§ 37 — Powers of authority

§ 37. Powers of authority. 1. An authority shall have the following\npowers in addition to other powers granted in this chapter: (a)\ninvestigate into living conditions in the municipality and into the\nmeans of improving such conditions; (b) determine where insanitary or\nsubstandard housing conditions exist; (c) publish and disseminate\ninformation; (d) prepare or arrange for preparation of plans for, carry\nout and operate projects; (e) construct, reconstruct, improve, alter or\nrepair or provide for the construction, reconstruction, improvement,\nalteration or repair of any project; (f) demolish structures; (g) clear\nareas; (h) lease, purchase, or otherwise acquire, manage, operate all or\nany part of any project, or any dwelling unit or units therein,\nundertaken or completed by any government or housing company: (i) Act as\nagent for or enter into contracts and otherwise cooperate with the\nfederal government in connection with a federal or municipal project, or\nany federally-aided program to provide dwelling accommodations for\npersons of low income; (j) arrange, agree or contract with a government\nfor the planning, replanning, opening, grading or closing of streets,\nroads, roadways, alleys or other places or for the furnishing of\nfacilities or for the acquisition by a government of property or\nproperty rights or for the furnishing of property or services in\nconnection with a project; (k) lease or rent, as lessor or sublessor,\nany of the housing or other accommodations or any of the lands,\nbuildings, structures or facilities embraced in any project or connected\nwith any program to provide dwelling accommodations for persons of low\nincome, and establish and revise the rents or charges therefor; (l)\nenter upon any building or property in order to conduct investigations\nor make surveys, soundings or test borings necessary to carry out its\npurposes; (m) acquire or contract to acquire from any person, firm,\ncorporation or government, by subsidy, contribution, gift, grant,\nbequest, devise, purchase, condemnation or otherwise, real or personal\nproperty or any interest therein or lease dwelling units from any\nperson, firm or corporation for sublease to persons and families of low\nincome; (n) sell, exchange, transfer, assign or mortgage any real or\npersonal property or any interest therein; (o) own, hold, clear and\nimprove real or personal property or any interest therein; (p) insure or\nprovide for the insurance of its property or operations as required by\nlaw and also against such other risks as it may deem advisable; (q)\nlimit by contract, the exercise of any of its powers; (r) invest any\nfunds held in reserves or sinking funds, or any funds not required for\nimmediate disbursement in property or securities in which savings banks\nmay legally invest funds subject to their control; (s) sue and be sued;\n(t) have a seal and alter the same at pleasure; (u) have perpetual\nsuccession; (v) make and execute contracts and other instruments\nnecessary or convenient to the exercise of its powers; (w) make and from\ntime to time amend and repeal by-laws, rules and regulations not\ninconsistent with the provisions of this chapter; (x) conduct\nexaminations and investigations, hear testimony and take proof, under\noath at public or private hearings on any material matter, require the\nattendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers and issue\ncommissions for the examination of witnesses who are out of the state,\nunable to attend, or excused from attendance; (y) authorize a committee\ndesignated by it consisting of one or more members, or counsel, or any\nofficer or employee to conduct any such investigation or examination, in\nwhich case such committee, counsel, officer or employee shall have power\nto administer oaths, take affidavits and issue subpoenas or commissions;\nand (z) enter into agreements of cooperation with or for the rendition\nof service to an agency as defined in subdivision five of section five\nhundred two of the general municipal law to assist such agency, at no\nexpense to the authority or providing for payment to the authority of\nthe agreed proportion of compensation or costs, in connection with the\nmanagement of properties in, relocation of displacees from, and the\ndemolition of buildings in any urban renewal area, in accordance with\nthe provisions of this chapter and, except as may be provided in such\nagreements, without regard to the requirements of any law otherwise\napplicable to such agency: and (aa) at no cost or expense to it, enter\ninto agreements of cooperation with a municipality which need not be\nwithin the territorial jurisdiction of such authority notwithstanding\nthe provisions of section thirty-one or article thirteen of this\nchapter, or with an authority of such municipality, to assist such\nmunicipality or authority in the construction, maintenance, operation or\nmanagement of a project. (bb) do all things necessary or convenient to\ncarry out its powers.