§ 553-E — Laws applicable to certain activities

§ 553-e. Laws applicable to certain activities. 1. (a) In its\nperformance of any project authorized by paragraph (m), (n), (o), (p) or\n(r) of subdivision nine of section five hundred fifty-three of this\ntitle, the authority shall not be deemed the agent or instrumentality of\nany other public benefit or municipal corporation notwithstanding the\nfact that title to any real or personal property (or any interest\ntherein) which is the subject of or is a part of such project is held\nby, or upon completion of such project is to be transferred to, any such\nentity, and the provisions of section five hundred fifty-nine of this\ntitle shall not be applicable with respect to any such project. In its\nperformance of any such project for the New York city transit authority,\nhowever, the provisions of section twelve hundred nine of this chapter\nshall apply to the authority as if it were the "authority" referred to\ntherein.\n (b) Neither the provisions of section one hundred ninety-seven-c of\nthe New York city charter, relating to a uniform land use review\nprocedure, nor the provisions of any other local law of the city of New\nYork of like or similar tenor or import shall apply (i) to the\nacquisition of any real property (or any interest therein) for the\npurposes of any such project by the city or by the New York city transit\nauthority or any of its subsidiaries; (ii) to the subsequent transfer of\nany real property (or interest therein) so acquired to the authority or\nits designee for the purposes of such project or to the transfer to the\nauthority or its designee for such purposes of any real property (or\ninterest therein) then owned by the city or by the New York city transit\nauthority or any such subsidiary; nor (iii) to the transfer to the\nauthority or its designee for such purposes of the right of use,\noccupancy, control or possession of any real property (or interest\ntherein), whether presently owned or hereafter acquired by the city or\nby the New York city transit authority or any such subsidiary; provided\nin each such case, however, that if at the time of such proposed\nacquisition or transfer the real property which is the subject of such\nacquisition or transfer is not then being utilized for a transit or\ntransportation purpose or is not an insubstantial addition to such\nproperty contiguous thereto; (a) the authority proposing to acquire or\nreceive such property shall, unless a submission with respect to such\nproperty has previously been made and approved as herein provided,\nsubmit to the community board for the community district in which such\nproperty is located, data with respect to the proposed use of such\nproperty and to the design of any facility proposed to be constructed\nthereon; (b) such community board shall inform the board of estimate of\nthe city of New York, with copies to the city planning commission of the\ncity of New York and the proposing authority, of its views and\nrecommendations with respect thereto within forty-five days of such\nsubmission, and if the community board shall fail to so inform the board\nof estimate within such period it shall be deemed to have recommended\nthe proposal; and (c) the board of estimate shall, within forty-five\ndays of the recommendation of the community board, approve or disapprove\nsuch acquisition or transfer, and if the board of estimate shall fail to\nact within such period it shall be deemed to have approved the same.\n 2. After the transfer, transfer back, lease or sublease by the\nauthority of any such project or part thereof, actions for damages to\nreal or personal property or for the destruction thereof, or for\npersonal injuries or death, based upon the use, condition or state of\nsuch project or part thereof may not be instituted against the\nauthority, which shall have no liability or responsibility to the\ntransferee, lessee or sublessee or to third parties therefor.\n 3. If any property, real or personal (or any interest therein), needed\nor useful for or in connection with any such project is owned by any\nmunicipal corporation, such corporation may transfer the same, with or\nwithout consideration, to the authority for such purpose, and if such\nproperty is owned by the city of New York, such transfer may be by\naction of its mayor alone.\n 4. The authority, upon suitable notice to and an offer to consult with\nan officer designated by the city of New York, may occupy the streets of\nthe city of New York for the purpose of doing any work over or under the\nsame in connection with any such project without the consent of or\npayment to the city of New York.\n 5. The providing of any such project for the use or benefit of the New\nYork city transit authority or any of its subsidiaries shall not relieve\nthe city of its obligations under law or by lease to pay the capital\ncosts of the said authority or of its subsidiaries.\n 6. Except as the authority shall otherwise agree, title to any such\nproject or any part thereof or interest therein which shall have been\ntransferred, leased or subleased to the New York city transit authority\nor its designated subsidiary, shall remain in such transferee, lessee or\nsublessee, any provisions of title nine of article five of this chapter\nor of any lease or other agreement entered into under the provisions of\nthat title to the contrary notwithstanding.