N.Y. UDA Law § 2 — New York Code / Act UDA / Section 2
Statement of legislative findings and purposes
Status: in_force

§ 2. Statement of legislative findings and purposes. It is hereby\nfound and declared that there exists in urban areas of this state a\ncondition of substantial and persistent unemployment and underemployment\nwhich causes hardship to many individuals and families, wastes vital\nhuman resources, increases the public assistance burdens of the state\nand municipalities, impairs the security of family life, contributes to\nthe growth of crime and delinquency, prevents many of our youth from\nfinishing their educations, impedes the economic and physical\ndevelopment of municipalities and adversely affects the welfare and\nprosperity of all the people of the state. Many existing industrial,\nmanufacturing and commercial facilities in such urban areas are obsolete\nand inefficient, dilapidated, and without adequate mass transportation\nfacilities and public services. Many of such facilities are\nunderutilized or in the process of being vacated, creating additional\nunemployment. Technological advances and the provision of modern,\nefficient facilities in other states will speed the obsolescence and\nabandonment of existing facilities causing serious injury to the economy\nof the state. Many existing and planned industrial, manufacturing and\ncommercial facilities are, moreover, far from or not easily accessible\nto the places of residence of substantial numbers of unemployed persons.\nAs a result, problems of chronic unemployment are not being alleviated\nbut are aggravated. New industrial, manufacturing and commercial\nfacilities are required to attract and house new industries and thereby\nto reduce the hazards of unemployment. The unaided efforts of private\nenterprise have not met and cannot meet the needs of providing such\nfacilities due to problems encountered in assembling suitable building\nsites, lack of adequate public services, the unavailability of private\ncapital for development in such urban areas, and the inability of\nprivate enterprise alone to plan, finance and coordinate industrial and\ncommercial development with residential developments for persons and\nfamilies of low income and with public services and mass transportation\nfacilities.\n  It is further found and declared that there exist in many\nmunicipalities within this state residential, nonresidential,\ncommercial, industrial or vacant areas, and combinations thereof, which\nare slum or blighted, or which are becoming slum or blighted areas\nbecause of substandard, insanitary, deteriorated or deteriorating\nconditions, including obsolete and dilapidated buildings and structures,\ndefective construction, outmoded design, lack of proper sanitary\nfacilities or adequate fire or safety protection, excessive land\ncoverage, insufficient light and ventilation, excessive population\ndensity, illegal uses and conversions, inadequate maintenance, buildings\nabandoned or not utilized in whole or substantial part, obsolete systems\nof utilities, poorly or improperly designed street patterns and\nintersections, inadequate access to areas, traffic congestion hazardous\nto the public safety, lack of suitable off-street parking, inadequate\nloading and unloading facilities, impractical street widths, sizes and\nshapes, blocks and lots of irregular form, shape or insufficient size,\nwidth or depth, unsuitable topography, subsoil or other physical\nconditions, all of which hamper or impede proper and economic\ndevelopment of such areas and which impair or arrest the sound growth of\nthe area, community or municipality, and the state as a whole.\n  It is further found and declared that there is a serious need\nthroughout the state for adequate educational, recreational, cultural\nand other community facilities, the lack of which threatens and\nadversely affects the health, safety, morals and welfare of the people\nof the state.\n  It is further found and declared that there continues to exist\nthroughout the state a seriously inadequate supply of safe and sanitary\ndwelling accommodations for persons and families of low income. This\ncondition is contrary to the public interest and threatens the health,\nsafety, welfare, comfort and security of the people of the state. The\nordinary operations of private enterprise cannot provide an adequate\nsupply of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations at rentals which\npersons and families of low income can afford.