§ 1299-F — Special powers of the authority

§ 1299-f. Special powers of the authority. In order to effectuate the\npurposes of this title: 1. The authority may acquire, by purchase, gift,\ngrant, transfer, contract or lease, any transportation facility, wholly\nor partially within the Niagara Frontier transportation district or any\npart thereof, or the use thereof, and may enter into any joint service\narrangements as hereinafter provided. Any such acquisition or joint\nservice arrangement shall be authorized only by resolution of the\nauthority approved by not less than a majority of the whole number of\nmembers of the authority then in office. In addition to and not in\nlimitation of any other power conferred upon the authority by the\nprovisions of this title, the authority is hereby empowered and\nauthorized in respect of any property and assets at any time owned or\nheld by, or under the jurisdiction of, the Buffalo and Fort Erie public\nbridge authority, to accept and receive any such interest therein as it\nmay have been or may hereafter be designated by the state by law to\nreceive, and in respect thereof, except as otherwise provided by the\ndesignating statute, it shall have and exercise all of the powers and\njurisdiction herein conferred upon it in respect of any other property,\nrights, assets, facilities and projects in any other manner acquired or\nfrom any other source received by it pursuant to the provisions of this\ntitle.\n 2. The authority may on such terms and conditions as the authority may\ndetermine necessary, convenient or desirable itself establish,\nconstruct, effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve, extend or\nrepair any such transportation facility, or may provide for such\nestablishment, construction, effectuation, operation, maintenance,\nrenovation, improvement, extension or repair by contract, lease, or\nother arrangement on such terms as the authority may deem necessary,\nconvenient or desirable with any person, including but not limited to\nany common carrier or freight forwarder, the state, any state agency,\nthe federal government, any other state or agency or instrumentality\nthereof, any public authority of this or any other state, any political\nsubdivision or municipality of the state, or the nation. In connection\nwith the operation of any such transportation facility, the authority\nmay establish, construct, effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate,\nimprove, extend or repair or may provide by contract, lease or other\narrangement for the establishment, construction, effectuation,\noperation, maintenance, renovation, improvement, extension or repair of\nany related services and activities it deems necessary, convenient or\ndesirable, including but not limited to the transportation and storage\nof freight and the United States mail, feeder and connecting\ntransportation, parking areas, transportation centers, stations and\nrelated facilities.\n 3. The authority may establish, levy and collect or cause to be\nestablished, levied and collected and, in the case of a joint service\narrangement, join with others in the establishment, levy and collection\nof such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges and other fees as it may\ndeem necessary, convenient or desirable for the use and operation of any\ntransportation facility and related services operated by the authority\nor by a subsidiary corporation of the authority or under contract, lease\nor other arrangement, including joint service arrangements, with the\nauthority. Any such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges or other fees\nfor the transportation of passengers shall be established and changed\nonly if approved by resolution of the authority adopted by not less than\na majority of the whole number of members of the authority then in\noffice and only after a public hearing, provided however, that fares,\ntolls, rentals, rates, charges or other fees for the transportation of\npassengers on any transportation facility which are in effect at the\ntime that the then owner of such transportation facility becomes a\nsubsidiary corporation of the authority or at the time that operation of\nsuch transportation facility is commenced by the authority or is\ncommenced under contract, lease or other arrangement including joint\nservice arrangements, with the authority may be continued in effect\nwithout such a hearing. Such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges and\nother fees shall be established as may in the judgment of the authority\nbe necessary to maintain the combined operations of the authority and\nits subsidiary corporations on a self-sustaining basis. The said\noperations shall be deemed to be on a self-sustaining basis as required\nby this title, when the authority is able to pay or cause to be paid\nfrom revenue and any other funds or property actually available to the\nauthority and its subsidiary corporations (a) as the same shall become\ndue, the principal of and interest on the bonds and notes and other\nobligations of the authority and of such subsidiary corporations,\ntogether with the maintenance of proper reserves therefor, (b) the cost\nand expense of keeping the properties and assets of the authority and\nits subsidiary corporations in good condition and repair, and (c) the\ncapital and operating expenses of the authority and its subsidiary\ncorporations. The authority may contract with the holders of bonds and\nnotes with respect to the exercise of the powers authorized by this\nsection.\n 4. The authority may establish and, in the case of joint service\narrangements, join with others in the establishment of such schedules\nand standards of operations and such other rules and regulations\nincluding but not limited to rules and regulations governing the conduct\nand safety of the public as it may deem necessary, convenient or\ndesirable for the use and operation of any transportation facility and\nrelated services operated by the authority or under contract, lease or\nother arrangement, including joint service arrangements, with the\nauthority. Such rules and regulations governing the conduct and safety\nof the public shall be filed with the department of state in the manner\nprovided by section one hundred two of the executive law. In the case of\nany conflict between any such rule or regulation of the authority\ngoverning the conduct or safety of the public and any local law,\nordinance, rule or regulation, such rule or regulation of the authority\nshall prevail. Violation of any such rule or regulation of the authority\ngoverning the conduct or the safety of the public in or upon any\nfacility of the authority shall constitute an offense and shall be\npunishable by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars or imprisonment for not\nmore than thirty days or both, or may in the alternative be designated a\ntransit infraction punishable by the imposition by the transit\nadjudication bureau established pursuant to the provisions of this title\nof a civil penalty in an amount for any one violation of not to exceed\ntwo hundred fifty dollars, exclusive of interest or costs assessed\nthereon, in accordance with a schedule of such penalties as may from\ntime to time be established by the authority. There shall be no penalty\nor increment in fine by virtue of a respondent's timely exercise of his\nright to a hearing or appeal. The rules may provide, in addition to any\nother sanctions, for the confiscation of tokens, tickets, cards or other\nfare media that have been forged, counterfeited, improperly altered or\ntransferred, or otherwise used in a manner inconsistent with such rules.