civic purposes. (e) "Industrial effectiveness project". A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of (i) improving the productivity and competitiveness of an industrial firm or a group of industrial firms through such means as, but not limited to, the redesign of production facilities, the introduction of new production processes and management systems, the expansion or diversification of product lines, the development of new markets, and labor and management cooperative efforts to enhance productivity; (ii) implementing a corporate restructuring or turnaround plan for an industrial firm; (iii) effecting the transfer of the ownership and control of a viable industrial firm to its employees, managers or other investors resident in the state; or (iv) enhancing the opportunity for an industrial firm to create or retain jobs, thereby promoting fuller employment and economic development in the state. (f) "Small and medium-sized business assistance project". A project designed and intended for the purpose of providing assistance to industrial firms that employ five hundred or fewer employees within the state on a full-time basis. (g) "Infrastructure project". Capital improvements to publicly-owned real property under the jobs for the new, New York bond act pursuant to article fifteen of the economic development law involving site clearance or preparation or the demolition, construction or reconstruction of basic utilities, systems or facilities, which, while not used directly for the production of goods or services, are required as the foundation for or to promote, stimulate or support economic activity resulting in the retention or creation of permanent private-sector jobs. * NB Not implemented due to defeat of the Jobs for the new, New York bond act in November, 1992 (7) "Project cost". The sum total of all costs incurred by the corporation in carrying out all works and undertakings which the corporation deems reasonable and necessary for the development of a project. These shall include but are not necessarily limited to the costs of all necessary studies, surveys, plans and specifications, architectural, engineering or other special services, acquisition of land and any buildings thereon, site preparation and development, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement and the
acquisition of such machinery and equipment as may be deemed necessary in connection therewith (other than raw materials, work in process or stock in trade); the necessary expenses incurred in connection with the initial occupancy of the project; an allocable portion of the administrative and operating expenses of the corporation; the cost of financing the project, including interest on bonds and notes issued by the corporation to finance the project from the date thereof to the date when the corporation shall determine that the project be deemed substantially occupied; and the cost of such other items, including any indemnity and surety bonds and premiums on insurance, legal fees, fees and expenses of trustees, depositories and paying agents for the bonds and notes issued by the corporation; and relocation costs, all as the corporation shall deem necessary. (8) "Real property". Lands, structures, franchises and interests in land, including lands under water and riparian rights, space rights and air rights and any and all other things and rights usually included within said term. Real property shall also mean and include any and all interests in such property less than full title, such as easements, incorporeal hereditaments and every estate, interest or right, legal or equitable, including terms for years and liens thereon by way of judgments, mortgages or otherwise, and also all claims for damages for such real estate. (9) "State". The state of New York. (10) "State agency". Any officer, department, board, commission, bureau, division, public corporation, agency or instrumentality of the state. (11) "Subsidiary". A corporation created in accordance with section twelve of this act. (12) "Substandard or insanitary area". The term "substandard or insanitary area" shall mean and be interchangeable with a slum, blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating area, or an area which has a blighting influence on the surrounding area, whether residential, non-residential, commercial, industrial, vacant or land in highways, waterways, railway and subway tracks and yards, bridge and tunnel approaches and entrances, or other similar facilities, over which air rights and easements or other rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air rights, to be developed as air rights sites for the elimination of the blighting influence, or any combination thereof and may include land, buildings or improvements, or air rights and concomitant easements or other rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air rights not in themselves substandard or insanitary. (13) "Municipality." Any county, city, town or village. (14) "Local governing body". The board of supervisors, county legislature, board of aldermen, common council, commission, or other elective governing board or body now or hereafter vested by state statute, charter or other law with jurisdiction to initiate and adopt local law whether or not such local laws or ordinances require the approval of the elective chief executive officer or other official or body to become effective, and except that with respect to a city having a population of one million or more the term "local governing body" shall mean the board of estimate. (15) "Public corporation". A municipal corporation, district corporation, or public benefit corporation, as all such terms are defined in section three of the general corporation law, or any agency or instrumentality of the foregoing. (16) "New community." A plan or undertaking for the development of housing together with such civic, industrial and commercial facilities