\n  It is hereby declared to be the policy of the state to promote a\nvigorous and growing economy, to prevent economic stagnation and to\nencourage the creation of new job opportunities in order to protect\nagainst the hazards of unemployment, reduce the level of public\nassistance to now indigent individuals and families, increase revenues\nto the state and to its municipalities and to achieve stable and\ndiversified local economies. In furtherance of these goals, it is the\npolicy of the state to retain existing industries and to attract new\nindustries through the acquisition, construction, reconstruction and\nrehabilitation of industrial and manufacturing plants and commercial\nfacilities, and to develop sites for new industrial and commercial\nbuilding. It is further declared to be the policy of the state to\npromote the development of such plants and facilities, reasonably\naccessible to residential facilities, in those areas where substantial\nunemployment or underemployment exists, to the end that the industrial\nand commercial development of our urban areas will proceed in sound\nfashion and in coordination with development of housing, mass\ntransportation and public services, and that job opportunities will be\navailable in those areas where people lack jobs.\n  It is further declared to be the policy of the state to promote the\nsafety, health, morals and welfare of the people of the state and to\npromote the sound growth and development of our municipalities through\nthe correction of such substandard, insanitary, blighted, deteriorated\nor deteriorating conditions, factors and characteristics by the\nclearance, replanning, reconstruction, redevelopment, rehabilitation,\nrestoration or conservation of such areas, and of areas reasonably\naccessible thereto the undertaking of public and private improvement\nprograms related thereto, including the provision of educational,\nrecreational and cultural facilities, and the encouragement of\nparticipation in these programs by private enterprise.\n  It is further declared to be the policy of the state to promote the\nsafety, health, morals and welfare of the people of the state through\nthe provision of adequate, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations and\nfacilities incidental or appurtenant thereto for persons and families of\nlow income.\n  For these purposes, there should be created a corporate governmental\nagency to be known as the "New York state urban development corporation"\nwhich, through issuance of bonds and notes to the private, investing\npublic, by encouraging maximum participation by the private sector of\nthe economy, including the sale or lease of the corporation's interest\nin projects at the earliest time deemed feasible, and through\nparticipation in programs undertaken by the state, its agencies and\nsubdivisions, and by municipalities and the federal government, may\nprovide or obtain the capital resources necessary to acquire, construct,\nreconstruct, rehabilitate or improve such industrial, manufacturing,\ncommercial, educational, recreational and cultural facilities, and\nhousing accommodations for persons and families of low income, and\nfacilities incidental or appurtenant thereto, and to carry out the\nclearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation of such\nsubstandard and insanitary areas.\n  It is further declared to be the policy of New York state to encourage\nthe development of research and development facilities and high\ntechnology industrial incubator space at institutions of higher\neducation located in this state and authorized to confer degrees by law\nor by the board of regents, or on lands in reasonable proximity to such\ninstitutions provided that (i) in the case of research and development\nfacilities such facilities are for the cooperative use of one or more\nsuch institutions and one or more business corporations, research\nconsortia or other industrial organizations involved in research,\ndevelopment, demonstration, or other technologically oriented industrial\nactivities; and (ii) in the case of high technology industrial incubator\nspace, such space shall be for rental to business concerns which are in\ntheir formative stages and which are involved in high technology\nactivities, including but not limited to business concerns initiated by\nstudents, employees of such institution, including faculty members and\nother persons or firms academically associated with such institution.\n  It is hereby declared that the acquisition, construction,\nreconstruction, rehabilitation or improvement of such industrial,\nmanufacturing and commercial facilities, and of such cultural,\neducational and recreational facilities including but not limited to\nfacilities identified as projects and called for to implement a state\ndesignated heritage area management plan as provided in title G of the\nparks, recreation and historic preservation law; the clearance,\nreplanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation of such substandard and\ninsanitary areas; and the provision of adequate, safe and sanitary\nhousing accommodations for persons and families of low income and such\nfacilities as may be incidental or appurtenant thereto are public uses\nand public purposes for which public money may be loaned and private\nproperty may be acquired and tax exemption granted, and that the powers\nand duties of the New York state urban development corporation as\nhereinafter prescribed are necessary and proper for the purpose of\nachieving the ends here recited.\n