2023 New York Laws › PVH - Private Housing Finance › Article 2 - Limited-Profit Housing Companies › 36-A - Additional Powers of Municipalities.

§  36-a. Additional powers of municipalities. In addition to any other
powers granted  to  a  municipality  by  law,  and  notwithstanding  the
provisions  of  any  other  law,  a  municipality  acting  by  its local
legislative body shall have power:
1. To undertake, plan, develop, construct or enter into contracts  for
the  planning,  development  or  construction  of, or to own one or more
projects or any part thereof, or to  engage  in  one  or  more  of  such
activities  in  respect to one or more projects or any part thereof. For
any of the purposes of this subdivision,  a  municipality  may  contract
either  with a housing company incorporated under this article or with a
housing development fund company incorporated pursuant to article eleven
of this chapter.
2. (a) Acquire by  purchase,  gift,  devise,  lease,  condemnation  or
otherwise, in accordance with the provisions of the appropriate general,
special  or  local law applicable to the acquisition of real or personal
property by such municipality, real or personal property or any interest
therein necessary for or incidental to  a  project,  including  but  not
limited  to  air rights, and easements or other rights of user necessary
for the use and development of such air rights, to be developed  as  air
rights  sites  for a project; provided, however, that the acquisition of
any air rights over railroad tracks, rights of  way  or  facilities  and
easements  or other rights of user necessary for the use and development
of such air rights are  to  be  subject  to  the  provision  of  section
fifty-one-a  of  the  railroad  law.  The  acquisition  of real property
pursuant to a plan shall in every case be deemed to be and constitute  a
continuous rather than separate takings.
(b)  Property  so  acquired  by  a  municipality  shall be exempt from
taxation until sold, leased for a term not exceeding  ninety-nine  years
or  otherwise  disposed  of  in  accordance  with the provisions of this
section; provided however, that any such  municipality  shall  have  the
power  and authority, with respect to such property, to pay or transfer,
out of funds available to it for the effectuating  of  such  program  or
project  annual  sums  in  lieu  of  taxes  to  any  taxing jurisdiction
providing services to the project  area,  or  to  the  part  or  portion
thereof  within  such  taxing jurisdiction, in order that no such taxing
jurisdiction shall suffer an inequitable loss of revenue  by  virtue  of
such  project; provided, further, that the amount so paid or transferred
for any year with respect to any such  property  shall  not  exceed  the
lesser  of  (1)  the  sum  last  levied  for  the benefit of such taxing
jurisdiction as an annual tax on such property prior to the time of  its
acquisition for project purposes or (2) such amount as shall be approved
by the commissioner pursuant to such rules, regulations, limitations and
conditions as he may prescribe, as an eligible and proper charge against
such  project.   Upon the sale, lease or disposition of such property to
any person, firm or corporation,  not  entitled  to  an  exemption  from
taxation or entitled to only a partial tax exemption such property shall
immediately  become subject to taxation in whole or in part, as the case
may be, and shall be taxed pro rata for the  unexpired  portion  of  the
taxable year.
As  used  in  this paragraph, the term "taxing jurisdiction" means any
municipal corporation or  district  corporation,  including  any  school
district  or  any  special district, having the power to levy or collect
taxes and benefit assessments upon real property,  or  in  whose  behalf
such taxes or benefit assessments may be levied or collected.
3.  To  sell  or  lease for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years any
such project, or part thereof, at any stage before or at the date of  or
after  the  physical completion of such project, to a company which will
undertake, plan, construct, own,  manage  or  operate  such  project  in

accordance  with  the  plan  and  the provisions of this article. In the
event of a sale or lease of any  such  project  prior  to  the  physical
completion  thereof,  the  municipality  may  agree  to complete and may
complete  construction and development of such project or cause the same
to be completed. Any such sale or  lease  may  be  made  without  public
bidding,  public  sale  or  public  offering pursuant to such negotiated
contract, agreement or lease, containing such  provisions,  limitations,
requirements,  terms  and  conditions,  price or rental as the governing
body of the municipality may deem necessary or desirable  to  effectuate
the plan and the public policy and public purposes described in sections
eleven and eleven-a of this article.
4.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  section thirty-three of this
article the real property in a project sold or  leased  as  provided  in
this  section,  when the transfer thereunder becomes effective, shall be
exempt from local and municipal taxes, other than assessments for  local
improvements  to  such extent as may be granted by the local legislative
body of the municipality. The tax exemption shall operate  and  continue
so long as capital loans of the company to which such project shall have
been  sold  or  leased  or any additional loan the proceeds of which are
primarily used  for  the  residential  portion  of  the  project,  which
additional  loan  is  approved  by  the  commissioner or the supervising
agency are outstanding.
Notes, bonds, mortgages and other obligations of such  a  company  are
declared   to   be  issued  for  a  public  purpose  and  to  be  public
instrumentalities and, together with interest thereon, shall  be  exempt
from tax.
5.  The  provisions  of section thirteen of this article requiring the
approval by the commissioner of housing of the persons  incorporating  a
limited-profit housing company and the provisions of section fourteen of
this article requiring the consent of the commissioner of housing to the
filing  of  the  certificate  of  incorporation of such a company in the
office of the secretary of state and the  amendment  thereof  shall  not
apply to a corporation created pursuant to this article on a cooperative
basis  for  the purchase or lease of a project pursuant to this section;
nor shall any of the provisions of  this  article  conferring  upon  the
commissioner  of housing any powers in respect of limited-profit housing
companies  apply  to  such  a  corporation.  The  application  of   this
subdivision  shall be limited to corporations undertaking a project with
the aid of a municipal loan under this article.
6. A project or part of a project sold or leased to a housing  company
pursuant  to  the provisions of this section thirty-six-a shall be owned
or operated by such housing company in accordance with the provisions of
this article and in accordance with an agreement of sale or lease to  be
entered  into  by  the  municipality and such housing company. Each such
agreement shall contain, in addition to such other terms and  conditions
as may lawfully be agreed upon by the parties, the following provisions,
which  shall  be  subject to any approvals which may be required by this
article:
(a) Establishing a schedule of maximum rents which may be  charged  by
the housing company.
(b) Prescribing the method by which tenants are to be selected for the
project and criteria of tenant eligibility.
(c)  Any such agreement of lease may provide for the transfer of title
of the real property so leased to the housing company at the end of  the
term or lease.
7.  A  housing  company shall have the power, in addition to any other
powers under this article to enter into and carry out the provisions  of
any   agreement   authorized   under   this  section  or  under  section

twenty-three-a or twenty-three-b of this article, and to enter into  and
carry  out  agreements  in  order  to  obtain  insurance  by the federal
government of a mortgage for the purpose of refinancing all or any  part
of a mortgage loan pursuant to section twenty-three of this article.
8.  Any  project that received a tax exemption under this section may,
upon  the  expiration  of  the  tax  exemption  period,  be  granted  an
additional tax exemption period of up to fifty years, or until such time
as  the project is no longer operated under the restrictions and for the
purposes set forth in this article, whichever is sooner.