§ 1204. General powers of the authority. 1. To sue and be sued.\n 2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure.\n * 3. To acquire, hold, use and dispose of equipment, devices and\nappurtenances, and other property for its corporate purposes, including,\nthe power to dispose of personal property with a value of five hundred\nthousand dollars or less by public auction in accordance with guidelines\nadopted by the metropolitan transportation authority pursuant to section\ntwelve hundred sixty-five of this article and title five-A of article\nnine of this chapter.\n * NB Effective until June 30, 2028\n * 3. To acquire, hold, use and dispose of equipment, devices and\nappurtenances, and other property for its corporate purposes.\n * NB Effective June 30, 2028\n 3-a. To acquire by purchase or condemnation pursuant to the provisions\nof the condemnation law real property or rights or easements therein\nnecessary or convenient for the corporate purposes of the authority, and\nto use the same so long as its corporate existence shall continue.\n 3-b. To apply for and receive and accept grants of property, money and\nservices and other assistance offered or made available to it by any\nperson, government or agency whatever, which it may use to meet capital\nor operating expenses and for any other use within the scope of its\npowers, and to negotiate for the same upon such terms and conditions as\nthe authority may determine to be necessary, convenient or desirable.\n 4. To make rules and regulations for its organization and internal\nmanagement.\n 5. To appoint officers, assign powers and duties to them, and fix\ntheir compensation.\n 5-a. To make, amend and repeal rules governing the conduct and safety\nof the public as it may deem necessary, convenient or desirable for the\nuse and operation of the transit facilities under its jurisdiction,\nincluding without limitation rules relating to the protection or\nmaintenance of such facilities, the conduct and safety of the public,\nthe payment of fares or other lawful charges for the use of such\nfacilities, the presentation or display of documentation permitting free\npassage, reduced fare passage or full fare passage on such facilities\nand the protection of the revenue of the authority. Violations of such\nrules shall be an offense punishable by a fine of not exceeding\ntwenty-five dollars or by imprisonment for not longer than ten days, or\nboth, or may be punishable by the imposition by the transit adjudication\nbureau established pursuant to the provisions of this title of a civil\npenalty in an amount for each violation not to exceed one hundred\ndollars or, in the case of certain repeat violations relating to the\npayment of fares in accordance with subdivision eleven of section twelve\nhundred nine-a of this title, not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars\n(in each case exclusive of supplemental penalties, interest or costs\nassessed thereon), in accordance with a schedule of such penalties as\nmay from time to time be established by rules of the authority. Such\nschedule of penalties may provide for the imposition of supplemental\npenalties, not to exceed a total of fifty dollars for each violation,\nupon the failure of a respondent in any proceeding commenced with\nrespect to any such violation to make timely response to or appearance\nin connection with a notice of violation of such rule or to any\nsubsequent notice or order issued by the authority in such proceeding.\nThere shall be no penalty or increment in fine by virtue of a\nrespondent's timely exercise of their right to a hearing or appeal. The\nrules may provide, in addition to any other sanctions, for the\nconfiscation of tokens, tickets, cards or other fare media that have\nbeen forged, counterfeit, improperly altered or transferred, or\notherwise used in a manner inconsistent with such rules. The authority\nshall not use, or arrange for the use, of biometric identifying\ntechnology, including but not limited to facial recognition technology,\nto enforce rules relating to the payment of fares.\n 6. To appoint employees and fix their compensation subject to the\nprovisions of the civil service law and to grant, in its discretion,\ncash payments to the surviving spouse or to the legal representatives of\nits deceased employees, equal to the current monetary value of\naccumulated and unused vacation time, if any, and the monetary value of\naccumulated and unused overtime, if any, for overtime which was worked\nand credited subsequent to June fifteenth, nineteen hundred fifty-three,\ncomputed at the rate of salary in effect at the time the overtime was\nworked, standing to the credit of its employees as of the time of their\ndeath and, notwithstanding the provisions of section one hundred\nthirty-five of the civil service law or any other state or local law to\nthe contrary, to grant, in its discretion, severance pay to surplus\nemployees on separation from service.\n 7. To retain and employ counsel, auditors, engineers and private\nconsultants on a contract basis or otherwise for rendering professional\nor technical services and advice.\n 8. Pursuant to the provisions of this title, to construct,\nreconstruct, improve, maintain and operate any transit facility, whether\nnow existing, or constructed, acquired or provided in the future, and to\nfix fares on any such transit facilities.\n 9. To construct, reconstruct, improve, maintain and operate buildings,\nstructures and facilities as may be necessary or convenient and to\nmaintain and operate, directly or enter into contracts or leases for the\nacquisition, maintenance, and operation of areas for the parking of\nmotor vehicles in the vicinity of its transit facilities, and in its\ndiscretion to fix and charge for such parking a combination fee which\nshall include the established rate of fare for use of its transit\nfacilities.\n 9-a. To post signs notifying the public of the maximum fine for\nthrowing, dumping, or causing to be thrown, dumped, deposited or placed\nany refuse, trash, garbage, rubbish, litter, or any nauseous or\noffensive matter on subway tracks or the right-of-way of a subway,\npursuant to section fifty-two-e of the railroad law, to the extent that\nfunds for such signs are available.\n 10. With the consent of the city to use officers, employees, agents\nand facilities of the city paying to the city an agreed proportion or\namount of the compensation or costs involved.