and other ancillary facilities as the corporation may determine necessary, including the implementation thereof through one or more projects of the corporation and through such participation by private enterprise as may be necessary or desirable to carry out the development of such new community. (17) "Eligible business". For purposes of section sixteen-a of this act, a business that is resident in this state, and employs one hundred or less persons on a full-time basis. (18) "Regional corporation". For purposes of section sixteen-a of this act, a not-for-profit or public benefit corporation or consortium of such entities that has formed a not-for-profit corporation, that has jurisdiction within at least two entire contiguous counties. (19) "Minority business enterprise". A business enterprise which is at least fifty-one percent owned, or in the case of a publicly-owned business at least fifty-one percent of the common stock or other voting interests of which is owned, by one or more minority persons and such ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing. The minority ownership must have and exercise the authority to independently control the day-to-day business decisions of the entity. Minority persons shall mean persons who are: (a) Black; (b) Hispanic persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban, Central or South American descent of either Indian or Hispanic origin, regardless of race; (c) Asian and Pacific Islander persons having origins in the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian sub-continent or the Pacific Islands; or (d) American Indian or Alaskan Native persons having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and maintaining identifiable tribal affiliations through membership and participation or community identification. (20) "Women business enterprise". A business enterprise which is at least fifty-one percent owned, or in the case of a publicly-owned business at least fifty-one percent of the common stock or other voting interests of which is owned, by United States citizens or permanent resident aliens who are women, regardless of race or ethnicity, and such ownership interest is real, substantial and continuing and such women have and exercise the authority to independently control the day to day business decisions of the enterprises. (21) "Industrial firm". A manufacturing firm involved with extracting, smelting, recovering, developing, preparing, compounding, converting, assembling or producing in any manner minerals, raw materials, products or substances of any kind or nature, and shall include facilities related thereto for storage, warehousing or distribution, for research and development or for the discovery of new, and the refinement of known, substances, processes and products. (22) "Eligible reservist". A member of a reserve component of the armed forces ordered to active duty during a period of military conflict. (23) "Owner, manager or key employee". A person who: (a) has at least a twenty percent ownership interest in the small or medium-sized business; or (b) is a manager responsible for the day-to-day operations of such small or medium-sized business concern; or (c) is an employee of such small or medium-sized business concern with a significant responsibility whose duties cannot be assumed by another person without substantial impairment to the economic health of the business, as determined by the corporation. (24) "Period of military conflict". A period:
(a) of war declared by the Congress; or (b) of national emergency declared by the Congress or by the President; or (c) in which a member of a reserve component of the armed forces is ordered to active duty pursuant to section 673b of title 10 of the United States Code. (25) "Upstate Empire State Development Corporation" shall be defined for purposes of sections sixteen-q and sixteen-s of this act, as a subsidiary of the urban development corporation established under section twelve of this act. (26) "Upstate Chairman" shall be defined for purposes of sections sixteen-q and sixteen-s of this act, as the chairman of the upstate empire state development corporation, a subsidiary of the urban development corporation established under section twelve of this act. (27) "Downstate" shall be defined by the chairman subject to approval by the board of directors of the urban development corporation. (28) "Upstate" shall be defined by the chairman, in consultation with the chairman of the upstate empire state development corporation, subject to approval by the board of directors of the urban development corporation. (29) "Upstate Agricultural Economic Development Project." For purposes of section sixteen-s of this act, a project or that portion of a multi-purpose project shall be designed and intended for the purpose of establishing, maintaining, or expanding agricultural acreage or operations, or for providing facilities and/or markets for the production, manufacturing, processing, warehousing, laboratory diagnostics, research, or distribution and sale of crops, livestock and livestock products as defined in subdivision 2 of section 301 of the agriculture and markets law. Such project costs may include, but not be limited to, the cost of land, buildings, machinery, equipment, processed or partially processed agricultural commodities, root stock, livestock, other personal property, materials, working capital, or stock in trade required to establish such project. (30) "Energy conservation and efficiency projects." A project or that portion of a multi-purpose project designed and intended for the purpose of reducing energy consumption and improving energy efficiency of building envelopes, building systems or manufacturing or industrial systems by retrofitting or modernizing manufacturing, industrial or commercial facilities. Energy conservation and efficiency projects may include, but not be limited to: (a) energy audits performed by an energy auditor approved by the New York state energy research and development authority as defined in section eighteen hundred fifty-one of the public authorities law; (b) insulation of the building structure or systems within the building; (c) windows or doors, caulking or weather stripping, multi-glazed windows or doors, heat absorbing or heat reflective glazed and coated window or door systems, additional glazing, reductions in glass area or other window and door system modifications that reduce energy consumption; (d) automated or computerized energy control systems; (e) heating, ventilating or air conditioning system modifications or replacements; (f) replacement or modification of lighting fixtures to increase the energy efficiency of the lighting system without increasing the overall illumination of a facility, unless an increase in illumination is necessary to conform to the applicable state or local building code or nationally accepted standards for the lighting system after the proposed modifications are made; (g) energy recovery systems; (h) solar energy generating or heating and cooling systems or other renewable energy systems; (i) cogeneration or combined heat and power systems that produce steam, chilled water or forms of
