§ 3 — Definitions

New York § 3

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBG: Public Housing
• Art. 1: Short Title; Policy of State and Purpose of Chapter; Definitions

Text

§ 3. Definitions. The following terms, whenever used or referred to\nin this chapter, shall have the following meaning, unless a different\nmeaning clearly appears from the context:\n 1. The term "commissioner" means the state commissioner of housing and\ncommunity renewal. Reference in this chapter or in any other general,\nspecial or local law to state commissioner of housing shall be deemed to\nmean and refer to the state commissioner of housing and community\nrenewal which is hereby made the new title of such office.\n 2. The term "authority" means a public corporation which is a\ncorporate governmental agency (except a county or municipal corporation)\norganized pursuant to law to accomplish any or all of the purposes\nspecified in article eighteen of the constitution and includes the\nfollowing municipal housing authorities established prior to the first\nday of January, nineteen hundred thirty-nine pursuant to chapter four of\nthe laws of nineteen hundred thirty-four and amendments thereof, namely,\nBuffalo municipal housing authority, Lackawanna municipal housing\nauthority, New York city housing authority, Peekskill housing authority,\nPort Jervis housing authority, Schenectady municipal housing authority,\nSyracuse municipal housing authority, Tarrytown municipal housing\nauthority, Tuckahoe housing authority, municipal housing authority of\nthe city of Utica, New York, and Yonkers housing authority.\n 3. The term "housing company" means a limited profit or limited\ndividend housing corporation organized pursuant to articles two or four\nof the private housing finance law.\n 4. The term "multiple dwelling" means an existing building\naccommodating three or more families living independently of each other.\n 5. The terms "municipal corporation" and "municipality" mean a city,\ntown or village; and the term "municipal" shall be deemed to relate to a\ncity, town or village.\n 6. The term "mayor" means the chief executive officer of a\nmunicipality.\n 7. The term "local legislative body" means: (a) in a city, the board\nof aldermen, common council, council, commission or other board or body\nnow or hereafter vested by its charter or other law with jurisdiction to\nenact ordinances or local laws, except that in a city having a\npopulation of one million or more the term shall, as to such city, mean\nthe officer or agency vested with power under the charter of such city,\nor by other law, to act pursuant to this chapter; (b) in a town, the\ntown board; (c) in a village, the board of trustees.\n 7-a. The term "governing body of a district" means: (a) in a school\ndistrict, the board of education or board of trustees; in the case of\ncommon school districts having one trustee, such trustee; (b) in a fire\nalarm district or a fire protection district, the town board; (c) in a\nfire district, the board of fire district commissioners; (d) in an\nimprovement district, the town board, except that if there be a separate\nboard of commissioners, the term shall mean the town board acting with\nthe approval of the board of commissioners.\n 8. The term "state comptroller" means the comptroller of the state of\nNew York.\n 9. The term "municipal comptroller" means the comptroller in a\nmunicipality having a comptroller; in a municipality having no\ncomptroller, it means the chief financial officer of such municipality.\n 10. The term "state" means New York state.\n 11. The term "government" includes the state, a municipality and the\nfederal government, and any agency or instrumentality, corporate or\notherwise, of any of them acting for and on behalf of the state, a\nmunicipality or the federal government.\n 12. The term "area" means a section of the municipality wherein the\ncommissioner or an authority or a municipality finds that insanitary or\nsubstandard housing conditions exist. An area may include land whether\nimproved or unimproved, and buildings or improvements not in themselves\ninsanitary or substandard, the inclusion of which is deemed necessary by\nthe authority or the municipality or the commissioner, or for projects\nof housing companies by the commissioner, for the effective clearance,\nreplanning, reconstruction or rehabilitation of the area of which such\nland or property is a part.\n 13. The term "plan" means a plan or undertaking for the clearance,\nreplanning and reconstruction or rehabilitation of a substandard and\ninsanitary area or areas and for recreational and other facilities\nincidental or appurtenant thereto to effectuate the purposes of article\neighteen of the constitution or any other provision of the constitution\ndelegating any similar power or providing homes for persons of low\nincome.