\n 11. To make or enter into contracts, agreements, deeds, leases,\nconveyances or other instruments necessary or convenient, and to assist\nand cooperate with the metropolitan transportation authority to carry\nout the powers of the metropolitan transportation authority in\nfurtherance of the purposes and powers of the authority as provided in\nthis article, including, without limitation, the transactions described\nin sections twelve hundred sixty-six-c, twelve hundred sixty-nine and\ntwelve hundred seventy-d of this article. This power shall include the\npower to make contracts with other persons operating transit facilities\nfor combined fares for the use of such facilities and the transit\nfacilities operated by the authority and for the division of such fares,\nand the power to make contracts for the transportation of the United\nStates mail or personal property.\n 12. To surrender to the city property no longer required by the\nauthority.\n 13. To rent space and grant concessions on or in any transit or other\nfacility under its jurisdiction, to fix and collect rentals, fees or\nother charges therefor, and to contract for the sale or disposition of\nwaste, products or by-products incidental to its operations or in excess\nof its requirements.\n 13-a. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fourteen hundred\ntwenty-three of the penal law or the provisions of any general, special\nor local law, code, ordinance, rule or regulation to the contrary the\nauthority may erect signs or other printed, painted or advertising\nmatter on any property, including elevated structures, leased or\noperated by it or otherwise under its jurisdiction and control and may\nrent, lease or otherwise sell the right to do so to any person, private\nor public.\n 14. To make plans, surveys and studies of transit facilities in the\ncity and prepare recommendations in regard thereto.\n 15. To exercise all requisite and necessary authority to manage,\ncontrol and direct the maintenance and operation of transit facilities\ntransferred to it for the convenience and safety of the public with\npower, in its discretion, to extend, modify, discontinue, curtail, or\nchange routes or methods of transportation where the convenience and\nsafety of the public would be served thereby or where existing routes or\nmethods are inefficient or uneconomical; provided, however, that (except\nin cases of emergencies) at least thirty days prior to any proposed\nmodification, discontinuance, curtailment or change of any transit route\nor method of transportation, the authority shall give notice of its\nintention to the board of estimate and shall, upon request of such board\nwithin such period, conduct a public hearing thereon.\n 16. In its discretion to provide and maintain a transit police\ndepartment and a uniformed transit police force. Such department and\nforce shall have the power and it shall be their duty, in and about\ntransit facilities, to preserve the public peace, prevent crime, detect\nand arrest offenders, suppress riots, mobs and insurrections, disperse\nunlawful or dangerous assemblages and assemblages which obstruct free\npassage; protect the rights of persons and property; guard the public\nhealth; regulate, direct, control and restrict pedestrian traffic;\nremove all nuisances; enforce and prevent violation of all laws and\nordinances; and for these purposes to arrest all persons guilty of\nviolating any law or ordinance. Appointments to such transit police\nforce shall be made in accordance with applicable provisions of the\ncivil service law and only persons who shall be less than twenty-nine\nyears of age at the date of the filing of an application for civil\nservice examination, who have never been convicted of a felony, and who\nare citizens of the United States shall be appointed transit patrolmen\non the transit police force. Each member of such force shall be a police\nofficer as defined by paragraph (e) of subdivision thirty-four of\nsection 1.20 of the criminal procedure law and shall possess all the\npowers of a police officer of a city in the execution of criminal\nprocess; and criminal process issued by any court or magistrate of a\ncity may be directed to and executed by a member of such force,\nnotwithstanding the provisions of any local or special act, ordinance or\nregulation.\n The authority may appoint a chief and a deputy chief of the transit\npolice department who, in the discretion of the authority, may be\nselected from the ranks of the transit police force, and assign powers\nand duties to them and fix their compensation. The chief shall be the\nhead of such department. During the absence or disability of the chief,\nthe deputy chief shall possess all the powers and perform all the duties\nof the chief. The transit police force shall consist of captains,\nlieutenants, sergeants and police officers. The authority may detail\npersons in the rank of captain of the transit police force to serve in\nhigher ranks. A captain when so detailed to serve in a higher rank may\nbe granted an increase in salary above the grade established for the\nrank of captain in the uniformed force. The authority may maintain a\ndivision for detective purposes to be known as the detective division\nand may, from time to time, detail to service in said division as many\nmembers of the force as it may deem necessary, and may at any time\nrevoke any such detail. Any member of the force while so detailed may be\ngranted an increase in salary above the grade established for his or her\nrank in the uniformed force, but shall retain his or her rank in the\nforce and shall be eligible for promotion the same as if serving in the\nuniformed force, and the time during which he or she serves in such\ndivision shall count for all purposes as if served in his or her rank or\ngrade in the uniformed force.\n 16-a. The authority shall establish and publish or cause to be\npublished schedules for all passenger transportation services under its\noperation. Such schedules shall include the estimated departure and\narrival time at each terminal point of each route except that, on lines\nwhere the headway time during the period between six A.M. and seven P.M.\nis less than ten minutes, such headway time alone may be listed for that\nperiod. Such schedules shall also show the elapsed running time between\nthe terminal and each station. Schedules shall be made available at each\nfacility on the applicable route at which tokens or tickets are sold and\nshall be posted at each appropriate station operated by the authority.\n 17. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes\nand for the exercise of the powers granted in this title.\n 18. A copy of any report submitted by the authority pursuant to\nsections twenty-eight hundred, twenty-eight hundred one and twenty-eight\nhundred two of this chapter shall be submitted contemporaneously to the\nmayor.\n 19. To invest any funds, accounts or other monies not required for\nimmediate use or disbursement, at the discretion of the authority, in\nany of the investments in which the metropolitan transportation\nauthority is permitted to invest its monies pursuant to subdivision four\nof section twelve hundred sixty-five of this article.\n