§ 451 — Statement of legislative findings and purposes

§ 451. Statement of legislative findings and purposes. There is\nthreatened in the city of New York a serious shortage of elementary and\nsecondary school buildings under the jurisdiction of the board of\neducation of the city of New York. This shortage is occasioned by the\nage and obsolescence of many existing school buildings, the large number\nof new school buildings that are needed in various areas of the city of\nNew York, the scarcity and high cost of available land in the areas\nwhere such schools are needed, the typical under-utilization of land by\nelementary and secondary school buildings and the existing limitations\non the amount of state and city funds available for the construction of\nsuch buildings.\n In order to facilitate the timely construction of such school\nbuildings in combination with other compatible and lawful uses, which\ncombination would provide a highly desirable and economic utilization of\navailable land, there should be created a corporate governmental agency\nof the state, constituting a public benefit corporation, to be known as\nthe "New York city educational construction fund," which could receive\nand administer moneys for the construction and improvement of elementary\nand secondary school buildings in the city of New York and whose\nprincipal purpose would be the timely and responsive provision of such\ncombined occupancy structures in accordance with the foreseeable needs\nof the city of New York for additional or replacement elementary and\nsecondary educational facilities and the desirability of facilitating\nmaximum and appropriate utilization of available land. In order to\nencourage the investment of private capital in such combined occupancy\nstructures and enable the construction of additional school facilities\nwithin existing financial limitations through the utilization of\nincidental revenue produced thereby, the New York city educational\nconstruction fund should be empowered, through the issuance of its\nbonds, notes or other obligations to the private investing public, to\nobtain a portion of the funds necessary to finance the construction of\nthe school portion of such structures and to apply the revenues received\nfrom both the school and non-school portions thereof to the payment of\nsuch bonds, notes or other obligations. In furtherance of these\npurposes, the creation, continued operation and solvency of the New York\ncity educational construction fund, including the maintenance of the\ncapital reserve fund provided for in subdivision one of section four\nhundred sixty-two of this article, is hereby declared to be a school\npurpose for which public monies may be appropriated, apportioned and\nexpended.\n While responsibility for the educational affairs of the city school\ndistrict of the city of New York, including the selection of school\nsites and the design and construction of school facilities, must\ncontinue in the board of education of the city of New York, title to\nsuch sites and the school facilities constructed thereon pursuant to\nthis article should be vested in the fund in order to facilitate the\nexercise of its powers.\n