N.Y. Economic Development Law § 432: Eligibility criteria for universities and colleges

§ 432. Eligibility criteria for universities and colleges. 1. State

university campuses, community colleges and city university campuses.

(a) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the

following will constitute the eligible land of a state university

campus, community college, or city university campus:

(i) any vacant space in any building located on a campus of a state

university campus, community college or city university campus;

(ii) any vacant land on a campus of a state university campus,

community college or city university campus;

(iii) for a state university campus or community college, a total of

two hundred thousand square feet of vacant land or vacant building space

that, except as provided under paragraph (b) of this subdivision, is

located within one mile of a campus of the state university campus or

community college; provided that this subparagraph shall not apply to a

state university campus or community college located in Nassau county,

Suffolk county or Westchester county; and

(iv) a New York state incubator as the term is used in subdivision

four of section four hundred thirty-three of this article with a bona

fide affiliation to the state university campus, community college or

city university campus, with approval of the commissioner. In order for

there to be a bona fide affiliation of a New York state incubator with a

state university campus, community college or city university campus,

the incubator and the state university campus, community college or city

university campus must have a partnership to provide assistance and

physical space to eligible businesses, as the term is used in section

sixteen-v of the urban development corporation act; the incubator and

the state university campus, community college or city university campus

must directly work towards the goals of jointly creating jobs and

incubating new startup businesses; and the mission and activities of the

incubator must align with or further the academic mission of the state

university campus, community college or city university campus.

(b) A state university campus or community college which qualifies

under subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision may apply

to the commissioner for a determination that identified vacant land or

identified vacant space in a building that is located more than one mile

from its campus, and is not located in Nassau county, Suffolk county,

Westchester county or New York city, is eligible land for purposes of

this program. The commissioner shall give consideration to factors

including rural, suburban and urban geographic considerations and may

qualify the identified land or space in a building as eligible land if

the commissioner, in consultation with the chancellor or his or her

designee, determines that the state university campus or community

college has shown that the use of the land or space will be consistent

with the requirements of this program and the plan submitted by the

state university campus or community college pursuant to section four

hundred thirty-five of this article. In addition, two hundred thousand

square feet of vacant land or vacant building space affiliated with or

in partnership with Maritime College shall be eligible under this

paragraph. The aggregate amount of qualified land or space under this

paragraph and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision

may not exceed two hundred thousand square feet for a state university

campus or community college.

(c) The provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall

apply only to:

(i) a state university campus other than the following: (A) any empire

state college campus except for the empire state college campus in

Saratoga Springs, (B) any property of downstate medical center located

in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city

except for property affiliated with downstate medical center that

constitutes a New York state incubator as the term is used in

subdivision four of section four hundred thirty-three of this article,

and (C) any property of the college of optometry or maritime college

located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York

city.

(ii) a community college, except that for a community college whose

main campus is in New York city, paragraphs (a) and (b) of this

subdivision shall not apply to property of such community college in

Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city.

(iii) a total of five city university campuses, one each in the

boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, which

will be designated by the board of trustees of the city university of

New York. The campus designated in each borough must be located in an

economically distressed community. The commissioner shall establish a

list of economically distressed communities for the purpose of this

designation, based on criteria indicative of economic distress,

including poverty rates, numbers of persons receiving public assistance,

unemployment rates, and such other indicators as the commissioner deems

appropriate to be in need of economic assistance. In addition,

paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall apply to property of

the city university located outside of Nassau county, Suffolk county,

Westchester county and New York city.

(d) The eligible land of a state university campus, community college,

or city university campus will also include eligible land designated

under paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section.

2. Private colleges and universities and certain other campuses. (a)

Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the

following will constitute the eligible land of a private college or

university:

(i) any vacant space in any building located on a campus of a private

university or college other than a campus which is located in Nassau

county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city;

(ii) any vacant land on a campus of a private university or college

other than a campus which is located in Nassau county, Suffolk county,

Westchester county or New York city;

(iii) any vacant land or vacant space in a building which is not

located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York

city; and

(iv) a New York state incubator as the term is used in subdivision

four of section four hundred thirty-three of this article with a bona

fide affiliation to the private university or college, with approval of

the commissioner. In order for there to be a bona fide affiliation of a

New York state incubator with a private university or college, the

incubator and the private university or college must have a partnership

to provide assistance and physical space to eligible businesses as the

term is used in section sixteen-v of the urban development corporation

act; the incubator and the private university or college must directly

work towards the goals of jointly creating jobs and incubating new

startup businesses; and the mission and activities of the incubator must

align with or further the academic mission of the private university or

college.

(b) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision,

three million square feet is the maximum aggregate amount of tax-free NY

areas of private universities and colleges that may be utilized for this

program, which shall be designated in a manner that ensures regional

balance and balance among eligible rural, urban and suburban areas in

the state. The commissioner shall maintain an accounting of the vacant

land and space of private universities and colleges that have been

approved as tax-free NY areas and shall stop accepting applications for

approval of tax-free NY areas when that maximum amount has been reached.

(c) Of the maximum aggregate amount in paragraph (b) of this

subdivision, an initial amount of seventy-five thousand square feet

shall be designated as tax-free NY areas in each of the following:

Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county and the boroughs of

Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. The board may

approve the designation of up to an additional seventy-five thousand

square feet for any county or borough that reaches the initial

seventy-five thousand square foot limit, provided that such additional

seventy-five thousand square feet shall not count against the square

footage limitations in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. Vacant land

and vacant space in a building on the campus of the following shall be

eligible for designation under this paragraph:

(i) a private university or college which campus is located in Nassau

county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city.

(ii) a state university campus that meets the criteria of clause (B)

or (C) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this

section.

(iii) a community college whose main campus is in New York city.

(iv) a city university campus that is not designated under

subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section.

(d) In addition, the board may approve: (i) one application that

includes eligible land owned or leased by a city university campus that

is directly adjacent to such campus; (ii) one application that includes

eligible land owned or leased by a state university campus, community

college, or private university or college in Nassau county or Suffolk

county that is directly adjacent to such campus, university or college;

and (iii) one application that includes eligible land owned or leased by

a state university campus, community college, or private university or

college in Westchester county that is directly adjacent to such campus,

university or college. The board may approve an additional application,

for a state university campus, community college, or private university

or college in the county not previously approved under subparagraph (ii)

of this paragraph, in which case it shall also approve a second

application under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.

3. Prohibition. A state university campus, community college or city

university campus is prohibited from relocating or eliminating any

academic programs, any administrative programs, offices, housing

facilities, dining facilities, athletic facilities, or any other

facility, space or program that actively serves students, faculty or

staff in order to create vacant land or space to be utilized for the

program authorized by this article. In addition, nothing in this article

shall be deemed to waive or impair any rights or benefits of employees

of the state university of New York, a community college or the city

university of New York that otherwise would be available to them

pursuant to the terms of agreements between the certified

representatives of such employees and their employers pursuant to

article fourteen of the civil service law. No services or work currently

performed by public employees of the state university of New York, a

community college, or the city university of New York or future work

that is similar in scope and nature to the work being currently

performed by public employees shall be contracted out or privatized by

the state university of New York, a community college or the city

university of New York or by an affiliated entity or associated entity

of the state university of New York, a community college or the city

university of New York. For the purpose of this section, an affiliated

entity or associated entity shall not include a business that is

participating in the START-UP NY program.