\n 7. The metropolitan transportation authority, the New York city\ntransit authority and the designated subsidiaries of each of them are\neach hereby authorized (i) to request the authority to undertake any\nsuch project; (ii) to acquire in its own name by gift, purchase or\ncondemnation, and, additionally, in the case of the metropolitan\ntransportation authority, by appropriation pursuant to section twelve\nhundred sixty-seven-a of this chapter, any real or personal property (or\nany interest therein), which is needed or useful for or in connection\nwith such project, the provisions of any lease or other agreement with\nthe city to the contrary notwithstanding, and to surrender the use,\noccupancy, control or possession of or to transfer the same, or of any\nother such real or personal property (or any interest therein) which it\nowns, leases, operates or controls, to the authority; (iii) to accept a\ntransfer, transfer back, lease or sublease of any such project or part\nthereof upon its completion; (iv) to undertake any such project itself,\nor to finance, through loans, leases or otherwise, any other person or\nentity, public or private, to do so, in each case using funds granted by\nthe authority to pay all or any part of the costs thereof (such\nundertaking, in the case of the New York city transit authority and its\nsubsidiary, the Manhattan and Bronx surface transit operating authority,\nbeing free of any restriction set forth in subparagraph (ii) of\nparagraph b of subdivision one of section twelve hundred three or in\nparagraph (c) of subdivision five of section twelve hundred three-a of\nthis chapter); and (v) to make its agents, employees and facilities\navailable to the authority in connection therewith.\n 8. No such project to be constructed upon real property theretofore\nused for a transit or transportation purpose, or on an insubstantial\naddition to such property contiguous thereto, which will not change in a\nmaterial respect the general character of such prior transit or\ntransportation use, nor any acts or activities in connection with such\nproject, shall be subject to the provisions of article eight, nineteen,\ntwenty-four or twenty-five of the environmental conservation law, or to\nany local law or ordinance adopted pursuant to any such article. Nor\nshall any project or acts or activities in connection therewith taken by\nany person or entity, public or private, pursuant to paragraph (m), (n),\n(o), (p), or (r) of subdivision nine of section five hundred fifty-three\nof this title be subject to the provisions of article eight of the\nenvironmental conservation law if such project, acts or activities to be\ntaken in connection therewith require the preparation of a statement\nunder or pursuant to any federal law or regulation as to the\nenvironmental impact thereof.\n 9. In connection with the negotiation, award and implementation of\ncontracts of the authority relating to any project hereafter initiated\npursuant to paragraphs (m), (n), (o), (p) and (r) of subdivision nine of\nsection five hundred fifty-three of this title, the provisions of\nparagraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of subdivision thirteen of section\ntwelve hundred sixty-six-c of this chapter shall apply to the authority\nas if it were the "authority" referred to therein, and the officer\ndesignated by the metropolitan transportation authority pursuant to\nparagraph (e) of that subdivision shall perform the duties therein\ndescribed with respect to such contracts of the authority.\n 10. The financing of any such project through the issuance of bonds or\nnotes of the authority shall be subject to the provisions of section\ntwelve hundred sixty-nine-b of this chapter.\n 11. The aggregate principal amount of bonds and notes issued and\noutstanding at any time to finance projects authorized by paragraphs\n(m), (n), (o), (p) and (r) of subdivision nine of section five hundred\nfifty-three of this title shall not exceed one billion one hundred\nmillion dollars through December thirty-first, nineteen hundred\neighty-six and three billion two hundred million dollars thereafter,\nprovided however that such latter amount shall not exceed two billion\ntwo hundred million dollars for all bonds and notes other than those\nissued pursuant to section five hundred fifty-three-d of this title.\nThis limitation shall not include (i) bonds and notes issued to refund\nor otherwise repay bonds or notes theretofore issued for such purposes,\n(ii) bonds issued to fund any reasonably required debt service reserve\nfund for bonds and notes, and (iii) an amount equal to any original\nissue discount from the prinicipal amount of any bonds or notes issued\nand then outstanding. From the proceeds of the bonds and notes provided\nfor in the first sentence of this subdivision, other than bonds or notes\nauthorized by section five hundred fifty-three-d of this title, the\nauthority shall not expend more than one billion three hundred twenty\nmillion dollars for transit projects as defined in section twelve\nhundred sixty-six-c of this chapter nor more than eight hundred eighty\nmillion dollars for transportation facilities as such term is defined in\nsubdivision fourteen of section twelve hundred sixty-one of this chapter\nother than marine or aviation facilities. For the purposes of this\nsubdivision, facilities under the jurisdiction of the Staten Island\nrapid transit operating authority shall be considered transit projects.\n