N.Y. HHC Law § 5 — New York Code / Act HHC / Section 5
General powers of the corporation
Status: in_force

§ 5. General powers of the corporation. The corporation shall have the\nfollowing powers in addition to those specifically conferred elsewhere\nin this act:\n  1. To sue and be sued;\n  2. To have a seal and to alter the same at its pleasure;\n  3. To adopt, alter, amend or repeal by-laws or rules or regulations\nfor the organization, management, and regulation of its affairs;\n  4. To borrow money and to issue negotiable notes, bonds or other\nevidences of indebtedness and to provide for the rights of the holders\nthereof in accordance with the provisions of this act; provided,\nhowever, that the corporation shall not issue bonds, notes or other\nevidences of indebtedness for the construction of a health facility\nwithout the prior approval of the mayor and, in the case of major\nconstruction, without first submitting to the mayor a written statement\nof the chairman of the board stating that the corporation has consulted\nwith the New York State housing finance agency and the New York State\nhealth and mental hygiene facilities improvement corporation with\nrespect to such major construction.\n  5. To make and to execute contracts and leases and all other\nagreements or instruments necessary or convenient for the exercise of\nits powers and the fulfillment of its corporate purposes;\n  6. To acquire, by purchase, gift, devise, lease or sublease, and to\naccept jurisdiction over and to hold and own, and dispose of by sale,\nlease or sublease, real or personal property, including but not limited\nto a health facility, or any interest therein for its corporate\npurposes; provided, however, that no health facility or other real\nproperty acquired or constructed by the corporation shall be sold,\nleased or otherwise transferred by the corporation without public\nhearing by the corporation after twenty days public notice and without\nthe consent of the board of estimate of the city;\n  7. To operate, manage, superintend, and control any health facility\nunder its jurisdiction and to repair, maintain and otherwise keep up any\nsuch health facility; and to establish and collect fees, rentals or\nother charges, including reimbursement allowances, for the sale, lease\nor sublease of any such health facility, subject to the terms and\nconditions of any contract, lease, sublease or other agreement with the\ncity;\n  8. To provide health and medical services for the public directly or\nby agreement or lease with any person, firm or private or public\ncorporation or association, through and in the health facilities of the\ncorporation and to make rules and regulations governing admissions and\nhealth and medical services; and to establish and collect fees and other\ncharges, including reimbursement allowances, for the provision of such\nhealth and medical services; and to provide and maintain continuous\nresident physician and intern medical services; and to sponsor and\nconduct research, educational and training programs;\n  9. To provide, maintain and operate an ambulance service to bring\npatients to or remove them from any health facility of the corporation,\nand to adopt a schedule of appropriate charges and to provide for the\ncollection thereof;\n  10. To determine, in accordance with standards established by the\nadministration, the conditions under which a physician may be extended\nthe privilege of practicing within a health facility under the\njurisdiction of the corporation, and to promulgate reasonable rules and\nregulations for the conduct of all persons, physicians and nurses within\nany such facility;\n  11. To employ officers, executives, management personnel, and such\nother employees who formulate or participate in the formulation of the\nplans, policies, aims, standards, or who administer, manage or operate\nthe corporation and its hospitals or health facilities, or who assist\nand act in a confidential capacity to persons who are responsible for\nthe formulation, determination and effectuation of management policies\nconcerning personnel or labor relations, or who determine the number of,\nand appointment and removal of, employees of the corporation, fix their\nqualifications and prescribe their duties and other terms of employment.\n  All such personnel shall be excluded from collective bargaining\nrepresentation.\n  12. To employ such other employees as may be necessary and except as\notherwise provided herein to promulgate rules and regulations relating\nto the creation of classes of positions, position classifications, title\nstructure, class specifications, examinations, appointments, promotions,\nvoluntary demotions, transfers, re-instatement, procedures relating to\nabolition or reduction in positions, to determine the number of and to\nappoint, remove and discipline employees, to prescribe their duties, fix\ntheir qualifications, salaries, wages, fringe benefits, hours, work\nschedules, assignments and re-assignments, leaves of absence, annual\nleave, other time and leave rules and other terms of employment.