\n 2. An authority shall file in the office of the commissioner annual\nreports, which shall be open to public inspection. The reports shall\ninclude for the first year of ownership or operation, in addition to any\ninformation which the commissioner may require, a statement with respect\nto each completed project owned or operated by the authority, of the\nfollowing data: (a) total cost of the land; (b) cost of land per square\nfoot; (c) cost of building; (d) construction costs per cubic foot and\nper dwelling room; (e) approximate date of completion; (f) amount of any\ngovernment loan for the project; (g) amount of any periodic subsidy for\nthe project; (h) average rental per room including and excluding utility\nservices; (i) number of apartments, full rooms and half rooms; (j) gross\nfloor area per room; (k) number of vacant apartments; (l) vacancy\npercentage; (m) total operating expenses per annum; (n) average annual\noperating costs per room; (o) annual income from rents of dwelling\nunits; (p) annual income from other sources; (q) assessed valuation of\nproperty at the time of its acquisition for the project; (r) minimum,\nmaximum and average aggregate annual income of the families occupying\nthe project; (s) former population on site; (t) number of buildings\ndemolished on site; (u) former density on site per gross acre; (v)\npresent density on site per gross acre.\n Each subsequent year of such continued ownership or operation, such\nreport shall contain, in addition to any information which the\ncommissioner may require, the following data: (a) amount of any\ngovernment loan for the project; (b) amount of any periodic subsidy for\nthe project; (c) average rental per room including and excluding utility\nservices; (d) number of vacant apartments; (e) vacancy percentage; (f)\ntotal operating expenses per annum; (g) average annual operating costs\nper room; (h) annual income from rents of dwelling units; (i) annual\nincome from other sources; (j) minimum, maximum and average aggregate\nannual income of the families occupying the project.\n 3. An authority shall file in the office of the commissioner, within\nsix months of the effective date of regulations implementing this\nsubdivision and in such format as the commissioner shall prescribe after\nconsultation with the state energy office, an energy audit report for\nstate and municipal projects which identifies potential energy-saving\nbuilding improvements, including alterations, modifications and\nadjustments to the building structure, heating, cooling, lighting and\nventilation systems; their relative costs; potential energy and cost\nsavings; and simple payback periods, which for the purpose of this\nsubdivision shall mean that period of time within which the estimated\ncost of such improvements, exclusive of the cost of capital, would be\nrecovered from the savings generated by reduced energy consumption\nresulting from the improvements. The energy audit shall be conducted by\na public utility, an engineer or architect licensed by the state, or the\nmanaging agent or other representative of the authority if such\nindividual has attended an energy audit training workshop sponsored by\nthe commissioner or the state energy office. A copy of the energy audit\nreport, required herein, shall be given to any duly constituted tenant's\nassociation or cooperator's advisory council and a copy shall be\navailable for inspection and copying by any individual tenant who\nrequests it. An authority shall also certify by March thirty-first,\nnineteen hundred eighty-four that all compatible conservation measures\nidentified in the energy audit report which have simple payback periods\nof one year or less have been implemented; provided, however, if the\ncommissioner determines within sixty days of the date the energy audit\nreport is filed that one or more of such identified conservation\nmeasures cannot be implemented by March thirty-first, nineteen hundred\neighty-four given the projected rent revenues and any other monies\navailable to the authority from reserve funds, loans or grants from the\nstate or federal government or any other source, the implementation of\nsuch conservation measures shall be provided for according to a schedule\nprescribed by the commissioner.\n 4. When an authority has been paid all or part of the principal of a\nstate loan pursuant to this chapter and in the event that the completion\nof the project for which the loan was made has been delayed or that the\nfunds of such loan for any other reason are not immediately needed for\nthe development of the project, the authority shall have the power to\ninvest the moneys of such loan which will not be immediately needed for\nthe project in obligations of the categories specified in section\nninety-eight of the state finance law and of maturities approved by the\nstate comptroller.\n