§ 26 — Conditions and security for loans

§ 26. Conditions and security for loans. 1. No loan shall be made by\nthe state, the New York state housing finance agency, a municipality or\nthe New York city housing development corporation unless the\ncommissioner, with respect to a project aided by a state loan or New\nYork state housing finance agency loan, or the supervisory agency, with\nrespect to a municipally-aided project, finds that:\n (a) The municipality has approved the project as provided in\nsubdivision five of this section and has enacted or will enact\nregulations or appropriate restrictions adequately protecting the\nproject against future uses likely to depreciate unduly the value of\nsuch project;\n (b) The estimated revenues of the project will be sufficient to cover\nall probable costs of operation and maintenance, of fixed charges and\noperating reserves and depreciation reserves if any;\n (c) The plans and specifications conform to the requirements of all\nlaws applicable thereto, and assure adequate light, air, sanitation and\nfire protection;\n (d) If the project is aided by a state loan, or a New York state\nhousing finance agency loan, the commissioner shall also find that the\nproject is in conformity with a plan or undertaking for providing low\nrent housing facilities for persons of low income and for the clearance,\nreplanning, reconstruction or rehabilitation of a substandard and\ninsanitary area or areas, and for other facilities incidental or\nappurtenant thereto as may be approved by the commissioner.\n 1-a. No company may be aided pursuant to this article by a mortgage\nloan or tax exemption or both to finance the acquisition of a building\nby residents thereof unless the commissioner or the supervising agency,\nas the case may be, finds that:\n (a) the condition of such building is deteriorating and the building\nis located in a deteriorating area or in an area threatened with\ndeterioration by reason of economic, social or physical changes\noccurring therein or in nearby areas;\n (b) the building is not yielding sufficient revenues to cover costs of\noperation and maintenance, of fixed charges and of reserves, if any, and\nalso a reasonable profit to the owner;\n (c) the making of such loan will prevent further deterioration and\nabandonment;\n (d) at least two-thirds of the present residents consent to such\nacquisition;\n (e) financing for such acquisition is otherwise unavailable because of\nthe neighborhood, the age of the buildings, or other factors indicating\nan inability of the private sector unaided to cause such acquisition to\nbe effected;\n (f) the proceeds of such loan will not be used to refinance existing\ndebt in excess of a reasonable relationship to current value; and\n (g) the term for repayment of such loan does not exceed the remaining\nuseful life of the building.\n 2. The principal of a loan made by the state shall be repaid by the\ncompany over a period of not to exceed fifty years except in the case of\na loan to rehabilitate an existing building, in which case the period\nshall not exceed thirty-five years, or the estimated life of the\nproject, whichever is shorter, in annual installments equal to the\namount payable by the state on the moneys borrowed for the project.\nSuch annual installment of principal need not be uniform in amount, but\nmay be so varied that the total payment of principal and interest shall\nbe approximately equal and constant during the period of the loan. Each\npayment of principal and interest shall be made to the state comptroller\nnot later than five days before each payment by the state is required.\nThe loan shall bear the same rate of interest paid or to be paid by the\nstate for the definitive housing bonds issued on account of such loan.\nThe company shall pay to the state comptroller a proportionate share of\nthe cost of borrowing not later than thirty days after the state\ncomptroller has certified the amount of such share.\n 3. Any bonds or notes issued by the company and any mortgages relating\nthereto may authorize the company, with the consent of the state\ncomptroller in the case of a state-aided project, or the supervising\nagency in the case of a municipally-aided project, to prepay the\nprincipal of the loan. Such bonds or notes and mortgages may contain\nsuch other clauses and provisions as the commissioner in the case of a\nstate-aided project or the supervising agency in the case of a\nmunicipally-aided project, shall require. Notwithstanding the provisions\nof any general, special or local law, the principal of any loans made\npursuant to subdivision one of section fifteen of this article or the\nprincipal of a loan made by a municipality pursuant to this article and\nsecured by a mortgage lien subordinate to the lien of a first mortgage\nmade pursuant to paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section fifteen of\nthis article may be amortized at such time or times or at such rate as\nthe supervising agency shall approve.\n 4. With respect to a state-aided project the commissioner may charge\nthe company reasonable fees for financing, regulation, supervision and\naudit. Fees collected for such services shall be paid into and disbursed\nfrom such fund or funds as may be provided by law.\n 5. (a) In a municipality where there is a planning commission, the\nproject shall first be submitted to it for approval. Where changes in\nthe city map and zoning amendments or variances are necessitated by such\nproject, such amendments, variances and changes shall be submitted\ntogether with such project and considered as a part thereof. Such\nplanning commission, not later than ten weeks from the date of the\nreferral of the project to it, after a public hearing held on due\nnotice, notice of which shall be published at least ten days prior\nthereto in the official publication of the municipality, or if none\nexists, in a newspaper circulating in the municipality, shall submit its\nreport to the local legislative body certifying its unqualified\napproval, its disapproval, or its qualified approval with\nrecommendations for modifications therein.\n After public hearing held on due notice and after the report is\nreceived or due from the planning commission, the local legislative body\nmay:\n (i) if the planning commission shall have certified its unqualified\napproval, approve the project by a majority vote;\n (ii) if the planning commission shall have certified its disapproval\nor shall have failed to make its report within ten weeks from the date\nsuch project was submitted to it, nevertheless approve the project, but\nonly by a three-fourths vote;\n (iii) if the planning commission shall have certified its qualified\napproval together with recommendations for modifications, approve the\nproject together with the modifications recommended by the planning\ncommission by a majority vote, or approve the project without such\nmodifications but only by a three-fourths vote.\n (b) In a municipality where there is no planning commission the\nproject shall be submitted to the local legislative body which, after\npublic hearing held on due notice, may either approve or disapprove the\nproject.\n (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, changes in the city\nmap, zoning amendments, or variances contained in the plan shall be\ndeemed approved by the local legislative body when it approves the\nproject. Any such changes in the city map, zoning amendments, or\nvariances shall become effective on the date on which the supervising\nagency shall file a resolution with the local legislative body in\nimplementation thereof.\n 6. The provisions of subdivisions one and five of this section shall\nnot apply to a state urban development corporation project or to any\nloan made by the state or the state housing finance agency to such\nproject, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein.\n 7. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained therein, the\nprovisions of subdivisions one and five of this section shall not apply\nto a Battery Park city project or to any loan made by the state or the\nNew York state housing finance agency to such project.\n