§ 16-N — Restore New York's Communities Initiative

* § 16-n. Restore New York's Communities Initiative. 1. Definitions.\n(a) For the purposes of this section "deconstruction" shall mean the\ncareful disassembly of buildings of architectural or historic\nsignificance with the intent to rehabilitate, reconstruct the building\nor salvage the material disassembled from the building.\n (b) For the purposes of this section "reconstruction" shall mean the\nconstruction of a new building which is similar in architecture and size\nto a previously existing building at such location.\n (c) For the purposes of this section "rehabilitation" shall mean\nstructural repairs, mechanical systems repair or replacement, repairs\nrelated to deferred maintenance, emergency repairs, energy efficiency\nupgrades, accessibility improvements, mitigation of lead based paint\nhazards, and other repairs which result in a significant improvement to\nthe property.\n (d) For the purposes of this section "municipality" shall mean any\ncounty, city, town or village within the state of New York, except a\ncity having a population of one million or more, unless such area is in\na distressed community as defined in paragraph (c) of subdivision six of\nthis section.\n (e) For the purposes of this section "residential apartment unit"\nshall mean a multiple dwelling consisting of one or more rooms\ncontaining at least one bathroom, which room or rooms are separated and\nset apart from all other rooms within a multiple dwelling.\n (f) For the purposes of this section "affordable housing units" shall\nmean permanent housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-income\nhouseholds, such that the new housing achieves income averaging at or\nbelow fifty percent of the area median income, with residents'\neligibility capped at a maximum of eighty percent of the area median\nincome at the start of their lease.\n 2. The Restore New York's Communities Initiative is hereby created.\nThe corporation is authorized, within available appropriations, to issue\nrequest for proposals at least once per fiscal year to provide grants\nfor the purposes established in subdivisions four and five of this\nsection, to municipalities that have completed a property assessment\nlist, as established in subdivision three of this section.\n 3. Property assessment list. To be eligible for the demolition and\ndeconstruction program or rehabilitation and reconstruction program\nassistance, as established in subdivisions four and five of this\nsection, municipalities shall conduct an assessment of vacant,\nabandoned, surplus or condemned buildings in communities within their\njurisdiction. Such real property may include residential real property,\nresidential apartment units and commercial real properties. Such\nproperties shall be selected for the purpose of revitalizing urban\ncenters or rural areas, encouraging commercial investment, adding value\nto the municipal housing stock, and increasing the amount of affordable\nhousing units available to low- and moderate-income households. The\nproperty assessment list shall be organized to indicate the location,\nsize, whether the building is residential or commercial and whether the\nbuilding will be demolished, deconstructed, rehabilitated or\nreconstructed. Such properties shall be published in a local daily\nnewspaper for no less than three consecutive days. Additionally, the\nmunicipality shall conduct public hearings in the communities where the\nbuildings are identified.\n 4. Demolition and deconstruction program. Real property in need of\ndemolition or deconstruction on the property assessment list may receive\ngrants of up to thirty thousand dollars per residential real property.\nThe corporation shall determine the cost of demolition and\ndeconstruction of commercial properties on a per-square foot basis and\nestablish maximum grant awards accordingly. The corporation shall also\nconsider geographic differences in the cost of demolition and\ndeconstruction in the establishment of maximum grant awards.\n 5. Rehabilitation and reconstruction program. (a) Real property in\nneed of rehabilitation or reconstruction on the property assessment list\nmay receive grants of up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars per\nresidential real property. Exclusive of such grant of up to one hundred\nfifty thousand dollars for residential real property, individual\nresidential apartment units on the property assessment list may receive\ngrants of up to seventy thousand dollars per unit. Nothing contained in\nthis paragraph shall be construed to authorize grants for real property\nand residential apartment units to be combined.\n (b) Provided, further, that a project for the rehabilitation or\nreconstruction of real property pursuant to this subdivision for the\npurpose of creating affordable housing units shall be eligible to\nreceive a grant of up to one hundred fifty thousand dollars plus up to\nseventy thousand dollars per residential apartment unit.\n (c) The corporation shall determine the cost of rehabilitation and\nreconstruction of commercial properties on a per-square foot basis and\nestablish maximum grant awards accordingly. The corporation shall also\nconsider geographic differences in the cost of rehabilitation and\nreconstruction in the establishment of maximum grant awards. Provided,\nhowever, to the extent possible, all such rehabilitation and\nreconstruction program real property shall be architecturally consistent\nwith nearby and adjacent properties or in a manner consistent with a\nlocal revitalization or urban development plan. Provided, further, such\ngrant may be used for site development needs including but not limited\nto water, sewer and parking.\n 6. Granting of assistance. (a) The corporation shall review all\nproperty assessment lists and may make awards pursuant to subdivisions\nfour and five of this section. The corporation shall, to the fullest\nextent possible, provide such assistance in a geographically\nproportionate manner throughout the state based on the qualified\napplications received pursuant to this section.\n (b) Priority in granting such assistance shall be given to properties\neligible under this section that have approved applications or are\nreceiving grants pursuant to other state or federal redevelopment,\nremediation or planning programs including, but not limited to, to the\nbrownfield opportunity areas program adopted pursuant to section 970-r\nof the general municipal law or an investment zone designated pursuant\nto paragraph (i) of subdivision (a) or subdivision (d) of section 958 of\nthe general municipal law.\n (c) Priority shall also be given to properties in economically\ndistressed communities which are defined as cities and other communities\ndetermined by the commissioner of the department of economic development\non the basis of criteria indicative of economic distress, including\npoverty rates, numbers of persons receiving public assistance,\nunemployment rates, rate of employment decline, population loss, rate of\nper capita income change, decline in economic activity and private\ninvestment, and such other indicators as the commissioner deems\nappropriate to be in need of economic assistance.\n (d) A municipality that is granted an award or awards under this\nsection shall provide a matching contribution of no less than ten\npercent of the aggregated award or awards amount. Such matching\ncontribution may be in the form of a financial and/or in kind\ncontribution. Financial contributions may include grants from federal,\nstate and local entities. In kind contributions may include but shall\nnot be limited to the efforts of municipalities to conduct an inventory\nand assessment of vacant, abandoned, surplus, condemned, and\ndeteriorated properties and to manage and administer grants pursuant to\nsubdivisions four and five of this section. A municipality that is\ngranted an award or awards under this section shall make best efforts to\nensure that minority-owned and women-owned business enterprises\ncertified pursuant to article fifteen-A of the executive law are given\nthe opportunity for maximum feasible participation in any municipal\ncontracting opportunities.\n * NB There are 2 § 16-n's\n