§ 432 — Eligibility criteria for universities and colleges

§ 432. Eligibility criteria for universities and colleges. 1. State\nuniversity campuses, community colleges and city university campuses.\n(a) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the\nfollowing will constitute the eligible land of a state university\ncampus, community college, or city university campus:\n (i) any vacant space in any building located on a campus of a state\nuniversity campus, community college or city university campus;\n (ii) any vacant land on a campus of a state university campus,\ncommunity college or city university campus;\n (iii) for a state university campus or community college, a total of\ntwo hundred thousand square feet of vacant land or vacant building space\nthat, except as provided under paragraph (b) of this subdivision, is\nlocated within one mile of a campus of the state university campus or\ncommunity college; provided that this subparagraph shall not apply to a\nstate university campus or community college located in Nassau county,\nSuffolk county or Westchester county; and\n (iv) a New York state incubator as the term is used in subdivision\nfour of section four hundred thirty-three of this article with a bona\nfide affiliation to the state university campus, community college or\ncity university campus, with approval of the commissioner. In order for\nthere to be a bona fide affiliation of a New York state incubator with a\nstate university campus, community college or city university campus,\nthe incubator and the state university campus, community college or city\nuniversity campus must have a partnership to provide assistance and\nphysical space to eligible businesses, as the term is used in section\nsixteen-v of the urban development corporation act; the incubator and\nthe state university campus, community college or city university campus\nmust directly work towards the goals of jointly creating jobs and\nincubating new startup businesses; and the mission and activities of the\nincubator must align with or further the academic mission of the state\nuniversity campus, community college or city university campus.\n (b) A state university campus or community college which qualifies\nunder subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision may apply\nto the commissioner for a determination that identified vacant land or\nidentified vacant space in a building that is located more than one mile\nfrom its campus, and is not located in Nassau county, Suffolk county,\nWestchester county or New York city, is eligible land for purposes of\nthis program. The commissioner shall give consideration to factors\nincluding rural, suburban and urban geographic considerations and may\nqualify the identified land or space in a building as eligible land if\nthe commissioner, in consultation with the chancellor or his or her\ndesignee, determines that the state university campus or community\ncollege has shown that the use of the land or space will be consistent\nwith the requirements of this program and the plan submitted by the\nstate university campus or community college pursuant to section four\nhundred thirty-five of this article. In addition, two hundred thousand\nsquare feet of vacant land or vacant building space affiliated with or\nin partnership with Maritime College shall be eligible under this\nparagraph. The aggregate amount of qualified land or space under this\nparagraph and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision\nmay not exceed two hundred thousand square feet for a state university\ncampus or community college.\n (c) The provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall\napply only to:\n (i) a state university campus other than the following: (A) any empire\nstate college campus except for the empire state college campus in\nSaratoga Springs, (B) any property of downstate medical center located\nin Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city\nexcept for property affiliated with downstate medical center that\nconstitutes a New York state incubator as the term is used in\nsubdivision four of section four hundred thirty-three of this article,\nand (C) any property of the college of optometry or maritime college\nlocated in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York\ncity.\n (ii) a community college, except that for a community college whose\nmain campus is in New York city, paragraphs (a) and (b) of this\nsubdivision shall not apply to property of such community college in\nNassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city.\n (iii) a total of five city university campuses, one each in the\nboroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, which\nwill be designated by the board of trustees of the city university of\nNew York. The campus designated in each borough must be located in an\neconomically distressed community. The commissioner shall establish a\nlist of economically distressed communities for the purpose of this\ndesignation, based on criteria indicative of economic distress,\nincluding poverty rates, numbers of persons receiving public assistance,\nunemployment rates, and such other indicators as the commissioner deems\nappropriate to be in need of economic assistance. In addition,\nparagraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall apply to property of\nthe city university located outside of Nassau county, Suffolk county,\nWestchester county and New York city.\n (d) The eligible land of a state university campus, community college,\nor city university campus will also include eligible land designated\nunder paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section.