energy such as heat, as well as electricity, for use primarily within a building or complex of buildings; (j) energy conservation measures that provide long-term operating cost reductions; and (k) maintenance and operation of mechanical systems that provide long-term operating cost reductions. § 4. New York state urban development corporation. (1) There is hereby created the New York state urban development corporation. The corporation shall be a corporate governmental agency of the state, constituting a political subdivision and public benefit corporation. Its membership shall consist of nine directors as follows: the superintendent of banks, the chairman of the New York state science and technology foundation, and seven directors to be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate. From the seven directors appointed by him, the governor shall designate the chairman of the corporation and two others who shall all serve at the pleasure of the governor. Of the four remaining directors, one of such directors first appointed by the governor after the effective date of this subdivision as amended shall serve for a term ending January first next succeeding his appointment, one of such directors shall serve for a term ending one year from such date, one of such directors shall serve for a term ending two years from such date, and one of such directors shall serve for a term ending three years from such date. Their successors shall serve for terms of four years each. Directors shall continue in office until their successors have been appointed and qualified. In the event of a vacancy occurring in the office of a director by death, resignation or otherwise, the governor shall appoint a successor with the advice and consent of the senate to serve for the balance of the unexpired term. The governor shall appoint the president of the corporation, with the advice and consent of the senate, who shall be the chief executive officer of the corporation and who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. Such president may be one of the directors appointed by the governor. (1-a) The superintendent of banks and the chairman of the New York state science and technology foundation each may designate a person from his department to represent him at all meetings of the corporation from which such director may be absent. Any representative so designated shall have the power to attend and to vote at any meeting of the corporation from which the director so designating him is absent, with the same force and effect as if the director designating him were present and voting. Such designation shall be by written notice filed with the chairman of the corporation by the director making the designation. The designation of each such person shall continue until revoked at any time by written notice to the chairman by the director making the designation. Such designation shall not limit the power of the director making the designation to attend and vote in person at any meeting of the corporation. (2) The directors, other than the chairman, shall serve without salary or other compensation, but each director, including the chairman, shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his or her official duties. Anything to the contrary contained herein notwithstanding, the president of the corporation, whether or not he or she is a director, and the chairman if he or she is not the president shall be entitled to receive such salary as the directors may determine for their services as chief executive officer and chairman respectively. (3) Such directors other than the superintendent of banks, the chairman of the New York state science and technology foundation, and any director who serves as president of the corporation may engage in
private employment, or in a profession or business. The corporation, its directors, officers and employees shall be subject to the provisions of sections seventy-three and seventy-four of the public officers law. (3-a) The state shall save harmless and indemnify any person who shall have served as a director, officer or employee of the corporation against financial loss or litigation expense arising in connection with any claim, demand, suit or judgment, or the defense thereof, based on a cause of action, whenever accrued, involving allegations that pecuniary harm was sustained by any person as a result of any transaction of the corporation taking place on or after the effective date of the New York state project finance agency act. In the event any such claim, demand, suit or judgment shall occur, a director, officer or employee of the corporation shall be saved harmless and indemnified by the state under this subdivision unless such individual is found by a final judicial determination not to have acted in good faith, for a purpose which he reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the corporation or not to have had reasonable cause to believe that his conduct was lawful. In any suit described in the first sentence of this subdivision, any director, officer or employee made a party defendant to such suit shall be entitled to be represented by private counsel of his choice; provided, however, that the attorney general is authorized, as a condition to indemnification of the fees and expenses of such representation, to require that appropriate groups of such individuals be represented by the same counsel; and provided further, that with the approval of the attorney general or of a court (obtained by application substantially as provided in section seven hundred twenty-five of the business corporation law), indemnification for such fees and expenses shall be paid from time to time during the pendency of such suit. The provisions of this subdivision shall be in addition to and shall not supplant any