2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 5 - Powers, Limitations and Liabilities › 99-W - Land for Monument Erection.

§  99-w.  Land  for monument erection. 1. The following terms whenever
used or referred to in this section shall have  the  following  meanings
unless a different meaning clearly appears in the context:
(a)  "military action or period of war" means the American Revolution;
American Civil War; Spanish-American War;  the  Mexican  border  period;
World  War I; World War II; the hostilities known as the Korean War; the
hostilities  known  as  the  Vietnam  War;  the  Persian  Gulf  conflict
including but not limited to Operation Enduring Freedom; Operation Iraqi
Freedom  and Operation New Dawn; and military operations other than war:
Panama; Bosnia; Somalia and Haiti;
(b) "military monument" means any structure or part of  any  structure
that  was  erected or later dedicated with the intent to honor a current
or former  member  or  members  of  the  armed  forces  or  to  mark  or
commemorate  a  military  action, battle or period of war, including but
not limited to, a tablet, plaque, wall, building, or structure;
(c) "military memorial" means a park, field, grove of trees,  land  or
artwork surrounding a military monument;
(d)  "change in status" means a military monument or military memorial
that will be alienated, leased, transferred, sold, moved or discontinued
for use as a memorial site;
(e) "municipal corporation"  means  a  county,  city,  town,  village,
school district or board of cooperative educational services; and
(f)  "legislative  body"  means  the  board  of  supervisors, board of
aldermen, common council, council,  commission,  town  board,  board  of
trustees or other elective governing board or body of a municipality now
or  hereafter  vested  by  state  statute,  charter  or  other  law with
jurisdiction to initiate and adopt local laws and ordinances, whether or
not such local laws or ordinances require approval of the elective chief
executive officer  or  other  official  or  body  to  become  effective;
provided  however, in the case of a school district shall mean the board
of education, board of trustees or sole trustee, as the case may be; and
provided further, in the case of  a  board  of  cooperative  educational
services  shall  mean  the  elected  members of the board of cooperative
educational services.
2. Prior to any change in status of a military  monument  or  military
memorial  erected  or  constructed  pursuant  to  sections  two  hundred
twenty-six of the county law, eighty-one of the  town  law,  seventy-two
and  seventy-seven-a  of the general municipal law or where the military
monument or military memorial receives a  real  property  tax  exemption
pursuant  to  section four hundred forty-four-a of the real property tax
law, the  legislative  body  of  the  municipal  corporation  where  the
military  monument  or military memorial is situated shall adopt a local
law, by a two-thirds vote of its members, or in the  case  of  a  school
district or board of cooperative educational services a resolution, by a
two-thirds  vote  of its members, to authorize such change in status. At
least ninety days prior to the adoption of such local law, the municipal
corporation shall hold at least one public hearing. Such public  hearing
shall  be  on  such  notice  as  is  required  by  section twenty of the
municipal home rule law. Notice of such public  hearing  shall  also  be
posted in at least five public places, and shall be advertised for three
consecutive days in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the
municipal  corporation,  which  shall  be  the official newspaper if one
exists, within fifteen  days  of  such  public  hearing.  The  municipal
corporation  shall also post such notice on its official website, if one
exists, for at least fifteen days prior to such hearing. Written  notice
shall  also  be sent by certified mail to the chief executive officer of
the municipal corporation, if one exists, prior to  the  publication  of
the notice requirements required by this subdivision.