2006 New York Code - Purpose And Powers Of The Authority.

 
    §  1953.  Purpose  and  powers of the authority. * The purposes of the
  authority shall be to promote, develop,  encourage  and  assist  in  the
  acquiring,   constructing,   reconstructing,   improving,   maintaining,
  equipping   and   furnishing   industrial,   manufacturing,   warehouse,
  commercial,   civic,   and   research  facilities  including  industrial
  pollution  control  facilities,  civic  facilities,  and  transportation
  facilities  including  but  not  limited  to  those  relating  to water,
  highway, rail and air, in one or more areas of  the  city,  particularly
  but  not  exclusively  at the site of what was formerly the Troy airport
  including an airstrip or airport located in the southern section of  the
  city   and  thereby  advance  the  job  opportunities,  health,  general
  prosperity and economic welfare of  the  people  of  said  city  and  to
  improve  their standard of living; provided, however, that the authority
  shall not undertake any project if the completion thereof  would  result
  in  the  removal of a facility or plant of the project occupant from one
  area of the state to another area of the state or in the abandonment  of
  one or more plants or facilities of the project applicant located within
  the  state,  provided,  however, that neither restriction shall apply if
  the authority shall determine on the basis of the application before  it
  that  the  project  is  reasonably  necessary  to discourage the project
  occupant from removing such  other  plant  or  facility  to  a  location
  outside the state or is reasonably necessary to preserve the competitive
  position  of  the project occupant in its respective industry. Except as
  otherwise provided by  this  section  no  financial  assistance  of  the
  authority  shall  be provided in respect of any project where facilities
  or property that are primarily used in making retail sales to  customers
  who  personally  visit such facilities constitute more than one-third of
  the total project cost. For the purposes of this article,  retail  sales
  shall  mean: (i) sales by a registered vendor under article twenty-eight
  of the tax law primarily engaged in the retail sale of tangible personal
  property,  as  defined  in  subparagraph  (i)  of  paragraph   four   of
  subdivision  (b)  of  section eleven hundred one of the tax law; or (ii)
  sales of a service to such  customers.  Except,  however,  that  tourism
  destination   projects   and   projects   operated   by   not-for-profit
  corporations shall not be prohibited by this section. For the purpose of
  this section, "tourism destination" shall mean a  location  or  facility
  which is likely to attract a significant number of visitors from outside
  the  economic  development  region as established by section two hundred
  thirty of the economic development law, in which the project is located.
    Notwithstanding any  provisions  of  this  section  to  the  contrary,
  financial  assistance  may,  however,  be  provided  to  a project where
  facilities or property that are primarily used in making retail sales of
  goods or services to customers who personally visit such  facilities  to
  obtain  goods  or  services  constitute more than one-third of the total
  project cost,  where  (i)  the  project  occupant  would,  but  for  the
  assistance  provided  by  the authority, locate the related jobs outside
  the state; or (ii) the predominant purpose of the project  would  be  to
  make  available  goods or services which would not, but for the project,
  be reasonably accessible to the residents of the city of Troy because of
  a lack of reasonably accessible retail facilities offering such goods or
  services; or (iii) the project is located in a highly  distressed  area.
  With  respect  to  projects  authorized  pursuant  to this paragraph, no
  project shall be approved unless the  authority  shall  find  after  the
  public  hearing  required  by  section nineteen hundred fifty-three-a of
  this chapter that undertaking the project will serve the public purposes
  of  this  article  by  preserving  permanent,  private  sector  jobs  or
  increasing  the  overall number of permanent, private sector jobs in the
  state. Where the authority makes such  a  finding,  prior  to  providing
  financial  assistance  to  the  project  by  the  authority,  the  chief
  executive officer of the city of Troy shall confirm the proposed  action
  of the agency.