indemnification or other benefits heretofore or hereafter conferred upon directors, officers and employees of the corporation by section seventeen of the public officers law, by action of the corporation, or otherwise. The provisions of this subdivision shall inure only to directors, officers and employees of the corporation, shall not enlarge or diminish the rights of any other party, and shall not impair, limit or modify the rights and obligations of any insurer under any policy of insurance. (4) The directors of the corporation shall serve ex officio as directors of the corporation for urban development and research of New York, created by the New York state urban development and research corporation act, and of the urban development guarantee fund of New York, created by the urban development guarantee fund of New York act. The chairman of the corporation shall serve as chairman of the corporation for urban development and research of New York and of the urban development guarantee fund of New York. (5) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of law, general, special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his office or employment by reason of his acceptance of membership on the corporation created by this section; provided, however, a director who holds such other public office or employment shall receive no additional compensation or allowance for services rendered pursuant to this act, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for his actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of such services. (6) The governor shall appoint a business advisory council for urban development, to advise and make recommendations to the corporation with respect to development policies and programs and to encourage maximum participation in projects of the corporation by the private sector of
the economy, including members of the council and firms and corporations with which they are affliated. Such council shall consist of not more than twenty-five members, who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor, and who shall be broadly representative of commerce and industry, the financial community and the construction and housing industries. Such members shall serve without salary, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. (7) The corporation shall establish one or more community advisory committees to consider and advise the corporation upon matters submitted to them by the corporation concerning the development of any area or any project, and may establish rules and regulations with respect to such committees. The members of such community advisory committees shall serve, at the pleasure of the corporation, without salary, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law, general, special or local, no officer or employee of the state or of any civil division thereof, shall be deemed to have forfeited or shall forfeit his office or employment by reason of his acceptance of membership on such community advisory committee. (8) The governor may remove any director appointed by him for inefficiency, neglect of duty or misconduct in office after giving him a copy of the charges against him, and an opportunity to be heard, in person or by counsel, in his defense, upon not less than ten days' notice. If any such director shall be removed, the governor shall file in the office of the department of state a complete statement of charges made against such director and his findings thereon, together with a complete record of the proceeding. The foregoing provisions shall not apply in the case of the chairman and any other director who serves at the pleasure of the governor. (9) The corporation and its corporate existence shall continue until terminated by law, provided, however, that no such law shall take effect so long as the corporation shall have bonds, notes and other obligations outstanding, unless adequate provision has been made for the payment thereof in the documents securing the same. Upon termination of the existence of the corporation, all its rights and properties shall pass to and be vested in the state. (10) A majority of the directors of the corporation then in office shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of any business or the exercise of any power or function of the corporation, except as otherwise provided in section sixteen, subdivision two, hereof. The corporation may delegate to one or more of its directors, or its officers, agents and employees, such powers and duties as it may deem proper. (11) The corporation shall take affirmative action in working with construction firms, contractors and subcontractors, labor unions and manufacturing and industrial firms, to the end that residents of areas in which projects are to be located shall be afforded participation in the construction work on projects of the corporation, and in the business operations of tenants and occupants of industrial projects undertaken by the corporation. § 5. Powers of the corporation. Except as otherwise limited by this act, the corporation shall have power: (1) To sue and be sued; (2) To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure; (3) To make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of its powers and functions under this act;
(4) To make and alter by-laws for its organization and internal management and, subject to agreements with noteholders or bondholders, to make rules and regulations with respect to its projects, operations, properties and facilities, which rules and regulations shall be filed with the department of state in the manner provided by section one hundred two of the executive law; (5) To acquire, hold and dispose of personal property for its corporate purposes; (6) To appoint officers, agents and employees, prescribe their duties and qualifications and fix their compensation; (7) To acquire or contract to acquire from any person, firm, corporation, municipality, federal or state agency, by grant, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, leaseholds, real, personal or mixed property or any interest therein; to own, hold, clear, improve and rehabilitate, and to sell, assign, exchange, transfer, convey, lease, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or encumber the same; (8) To create subsidiaries, as provided