\n 5. The authority may acquire, hold, own, lease, establish, construct,\neffectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve, extend or repair any\nof its facilities through, and cause any one or more of its powers,\nduties, functions or activities to be exercised or performed by, one or\nmore wholly owned subsidiary corporations of the authority and may\ntransfer to or from any such corporation, or between such corporations,\nany moneys, real property or other property or the services of any\nofficers, employees or consultants for any of the purposes of this\ntitle. The directors or members of each such subsidiary corporation\nshall be the same persons holding the offices of members of the\nauthority. Each such subsidiary corporation and any of its property,\nfunctions and activities shall have all of the privileges, immunities,\ntax exemptions and other exemptions of the authority and of the\nauthority's property, functions and activities. Each such subsidiary\ncorporation shall be subject to the restrictions and limitations to\nwhich the authority may be subject. Each such subsidiary corporation\nshall be subject to suit in accordance with section twelve hundred\nninety-nine-p of this title. The employees of any such subsidiary\ncorporation, except those who are also employees of the authority, shall\nnot be deemed employees of the authority.\n If the authority shall determine that one or more of its subsidiary\ncorporations should be in the form of a public benefit corporation, it\nshall create each such public benefit corporation by executing and\nfiling with the secretary of state a certificate of incorporation, which\nmay be amended from time to time by filing, which shall set forth the\nname of such public benefit subsidiary corporation, its duration, the\nlocation of its principal office, and any or all of the purposes of\nacquiring, owning, leasing, establishing, constructing, effectuating,\noperating, maintaining, renovating, improving, extending or repairing\none or more facilities of the authority. Each such public benefit\nsubsidiary corporation shall be a body politic and corporate and shall\nhave all those powers vested in the authority by the provisions of this\ntitle which the authority shall determine to include in its certificate\nof incorporation except the power to contract indebtedness.\n Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding the\nauthority may elect to maintain consolidated records of account for\nitself and its subsidiary corporations and to report on a consolidated\nbasis with regard to the moneys and activities of the authority and its\nsubsidiary corporations, and the authority shall not be required to keep\nseparate records of account for or to report separately with regard to\nmoneys or activities of any of its subsidiary corporations or of the\nauthority itself apart from its subsidiary corporations or with regard\nto transfers of property or services between the authority and its\nsubsidiary corporations or between said subsidiary corporations.\n The Niagara Frontier port authority shall be deemed to be a subsidiary\ncorporation for the purposes of this subdivision.\n Whenever any state, political subdivision, municipality, commission,\nagency, officer, department, board, division or person is authorized and\nempowered for any of the purposes of this title to co-operate and enter\ninto agreements with the authority such state, political subdivision,\nmunicipality, commission, agency, officer, department, board, division\nor person shall have the same authorization and power for any of such\npurposes to co-operate and enter into agreements with a subsidiary\ncorporation of the authority.\n 6. The authority, in its own name or in the name of the state, may\napply for and receive and accept grants of property, money and services\nand other assistance offered or made available to it by any person,\ngovernment or agency whatever, which it may use to meet capital or\noperating expenses and for any other use within the scope of its powers,\nand to negotiate for the same upon such terms and conditions as the\nauthority may determine to be necessary, convenient or desirable.\n 7. The authority may do all things it deems necessary, convenient or\ndesirable to manage, control and direct the maintenance and operation of\ntransportation facilities, equipment or real property operated by or\nunder contract, lease or other arrangement with the authority. Except as\nhereinafter specially provided, no municipality or political\nsubdivision, including but not limited to a county, city, village, town\nor school or other district shall have jurisdiction over any facilities\nof the authority or any of its activities or operations. The local\nlaws, resolutions, ordinances, rules and regulations of a municipality\nor political subdivision, heretofore or hereafter adopted, conflicting\nwith this title or any rule or regulation of the authority, shall not be\napplicable to the activities or operations of the authority, or the\nfacilities of the authority, except such facilities that are devoted to\npurposes other than transportation purposes. Each municipality or\npolitical subdivision, including but not limited to a county, city,\nvillage, town or district in which any facilities of the authority are\nlocated shall provide for such facilities police, fire and health\nprotection services of the same character and to the same extent as\nthose provided for residents of such municipality or political\nsubdivision.\n The jurisdiction, supervision, powers and duties of the department of\ntransportation of the state under the transportation law shall not\nextend to the authority in the exercise of any of its powers under this\ntitle. The authority may agree with such department for the execution by\nsuch department of any grade crossing elimination project or any grade\ncrossing separation reconstruction project along any railroad facility\noperated by the authority or by one of its subsidiary corporations or\nunder contract, lease or other arrangement with the authority. Any such\nproject shall be executed as provided in article ten of the\ntransportation law and the railroad law, respectively, and the costs of\nany such project shall be borne as provided in such laws, except that\nthe authority's share of such costs shall be borne by the state.\n