2023 New York Laws › GMU - General Municipal › Article 18-B - New York State Empire Zones › 958 - Criteria for Empire Zone Designation.

§  958.  Criteria  for empire zone designation. (a) To be eligible for
designation as  an  empire  zone,  an  area  must  be  characterized  by
pervasive poverty, high unemployment and general economic distress, must
correspond  to  traditional  neighborhood  or  community boundaries, and
where appropriate, be bounded by  major  natural  or  man-made  physical
boundaries,  such  as bodies of water, railroad lines, or limited access
highways; and must meet the following requirements:
(i) the area shall include a United States census tract or  tracts  or
block  numbering  area  or  areas, or portions thereof, each full census
tract or portion of a block numbering area of which,  according  to  the
most recent census data available, has:
(A)  a  poverty  rate of at least twenty percent for the year to which
the data relate;
(B) an  unemployment  rate  of  at  least  1.25  times  the  statewide
unemployment rate for the year to which the data relate; and
(C) a population of at least two thousand.
(ii)  lands  nearby  or contiguous to census tracts or block numbering
areas described in paragraph (i) of this subdivision may be eligible  to
be included within an empire zone if, upon the request of the applicant,
the  commissioner  finds,  in  accordance  with  regulations promulgated
pursuant to this article, that such additional  lands  have  significant
potential  for business development and job creation, which will enhance
economic  revitalization  of  the  zone  and  benefit  zone   residents;
provided,  however,  that  lands  nearby shall not be included in a zone
until the commissioner, in consultation with the director of the budget,
promulgates regulations governing the inclusion of such lands;
(iii) the area proposed as an empire zone shall not exceed:
two square miles for any zone, such area shall be defined  by  one  or
more  borders,  which  borders  shall be determined by the applicant and
need not be entirely coterminous with the borders of  census  tracts  or
block numbering areas provided, however, that such zone shall be located
entirely  within  traditional  neighborhood or community boundaries, and
where appropriate, be bounded by  major  natural  or  man-made  physical
boundaries,  such  as bodies of water, railroad lines, or limited access
highways,  and  the  zones  created  pursuant  to  paragraph  (viii)  of
subdivision  (b) of section nine hundred sixty of this article should be
limited to one square mile; provided however,  empire  zones  designated
under  subdivision (b) of section nine hundred sixty of this article may
apply to increase their distinct and separate contiguous  areas  to  two
square  miles; provided further, regionally significant projects are not
included within such two square mile limitation;
(iv) if such area  is  governed  by  zoning  laws  or  other  laws  or
regulations  governing  land use, such laws or regulations must allow at
least twenty-five percent of such area to  be  used  for  commercial  or
industrial activity;
(v)  at  least  twenty-five percent of the total land within such area
must be vacant, abandoned  or  otherwise  available  for  industrial  or
commercial development or redevelopment; and
(vi)  such  other  requirements  as  may be established in regulations
promulgated by the commissioner with the approval of the director of the
budget and after consultation with the commissioner of labor,  including
but not limited to:
(A)  a  comprehensive  demonstration  of  chronic  and severe economic
distress and  the  reasons  therefor  as  evidenced  by  population  and
employment  decline,  increase  in  unemployment  and  public assistance
recipients, decline in real property values,  relative  decline  in  per
capita  income,  the  extent  of  abandoned  property  and  deteriorated
industrial, commercial and residential  properties,  a  decline  in  the

number  of business establishments, obsolescence in plant capacity, loss
of markets to  foreign  competition,  the  unavailability  of  expansion
financing,  poor  access  to  markets, the retirement of local owners of
companies;
(B)  a  demonstration  of the potential of the area to attract private
investment that will provide employment to persons in the area  who  are
unemployed or economically disadvantaged;
(C) a demonstration of substantial public and private commitments to a
long-term  economic  revitalization  program  for the area and the local
capacity to manage such a program;
(D) a demonstration of  the  manner  in  which  the  overall  economic
development  plan  enunciates  the  needs  of  the  area  and sets forth
proposals to solve them; and
(E) a demonstration of the manner in which  progress  in  implementing
the zone development plan will be routinely evaluated on the local level
and how information essential for periodic evaluations will be compiled.