\n  13. To prepare, or cause to be prepared, plans, specifications,\ndesigns and estimates of costs for the construction and equipment of\nhealth facilities; provided, however, that such plans, specifications,\ndesigns and estimates of cost shall, to the extent required by law, be\nsubject to the approval of the council prior to the implementation\nthereof;\n  14. To construct and equip, or by contract cause to be constructed and\nequipped, health facilities, subject to the approval of the council;\n  15. To apply for and/or to receive and accept any gifts or grants of\nmoney, property or services or other aid, including any reimbursement\nallowance, offered or made available to it by any person, government or\nagency whatever, for use by the corporation in carrying out its\ncorporate purposes and in the exercise of its powers; and to negotiate\nfor the same upon such conditions as the corporation may determine to be\nnecessary, convenient or desirable; and to comply, subject to the\nprovisions of this act, with the terms of any such gifts, grants or\nother aid;\n  16. To invest any funds held in reserves or sinking funds, or any\nfunds not required for immediate use or disbursement, at the discretion\nof the corporation, in obligations of the city, state or federal\ngovernment or obligations the principal and interest of which are\nguaranteed by the city, state or federal government;\n  17. To procure insurance, or obtain indemnification, against any loss\nin connection with the assets of the corporation or any liability in\nconnection with the activities of the corporation, such insurance or\nindemnification to be procured or obtained in such amounts, and from\nsuch sources, as the corporation deems to be appropriate;\n  18. To cooperate with any organization, public or private, including\nthe health and mental hygiene facilities improvement corporation as\nestablished by an act entitled the health and mental hygiene facilities\nimprovement act, and the New York state housing finance agency, the\nobjects of which are similar to the purposes of the corporation;\n  19. To use agents, employees and facilities of the city, subject to\nsuch limitations as may be prescribed by collective bargaining\nagreement, and subject to the consent of the mayor;\n  20. (a) To exercise and perform all or part of its purposes, powers,\nduties, functions or activities through one or more wholly-owned\nsubsidiary public benefit corporations subject to limitations provided\nherein. The board of the corporation by resolution may direct any of the\ndirectors, officers or employees of the corporation to organize any such\nsubsidiary corporation as a public benefit corporation by executing and\nfiling with the secretary of state a certificate of incorporation, which\nmay be amended from time to time by filing with the secretary of state,\nand which shall set forth the name of such public benefit corporation,\nits duration, the location of its principal offices and any or all of\nthe powers and purposes of such corporation, provided, however, that no\nsuch subsidiary corporations shall be established for the purpose of\noperating a health facility or the delivery of direct patient care\nwithout the prior approval of the mayor and, except in the case of the\nHarlem Hospital Center or the new Harlem Hospital Center, until at least\ntwo years shall have elapsed from the effective date of this act.\n  (b) No subsidiary corporation shall have the power to engage in\ncollective bargaining or negotiate with any organization representing\nany of its employees, or to enter into collective bargaining agreements\nwith any such organization. Each such subsidiary corporation shall\noperate under personnel administration policies, practices, procedures\nand programs, and terms and conditions of employment of the corporation,\nincluding those agreed to in collective bargaining and determined by the\ncomptroller of the city pursuant to section two hundred twenty of the\nlabor law.\n  (c) Each such subsidiary corporation and any of its properties,\nfunctions and activities shall have all of the privileges, immunities,\ntax exemptions and other exemptions of the corporation and of the\ncorporation's properties, functions and activities except, however, no\nsuch subsidiary corporation shall issue bonds and notes or form\nsubsidiary corporations. Each such subsidiary corporation shall be\nsubject to suit in accordance with the provisions of section twenty of\nthis act. Any state, city, commission, agency, officer, department,\ndivision or person is authorized to cooperate with and enter into such\nagreements with a subsidiary corporation subject to the provisions of\nthis act and to any agreement entered into pursuant thereto; provided,\nhowever, that each such subsidiary corporation shall be subject to any\nrestrictions, approvals, and limitations to which the corporation may be\nsubject;\n  * 20-a. To establish employment goals in accordance with the program\nestablished pursuant to section 3502 of the New York city charter,\nincluding but not limited to employment goals established pursuant to\nparagraph 7 of subdivision a and the corresponding best efforts\nprovisions set forth in subdivision d of such section; provided,\nhowever, that where a provision of such section requires action by the\ndirector of the office of community hiring and workforce development,\nsuch action shall not be taken by the director of the office of\ncommunity hiring and workforce development but shall be taken by a duly\nappointed designee of the corporation; and\n  * NB Effective May 15, 2024\n  * NB Repealed May 15, 2029\n  21. To do any and all things necessary, convenient or desirable to\ncarry out its corporate purposes, and for the exercise of the powers\ngiven to it in this act.\n