in section twelve of this act. (9) To acquire, construct, reconstruct, rehabilitate, improve, alter or repair or provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement, alteration or repair of any project. (10) To arrange or contract with a municipality for the planning, replanning, opening, grading or closing of streets, roads, roadways, alleys or other places, or for the furnishing of facilities or for the acquisition by a municipality of property or property rights or for the furnishing of property or services in connection with a project. (11) To sell, lease, assign, transfer, convey, exchange, mortgage, or otherwise dispose of or encumber any project, and in the case of the sale of any project, to accept a purchase money mortgage in connection therewith; and to lease, repurchase or otherwise acquire and hold any project which the corporation has theretofore sold, leased or otherwise conveyed, transferred or disposed of. (12) To grant options to purchase any project or to renew any leases entered into by it in connection with any of its projects, on such terms and conditions as it may deem advisable. (13) To prepare or cause to be prepared plans, specifications, designs and estimates of cost for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, improvement, alteration or repair of any project, and from time to time to modify such plans, specifications, designs or estimates. (14) To manage any project, whether then owned or leased by the corporation, and to enter into agreements with the state or any municipality or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or with any person, firm, partnership or corporation, either public or private, for the purpose of causing any project to be managed. (15) To provide advisory, consultative, training and educational services, technical assistance and advice to any person, firm, partnership or corporation, either public or private, in order to carry out the purposes of this act. (16) To lend or donate monies, whether secured or unsecured, to any subsidiary corporation, and to purchase, sell or pledge the shares, bonds or other obligations or securities thereof, on such terms and conditions as the corporation may deem advisable. (17) To make mortgage loans, secured by a first mortgage lien, including temporary loans or advances, to any subsidiary corporation which is a housing company, and to undertake commitments therefor. Any such commitment, mortgage or bonds or notes secured thereby may contain such terms and conditions not inconsistent with the provisions of this act as the corporation may deem necessary or desirable to secure
repayment of its loan, the interest, if any, thereon and other charges in connection therewith. (18) Subject to the provisions of any contract with noteholders or bondholders to consent to the modification, with respect to rate of interest, time of payments of any installment of principal or interest, security, or any other term, of any mortgage, mortgage loan, mortgage loan commitment, contract or agreement of any kind to which the corporation is a party. (19) In connection with any property on which it has made a mortgage loan, to foreclose on any such property or commence any action to protect or enforce any right conferred upon it by any law, mortgage, contract or other agreement, and to bid for and purchase such property at any foreclosure or at any other sale, or acquire or take possession of any such property; and in such event the corporation may complete, administer, pay the principal of and interest on any obligations incurred in connection with such property, dispose of, and otherwise deal with such property, in such manner as may be necessary or desirable to protect the interests of the corporation therein. (20) To borrow money and to issue its negotiable bonds and notes and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof. (21) As security for the payment of the principal of and interest on any bonds so issued and any agreements made in connection therewith, to mortgage and pledge any or all of its projects, whether then owned or thereafter acquired, and to pledge the revenues and receipts therefrom or from any thereof, and to assign or pledge the lease or leases on any portion or all of said projects and to assign or pledge the income received by virtue of said lease or leases. (22) To invest any funds of the corporation including funds held in reserve or sinking funds, or any monies (including proceeds from the sale of any bonds or notes of the corporation) not required for immediate use or disbursement, at the discretion of the corporation, in (a) obligations of the state or of the United States government, (b) obligations the principal and interest of which are guaranteed by the state or the United States government, (c) obligations of agencies and instrumentalities of the state or of the United States, or (d) certificates of deposit of banks or trust companies in this state, secured by obligations described in clauses (a), (b) or (c) of this subdivision. (23) To procure insurance against any loss in connection with its property and other assets and operations in such amounts and from such insurers as it deems desirable. (24) To engage the services of consultants on a contract basis for rendering professional and technical assistance and advice. (25) To contract for and to accept any gifts or grants or loans of funds or property or financial or other aid in any form from the federal government or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from the state or any agency or instrumentality thereof, or from any other source and to comply, subject to the provisions of this act, with the terms and conditions thereof. * (26) To make loans, whether secured or unsecured, in connection with the corporation's participation in a project (as defined in this act), to any person or entity, whether public or private, and to issue commitments for such loans, provided that such loans and commitments are made or issued in compliance with guidelines established by the board of directors of the corporation; to provide for the repayment of such loans on terms and conditions that the directors of the corporation deem advisable and to receive and hold real property or personal property as security for the repayment of such loans.