Such   regulations  may  require  a  demonstration  of  a  decline  in
population, a decline in employment,  an  increase  in  unemployment,  a
decline  in  real  property  values,  a  relative  decline in per capita
income, the extent of abandoned property  and  deteriorated  industrial,
commercial and residential property, a decline in the number of business
establishments, and other indicators of severe economic distress.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (i) of subdivision (a)
of this section, any county in which the average rate of unemployment in
the  two  most  recent  calendar  years was at least one and one-quarter
times the state average for those years and in which the rate of poverty
for individuals was at least thirteen  percent  according  to  the  most
recent  census data available, and which does not contain a census tract
or tracts, portion of a block numbering area or a city, town or  village
which  meets the criteria specified in such paragraph (i) of subdivision
(a), may apply for designation of an area within a  municipality  as  an
empire zone. The area proposed for designation shall be characterized by
pervasive poverty, high unemployment and general economic distress.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (i) of subdivision (a)
of  this section, any county may apply for designation of an area within
a  municipality  as  an  empire  zone  provided   that   the   following
requirements are met:
(i)  at  the  time  of  application,  the  unemployment  rate  of  the
metropolitan statistical  area  must  exceed  the  national  average  of
unemployment and the metropolitan statistical area must have experienced
or  is  likely  to experience within three years the lesser of a loss of
four thousand direct jobs or a dislocation of workers equal to  one-half
percent  of the employed population of the metropolitan statistical area
and at least fifty percent of the job loss  or  dislocation  of  workers
must  result  from the action of a single employer, or eighty percent of
such job loss or dislocation must occur in a  single  standard  industry
classification (two digit code); or
(ii)  at  the  time  of  application,  the  unemployment  rate  of the
metropolitan statistical area must be equal to or less than the national
average of unemployment and the metropolitan statistical area must  have
experienced  or is likely to experience within three years the lesser of
a loss of eight thousand direct jobs or a dislocation of  workers  equal
to   one   percent  of  the  employed  population  of  the  metropolitan
statistical area  and  at  least  fifty  percent  of  the  job  loss  or
dislocation of workers must result from the action of a single employer,
or eighty percent of such job loss or dislocation must occur in a single
standard industry classification (two digit code); or
(iii)  at  the time of application, the unemployment rate of the labor
market area must exceed the national average  of  unemployment  and  the
labor  market  area  must  have  experienced  or is likely to experience
within three years the lesser of a loss of five hundred direct jobs or a
dislocation  of  workers equal to two percent of the employed population
of the labor market area; or
(iv) at the time of application, the unemployment rate  of  the  labor
market  area  must  be  equal  to  or  less than the national average of
unemployment and the labor market  area  must  have  experienced  or  is
likely  to  experience  within  three  years the lesser of a loss of one
thousand direct jobs or a dislocation of workers equal to  four  percent
of the employed population of the labor market area; or
(v) at the time of application, the municipality is declared a natural
disaster area by the president of the United States; or
(vi) at the time of application, the municipality contains:
(A)  a  defense or military base or facility which has been designated
for closure or realignment; or
(B) a state-operated hospital or facility listed in  section  7.17  or
13.17  of  the  mental hygiene law, or a facility operated by the office
for people with developmental disabilities, that has been designated  by
either  the  commissioner  of  mental  health  or  the  commissioner  of
developmental disabilities for contraction or  discontinuance.  Provided
however,  that  not more than one-third of the zones designated pursuant
to paragraph (iii) or (iv) of subdivision (b) of  section  nine  hundred
sixty  of this article, shall be based on applications filed pursuant to
this paragraph.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (i) of subdivision (a)
of this section, any municipality may apply for designation as an empire
zone for an area which shall include a United  States  census  tract  or
tracts  or  block numbering area or areas or portions thereof, each full
census tract or portion of a block numbering area of which according  to
the most recent census data available has:
(i)  at  the  time  of  application,  an unemployment rate equal to or
exceeding the unemployment rate of the state of New York;
(ii) a rate of poverty for individuals of at least twenty percent;
(iii) a number of households receiving public assistance  of  fourteen
percent or more;
(iv) the municipality is considered a non-metropolitan area; and
(v)  there  is no other empire zone in the county in which designation
is sought.
(e) The empire zones designation board may accept  from  an  applicant
seeking  designation  any  data  in  lieu of census data supporting such
application as the commissioner deems to be reliable.
(f) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a), (b), (c) and (d) of this section
or any other provision of  this  article,  the  following  counties  are
deemed   eligible   to  receive  empire  zone  designation  pursuant  to
subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section:  Delaware;  Greene;  Hamilton;
Livingston;  Nassau; Putnam; Rockland; Schoharie; Tompkins; Wyoming; and
Yates. New York county in the vicinity south  of  East  Houston  Street,
east  of  Broadway, west of the East River, and north of Chambers Street
and the Brooklyn Bridge, in an area commonly known as  Chinatown,  shall
be  deemed  eligible  to  receive  empire  zone  designation pursuant to
subdivisions (a) and (d) of this section.
(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,  after  March
thirty-first,  two thousand five, a municipality shall demonstrate in an
application for designation as an empire zone, that there is  no  viable
alternative  area  or  areas  that  has or have existing public sewer or
water infrastructure available other than the proposed zone.