    No  funds of the authority shall be used for the purpose of preventing
  the establishment of an industrial or manufacturing plant, nor shall any
  funds of the authority be given to any group or  organization  which  is
  attempting   to   prevent   the   establishment   of  an  industrial  or
  manufacturing plant within this state nor shall such funds be  used  for
  advertising  or  promotional materials which depict elected or appointed
  government officials in either print or electronic media. To  carry  out
  said purposes, the authority shall have power:
    * NB Effective until July 2, 2006
    * The  purposes  of  the  authority  shall  be  to  promote,  develop,
  encourage and assist in  the  acquiring,  constructing,  reconstructing,
  improving,    maintaining,    equipping   and   furnishing   industrial,
  manufacturing, warehouse, and commercial research  facilities  including
  industrial   pollution  control  facilities,  transportation  facilities
  including but not limited to those relating to water, highway, rail  and
  air,  in one or more areas of the city, particularly but not exclusively
  at the site of what was formerly the Troy airport including an  airstrip
  or  airport  located  in  the  southern  section of the city and thereby
  advance the job opportunities, health, general prosperity  and  economic
  welfare  of  the  people  of  said city and to improve their standard of
  living; provided, however, that the authority shall  not  undertake  any
  project  if  the  completion  thereof  would result in the removal of an
  industrial or manufacturing plant of the project occupant from one  area
  of  the  state to another area of the state or in the abandonment of one
  or more plants or facilities of the project applicant located within the
  state, provided, however, that neither restriction shall  apply  if  the
  authority shall determine on the basis of the application before it that
  the  project  is reasonably necessary to discourage the project occupant
  from removing such other plant or facility to  a  location  outside  the
  state or is reasonably necessary to preserve the competitive position of
  the  project  occupant  in  its  respective  industry. To carry out said
  purposes, the authority shall have power:
    * NB Effective July 2, 2006
    1. To sue and be sued;
    2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;
    3. To acquire, hold and dispose of personal property for its corporate
  purpose;
    4. To acquire  by  purchase,  grant,  lease,  gift,  condemnation,  or
  otherwise  and  to  use,  real  property  or rights or easements therein
  necessary for its corporate purposes, and  to  sell,  convey,  mortgage,
  lease,  pledge,  exchange  or  otherwise dispose of any such property in
  such manner as the authority  shall  determine.  With  respect  to  real
  property  conveyed to it by the city, however, such power of disposition
  shall be limited as hereinafter provided  in  section  nineteen  hundred
  five of this title;
    5.  To  make  by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs
  and, subject to agreements with its bondholders, for the  regulation  of
  the use of the project;
    6.  With  the  consent  of  the  city,  to  use  agents, employees and
  facilities of the city, paying the city its  agreed  proportion  of  the
  compensation or costs;
    7.  To  appoint  officers,  agents  and  employees, to prescribe their
  qualifications and to fix their compensation and to pay the same out  of
  funds of the authority, subject, however, to the provisions of the civil
  service law as hereinafter provided in section nineteen hundred and four
  of this title;
    8.  To  appoint an attorney, who may be the corporation counsel of the
  city, and to fix the attorney's compensation for services which shall be
  payable to the attorney, and to retain and  employ  private  consultants
  for  professional  and technical assistance and advice; provided that an
  attorney acting as bond  counsel  for  a  project  must  file  with  the
  authority  a  written  statement  in  which the attorney identifies each
  party to the transaction which such attorney represents. If bond counsel
  provides any legal services to parties other  than  the  authority,  the
  written statement must describe the nature of legal services provided by
  such  bond  counsel  to  all  parties  to the transaction, including the
  nature of the services provided to the authority;
    9. To make contracts and leases upon such terms as the authority shall
  deem appropriate, including without limitation leases  which  grant  the
  tenant  of  a  project  an  option to renew or an option to purchase the
  project, or both, at a fixed or otherwise  predetermined  price  and  to
  execute all instruments necessary or convenient;
    10.  To  acquire,  construct,  reconstruct,  lease, improve, maintain,
  equip or furnish one or more projects;
    11. To accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions  from,  and  enter
  into  contracts  or  other  transactions with, the United States and the
  state or any agency of either of them, any municipality, any  public  or
  private  corporation  or  any  other  legal  entity, and to use any such
  gifts, grants, loans or contributions for any of its corporate purposes;
    12. To borrow money and to issue bonds and to provide for  the  rights
  of the holders thereof;
    13.  To  designate  the  depositories  of  its  money either within or
  without the state of New York;
    14. To enter into agreements requiring payments in lieu of taxes. Such
  agreements shall be in writing and in  addition  to  other  terms  shall
  contain: the amount due annually to each affected tax jurisdiction (or a
  formula by which the amount due can be calculated), the name and address
  of the person, office or agency to which payment shall be delivered, the
  date on which payment shall be made, and the date on which payment shall
  be  considered  delinquent  if  not paid. Unless otherwise agreed by the
  affected tax  jurisdictions,  any  such  agreement  shall  provide  that
  payments  in  lieu  of  taxes  shall  be  allocated  among  affected tax
  jurisdictions in proportion to the amount of real property tax and other
  taxes which would have been received by each affected  tax  jurisdiction
  had  the  project not been tax exempt due to the status of the authority
  involved in the project. A copy of any such agreement shall be delivered
  to each affected tax jurisdiction within fifteen  days  of  signing  the
  agreement.  In  the  absence  of any such written agreement, payments in
  lieu of taxes  made  by  an  agency  shall  be  allocated  in  the  same
  proportions  as  they  had been prior to January first, nineteen hundred
  ninety-three for so long as the authority's activities render a  project
  non-taxable by affected tax jurisdictions.
    15. To establish and reestablish its fiscal year; and
    16. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes
  and exercise the powers expressly given in this title.