\n 14. The term "project" means a specific work or improvement to\neffectuate all or any part of a plan. The term shall include the lands,\nbuildings or any dwelling units therein, and improvements acquired,\nowned, constructed, managed or operated hereunder, to provide dwelling\naccommodations for persons of low income, and such stores, offices and\nother non-housing facilities as well as social, recreational or communal\nfacilities, as may be deemed by the authority or municipality to be\nincidental or appurtenant to a project. Subject to the provisions of\narticle eighteen of the constitution with respect to state projects,\nsuch dwelling accommodations may be provided in any section of the\nmunicipality, whether or not such section has insanitary or substandard\nhousing conditions. A project may be a federal project, a state project,\na municipal project or, subject to the limitations contained in section\nseventy-five of this chapter, any combination of these.\n 15. The term "federal project" means a project aided or financed in\nwhole or in part, by the federal government.\n 16. The term "state project" means a project aided or financed in\nwhole or in part by the state and not by the federal government, except\nas may be provided in section seventy-five of this chapter.\n 17. The term "municipal project" means a project other than a state\nproject or a federal project.\n 18. The terms "persons of low income" and "families of low income"\nmean persons or families who are in the low income groups and who cannot\nafford to pay enough to cause private enterprise in their municipality\nto build a sufficient supply of adequate, safe and sanitary dwellings.\n 19. The term "mortgage" means mortgages, deeds of trust, building and\nloan contracts or other instruments creating a lien.\n 20. The terms "real property" or "property" shall include lands and\nimprovements, lands under water, waterfront property, the water of any\nlake, pond or stream, and any and all easements, franchises and\nhereditaments, corporeal or incorporeal, and every estate, interest and\nright therein, legal and equitable, in lands or water, and right,\ninterest, privilege, easement and franchise relating to the same,\nincluding terms for years and liens by way of judgment, mortgage or\notherwise.\n 21. The term "obligee" shall include any bondholder, trustee or\ntrustees for any bondholders or any lessor demising property to an\nauthority or municipality used in connection with a project or an\nassignee or assignees of such lessor's interest, and a government, which\nis a party to any contract with the authority or municipality.\n 22. The term "going state rate of interest" means, at any time, the\nannual rate of interest specified in the bonds of the state issued to\nprovide funds for a loan to effectuate the provisions of this chapter,\nand if no such bonds have been issued, then the term means an annual\ninterest rate of two and one-half per centum.\n 23. The term "low rent housing" means dwellings within the financial\nreach of families of low income and embraces recreational and other\nfacilities incidental and appurtenant thereto.\n 24. The term "project cost" means the cost of any or all undertakings\nnecessary for planning, financing (including payment of carrying\ncharges), land acquisition, demolition, construction, equipment, and\nsite development of new buildings, reconstruction, rehabilitation,\nrepair or remodeling of existing buildings, but, except as to existing\nhousing company projects, or parts thereof, sold, leased or otherwise\nconveyed to an authority, not beyond the point of physical completion,\nand the cost of tenant placement service in connection with a project.\nIn the case of new construction, the "project cost" shall be sufficient\nto encourage excellence of architectural design, variety and interest in\nbuilding materials, and aesthetic objectives compatible with prudent\nbudgeting. Where a housing company project, or a part thereof, is\npurchased by, leased or otherwise conveyed to an authority, the term\n"project cost" may include the cost of such purchase, lease or other\nconveyance as determined and certified by the commissioner.\n 25. The term "condemnation" means the acquisition of real property in\nthe manner provided by the eminent domain procedure law by the\nmunicipality in which the real property is to be taken.\n 26. The term "planning commission" means any agency of a municipality\nauthorized to prepare, adopt or amend the map of the municipality or\nempowered to prepare and adopt and from time to time modify a\ncomprehensive or master plan of the municipality.\n 27. The term "tenant services" shall include but not be limited to\ncounseling on household management, housekeeping, budgeting, money\nmanagement, child care, and similar matters or services which are\ndirectly related to meeting tenant needs and providing a wholesome\nliving environment; and referral to appropriate agencies when necessary\nfor the provision of such services.\n