* NB Repealed July 1, 2011 (27) To use a portion of appropriated funds generally designated as high risk targeted investment funds to establish a loan fund to be used to make loans to business enterprises located within empire zones designated pursuant to article eighteen-B of the general municipal law. (28) To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and exercise the powers given and granted in this act. (29) Subject to any agreement with noteholders or bondholders, to enter into agreements to pay annual sums in lieu of taxes to any municipality or political subdivision of the state, in respect of any real property which is owned by the corporation or any subsidiary thereof and is located in such municipality or political subdivision. (30) To provide priority assistance to projects involving industry clusters. The term "industry cluster" shall mean a geographic concentration of competitive firms or establishments in the same industry that either have close buy-sell relationships with other industries in the region, use common technologies, or share a specialized labor pool that provides firms with a competitive advantage over the same industry in other places. § 6. Sale or lease of land use improvement projects. (1) The corporation may sell or lease for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years all or any portion of the real or personal property constituting a land use improvement project to any person, firm, partnership or corporation, either public or private, upon such terms and conditions as may be approved by the corporation, whenever the corporation shall find that such sale or lease is in conformity with a plan or undertaking for the clearance, replanning, reconstruction or rehabilitation of sub-standard and insanitary areas in the municipality in which the project is located. Such sale or lease may be made: (a) to any housing company, without public bidding, public sale or public notice; (b) to any local development corporation, without public bidding, public sale or public notice; (c) to any other person, firm, partnership or corporation, without public bidding or public sale, provided there is published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the municipality in which the project is located a notice which shall include a statement of the identity of the proposed purchaser or lessee and of his proposed use or reuse of the land use improvement project area or applicable portion thereof, the price or rental to be paid by such purchaser or lessee, all other essential conditions of such sale or lease, and a statement that a public hearing upon such sale or lease will be held before the corporation at a specified time and place on a date not less than ten days after such publication, and provided further that such public hearing is held in accordance with such notice. * § 6-a. Sale or lease of infrastructure projects. (1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special or local law, subject to any agreement with noteholders or bondholders, the corporation may sell or lease any infrastructure project, without public bidding or public sale, for such price or rental and upon such terms as may be agreed upon between the corporation and such purchaser or lessee, either prior to, at the date of, or subsequent to the completion of the project by the corporation, provided, however, that in the case of a lease, the term thereof shall not exceed ninety-nine years. Where such contract for sale or lease is entered into after the commencement of construction and prior to the physical completion of the improvement to be conveyed or leased, the corporation may complete the construction and development of such improvement prior to the actual conveyance or lease.
(2) Except with respect to projects sold or leased to the state or any agency or instrumentality thereof, to any municipality or agency or instrumentality thereof, or to any public corporation, before any sale or lease of all or a substantial part of a project as authorized by subdivision one of this section is consummated, there shall be published in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the municipality in which the project is located a notice which shall include a statement of the identity of the proposed purchaser or lessee, the price or rental to be paid, all other essential conditions of such sale or lease, and a statement that a public hearing upon such sale or lease will be held before the corporation at a specified time and place on a date not less than ten days after such publication, and such hearing shall be held in accordance with such notice. (3) The responsibilities of the corporation in connection with the implementation of this section may include requesting and receiving title to real property from the commissioner of general services pursuant to section thirteen-a of this act. Such transfers shall be on such terms as the commissioner of general services and the chairman of the corporation shall determine, and shall, subject to any agreement with noteholders and bondholders, include a reversionary interest to the state and the terms on which the property may subsequently be transferred. * NB Not implemented due to defeat of the Jobs for the new, New York bond act in November, 1992 § 7. Sale or lease of residential projects. (1) The corporation may sell or lease for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years a residential project only to a housing company or to a municipality or housing authority. It may enter into a contract for such sale or lease either prior to, at the date of, or subsequent to the completion of the project by the corporation. Where such contract for sale or lease is entered into after the commencement of construction and prior to the physical completion of the improvement to be conveyed or leased, the corporation may complete the construction and development of such improvement prior to the actual conveyance or lease. (2) Any such sale or lease pursuant to subdivision one of this section may be made without public bidding, public s