§ 36-A — Additional powers of municipalities

§ 36-a. Additional powers of municipalities. In addition to any other\npowers granted to a municipality by law, and notwithstanding the\nprovisions of any other law, a municipality acting by its local\nlegislative body shall have power:\n 1. To undertake, plan, develop, construct or enter into contracts for\nthe planning, development or construction of, or to own one or more\nprojects or any part thereof, or to engage in one or more of such\nactivities in respect to one or more projects or any part thereof. For\nany of the purposes of this subdivision, a municipality may contract\neither with a housing company incorporated under this article or with a\nhousing development fund company incorporated pursuant to article eleven\nof this chapter.\n 2. (a) Acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation or\notherwise, in accordance with the provisions of the appropriate general,\nspecial or local law applicable to the acquisition of real or personal\nproperty by such municipality, real or personal property or any interest\ntherein necessary for or incidental to a project, including but not\nlimited to air rights, and easements or other rights of user necessary\nfor the use and development of such air rights, to be developed as air\nrights sites for a project; provided, however, that the acquisition of\nany air rights over railroad tracks, rights of way or facilities and\neasements or other rights of user necessary for the use and development\nof such air rights are to be subject to the provision of section\nfifty-one-a of the railroad law. The acquisition of real property\npursuant to a plan shall in every case be deemed to be and constitute a\ncontinuous rather than separate takings.\n (b) Property so acquired by a municipality shall be exempt from\ntaxation until sold, leased for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years\nor otherwise disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this\nsection; provided however, that any such municipality shall have the\npower and authority, with respect to such property, to pay or transfer,\nout of funds available to it for the effectuating of such program or\nproject annual sums in lieu of taxes to any taxing jurisdiction\nproviding services to the project area, or to the part or portion\nthereof within such taxing jurisdiction, in order that no such taxing\njurisdiction shall suffer an inequitable loss of revenue by virtue of\nsuch project; provided, further, that the amount so paid or transferred\nfor any year with respect to any such property shall not exceed the\nlesser of (1) the sum last levied for the benefit of such taxing\njurisdiction as an annual tax on such property prior to the time of its\nacquisition for project purposes or (2) such amount as shall be approved\nby the commissioner pursuant to such rules, regulations, limitations and\nconditions as he may prescribe, as an eligible and proper charge against\nsuch project. Upon the sale, lease or disposition of such property to\nany person, firm or corporation, not entitled to an exemption from\ntaxation or entitled to only a partial tax exemption such property shall\nimmediately become subject to taxation in whole or in part, as the case\nmay be, and shall be taxed pro rata for the unexpired portion of the\ntaxable year.\n As used in this paragraph, the term "taxing jurisdiction" means any\nmunicipal corporation or district corporation, including any school\ndistrict or any special district, having the power to levy or collect\ntaxes and benefit assessments upon real property, or in whose behalf\nsuch taxes or benefit assessments may be levied or collected.\n 3. To sell or lease for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years any\nsuch project, or part thereof, at any stage before or at the date of or\nafter the physical completion of such project, to a company which will\nundertake, plan, construct, own, manage or operate such project in\naccordance with the plan and the provisions of this article. In the\nevent of a sale or lease of any such project prior to the physical\ncompletion thereof, the municipality may agree to complete and may\ncomplete construction and development of such project or cause the same\nto be completed. Any such sale or lease may be made without public\nbidding, public sale or public offering pursuant to such negotiated\ncontract, agreement or lease, containing such provisions, limitations,\nrequirements, terms and conditions, price or rental as the governing\nbody of the municipality may deem necessary or desirable to effectuate\nthe plan and the public policy and public purposes described in sections\neleven and eleven-a of this article.\n 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section thirty-three of this\narticle the real property in a project sold or leased as provided in\nthis section, when the transfer thereunder becomes effective, shall be\nexempt from local and municipal taxes, other than assessments for local\nimprovements to such extent as may be granted by the local legislative\nbody of the municipality. The tax exemption shall operate and continue\nso long as capital loans of the company to which such project shall have\nbeen sold or leased or any additional loan the proceeds of which are\nprimarily used for the residential portion of the project, which\nadditional loan is approved by the commissioner or the supervising\nagency are outstanding.\n Notes, bonds, mortgages and other obligations of such a company are\ndeclared to be issued for a public purpose and to be public\ninstrumentalities and, together with interest thereon, shall be exempt\nfrom tax.\n 5. The provisions of section thirteen of this article requiring the\napproval by the commissioner of housing of the persons incorporating a\nlimited-profit housing company and the provisions of section fourteen of\nthis article requiring the consent of the commissioner of housing to the\nfiling of the certificate of incorporation of such a company in the\noffice of the secretary of state and the amendment thereof shall not\napply to a corporation created pursuant to this article on a cooperative\nbasis for the purchase or lease of a project pursuant to this section;\nnor shall any of the provisions of this article conferring upon the\ncommissioner of housing any powers in respect of limited-profit housing\ncompanies apply to such a corporation. The application of this\nsubdivision shall be limited to corporations undertaking a project with\nthe aid of a municipal loan under this article.\n 6. A project or part of a project sold or leased to a housing company\npursuant to the provisions of this section thirty-six-a shall be owned\nor operated by such housing company in accordance with the provisions of\nthis article and in accordance with an agreement of sale or lease to be\nentered into by the municipality and such housing company. Each such\nagreement shall contain, in addition to such other terms and conditions\nas may lawfully be agreed upon by the parties, the following provisions,\nwhich shall be subject to any approvals which may be required by this\narticle:\n (a) Establishing a schedule of maximum rents which may be charged by\nthe housing company.\n (b) Prescribing the method by which tenants are to be selected for the\nproject and criteria of tenant eligibility.\n (c) Any such agreement of lease may provide for the transfer of title\nof the real property so leased to the housing company at the end of the\nterm or lease.\n 7. A housing company shall have the power, in addition to any other\npowers under this article to enter into and carry out the provisions of\nany agreement authorized under this section or under section\ntwenty-three-a or twenty-three-b of this article, and to enter into and\ncarry out agreements in order to obtain insurance by the federal\ngovernment of a mortgage for the purpose of refinancing all or any part\nof a mortgage loan pursuant to section twenty-three of this article.\n 8. Any project that received a tax exemption under this section may,\nupon the expiration of the tax exemption period, be granted an\nadditional tax exemption period of up to fifty years, or until such time\nas the project is no longer operated under the restrictions and for the\npurposes set forth in this article, whichever is sooner.\n