\n 2. Private colleges and universities and certain other campuses. (a)\nSubject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the\nfollowing will constitute the eligible land of a private college or\nuniversity:\n (i) any vacant space in any building located on a campus of a private\nuniversity or college other than a campus which is located in Nassau\ncounty, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city;\n (ii) any vacant land on a campus of a private university or college\nother than a campus which is located in Nassau county, Suffolk county,\nWestchester county or New York city;\n (iii) any vacant land or vacant space in a building which is not\nlocated in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York\ncity; and\n (iv) a New York state incubator as the term is used in subdivision\nfour of section four hundred thirty-three of this article with a bona\nfide affiliation to the private university or college, with approval of\nthe commissioner. In order for there to be a bona fide affiliation of a\nNew York state incubator with a private university or college, the\nincubator and the private university or college must have a partnership\nto provide assistance and physical space to eligible businesses as the\nterm is used in section sixteen-v of the urban development corporation\nact; the incubator and the private university or college must directly\nwork towards the goals of jointly creating jobs and incubating new\nstartup businesses; and the mission and activities of the incubator must\nalign with or further the academic mission of the private university or\ncollege.\n (b) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision,\nthree million square feet is the maximum aggregate amount of tax-free NY\nareas of private universities and colleges that may be utilized for this\nprogram, which shall be designated in a manner that ensures regional\nbalance and balance among eligible rural, urban and suburban areas in\nthe state. The commissioner shall maintain an accounting of the vacant\nland and space of private universities and colleges that have been\napproved as tax-free NY areas and shall stop accepting applications for\napproval of tax-free NY areas when that maximum amount has been reached.\n (c) Of the maximum aggregate amount in paragraph (b) of this\nsubdivision, an initial amount of seventy-five thousand square feet\nshall be designated as tax-free NY areas in each of the following:\nNassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county and the boroughs of\nBrooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. The board may\napprove the designation of up to an additional seventy-five thousand\nsquare feet for any county or borough that reaches the initial\nseventy-five thousand square foot limit, provided that such additional\nseventy-five thousand square feet shall not count against the square\nfootage limitations in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. Vacant land\nand vacant space in a building on the campus of the following shall be\neligible for designation under this paragraph:\n (i) a private university or college which campus is located in Nassau\ncounty, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city.\n (ii) a state university campus that meets the criteria of clause (B)\nor (C) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this\nsection.\n (iii) a community college whose main campus is in New York city.\n (iv) a city university campus that is not designated under\nsubparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section.\n (d) In addition, the board may approve: (i) one application that\nincludes eligible land owned or leased by a city university campus that\nis directly adjacent to such campus; (ii) one application that includes\neligible land owned or leased by a state university campus, community\ncollege, or private university or college in Nassau county or Suffolk\ncounty that is directly adjacent to such campus, university or college;\nand (iii) one application that includes eligible land owned or leased by\na state university campus, community college, or private university or\ncollege in Westchester county that is directly adjacent to such campus,\nuniversity or college. The board may approve an additional application,\nfor a state university campus, community college, or private university\nor college in the county not previously approved under subparagraph (ii)\nof this paragraph, in which case it shall also approve a second\napplication under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.\n 3. Prohibition. A state university campus, community college or city\nuniversity campus is prohibited from relocating or eliminating any\nacademic programs, any administrative programs, offices, housing\nfacilities, dining facilities, athletic facilities, or any other\nfacility, space or program that actively serves students, faculty or\nstaff in order to create vacant land or space to be utilized for the\nprogram authorized by this article. In addition, nothing in this article\nshall be deemed to waive or impair any rights or benefits of employees\nof the state university of New York, a community college or the city\nuniversity of New York that otherwise would be available to them\npursuant to the terms of agreements between the certified\nrepresentatives of such employees and their employers pursuant to\narticle fourteen of the civil service law. No services or work currently\nperformed by public employees of the state university of New York, a\ncommunity college, or the city university of New York or future work\nthat is similar in scope and nature to the work being currently\nperformed by public employees shall be contracted out or privatized by\nthe state university of New York, a community college or the city\nuniversity of New York or by an affiliated entity or associated entity\nof the state university of New York, a community college or the city\nuniversity of New York. For the purpose of this section, an affiliated\nentity or associated entity shall not include a business that is\nparticipating in the START-UP NY program.\n