§ 2302 — Definitions

§ 2302. Definitions. As used or referred to in this title, unless a\ndifferent meaning clearly appears from the context:\n 1. The term "authority" shall mean the Auburn Industrial Development\nAuthority, the corporation created by section twenty-three hundred four\nof this title;\n 2. The term "board" shall mean the members of the authority;\n 3. The term "city" shall mean the city of Auburn;\n 4. The term "bonds" shall mean the bonds, notes, and other obligations\nissued by the authority pursuant to this title;\n 5. The term "project" shall mean any land in one or more areas of the\ncity and within or outside or partially within and partially outside the\ncity and any building, structure, facility or other improvement thereon,\nincluding, but not limited to machinery and equipment and all real and\npersonal properties deemed necessary in connection therewith, whether or\nnot now in existence or under construction, which shall be necessary or\nsuitable for industrial, warehousing, research or commercial purposes,\nor for use by a federal agency or a medical facility and which may\ninclude or mean an industrial pollution control facility or a civic\nfacility, provided, however, the authority shall not provide financial\nassistance in respect of any project wholly or partially outside the\ncity provided, however, that the authority may provide financial\nassistance for such a project where a portion of the project outside the\ncity is contiguous to a portion of the project located within the city\nif the authority obtains the prior consent thereto by the governing body\nor bodies of all the other cities, towns or villages in which a part or\nparts of the project is, or is to be, located.\n 6. The term "project occupant" shall mean the industrial,\nmanufacturing or commercial enterprise, medical facility, or federal\nagency which proposes to use a project, as defined in subdivision five\nof this section, undertaken by the authority.\n 7. The term "revenues" shall mean any revenues, rents, fees or other\ncharges derived by or on behalf of the authority from any project.\n 8. The term "state" shall mean the state of New York.\n 9. The term "federal agency" shall mean and include the United States\nof America and any department of or corporation, agency or\ninstrumentality heretofore or hereafter created, designated or\nestablished by the United States of America, and any independent\nestablishment of the executive branch of the government of the United\nStates of America, including the United States postal service.\n 10. The term "medical facility" shall mean a hospital or other\nfacilities, whether or not operated for profit, for the prevention,\ndiagnosis or treatment of human disease, pain, injury, disability,\ndeformity or physical condition.\n 11. The term "industrial pollution control facility" shall mean any\nequipment, improvement, structure or facility or any land and any\nbuilding, structure, facility or other improvement thereon, or any\ncombination thereof, and all real and personal property deemed necessary\ntherewith, which are not of a character or nature then or formerly\nfurnished or supplied by the city, having to do with or the end purpose\nof which is the control, abatement or prevention of land, sewer, water,\nair, noise or general environmental pollution deriving from the\noperation of industrial, manufacturing, warehousing, commercial, medical\nand research facilities and facilities for use by a federal agency,\nincluding, but not limited to any air pollution control facility, noise\nabatement facility, water management facility, waste water collecting\nsystem, waste water treatment works, sewage treatment works system,\nsewage treatment system or solid waste disposal facility or site.\n 12. The term "financial assistance" shall mean the proceeds of bonds\nissued by the authority, straight-leases or exemptions from taxation\nclaimed by a project occupant as a result of the authority taking title,\npossession or control (by lease, license or otherwise) to the property\nor equipment of such project occupant or of such project occupant acting\nas an agent of the authority.\n 13. The term "straight-lease transaction" shall mean a transaction in\nwhich the authority takes title, possession or control (by lease,\nlicense or otherwise) to the property or equipment of a lessee,\nentitling such property or equipment to be exempt from taxation\naccording to the provisions of section twenty-three hundred twenty-six\nof this title, and no financial assistance in the form of the proceeds\nof bonds issued by the authority is provided to the project occupant.\n 14. The term "affected tax jurisdiction" shall mean any municipality\nor school district, in which a project is located, which will fail to\nreceive real property tax payments, or other tax payments which would\notherwise be due, except for the tax exempt status of the authority\ninvolved in a project.\n 15. The term "payments in lieu of taxes" shall mean any payment made\nto an agency, or affected tax jurisdiction equal to the amount, or a\nportion, of real property taxes, or other taxes, which would have been\nlevied by or on behalf of an affected tax jurisdiction if the project\nwas not tax exempt by reason of authority involvement.\n 16. "Highly distressed area" means (a) a census tract or tracts or\nblock numbering areas or areas or such census tract or block numbering\narea contiguous thereto which, according to the most recent census data\navailable, has:\n (i) A poverty rate of at least twenty percent for the year to which\nthe data relates or at least twenty percent of households receiving\npublic assistance; and\n (ii) An unemployment rate of at least 1.25 times the statewide\nunemployment rate for the year to which the data relates; or\n (b) A city, town, village or county within a city with a population of\none million or more for which: (i) the ratio of the full value property\nwealth, as determined by the comptroller for the year nineteen hundred\nninety, per resident to the statewide average full value property wealth\nper resident; and (ii) the ratio of the income per resident; as shown in\nthe nineteen hundred ninety census to the statewide average income per\nresident; are each fifty-five percent or less of the statewide average;\nor\n (c) An area which was designated an empire zone pursuant to article\neighteen-B of the general municipal law.\n