N.Y. Education Law § 451: Statement of legislative findings and purposes

§ 451. Statement of legislative findings and purposes. There is

threatened in the city of New York a serious shortage of elementary and

secondary school buildings under the jurisdiction of the board of

education of the city of New York. This shortage is occasioned by the

age and obsolescence of many existing school buildings, the large number

of new school buildings that are needed in various areas of the city of

New York, the scarcity and high cost of available land in the areas

where such schools are needed, the typical under-utilization of land by

elementary and secondary school buildings and the existing limitations

on the amount of state and city funds available for the construction of

such buildings.

In order to facilitate the timely construction of such school

buildings in combination with other compatible and lawful uses, which

combination would provide a highly desirable and economic utilization of

available land, there should be created a corporate governmental agency

of the state, constituting a public benefit corporation, to be known as

the "New York city educational construction fund," which could receive

and administer moneys for the construction and improvement of elementary

and secondary school buildings in the city of New York and whose

principal purpose would be the timely and responsive provision of such

combined occupancy structures in accordance with the foreseeable needs

of the city of New York for additional or replacement elementary and

secondary educational facilities and the desirability of facilitating

maximum and appropriate utilization of available land. In order to

encourage the investment of private capital in such combined occupancy

structures and enable the construction of additional school facilities

within existing financial limitations through the utilization of

incidental revenue produced thereby, the New York city educational

construction fund should be empowered, through the issuance of its

bonds, notes or other obligations to the private investing public, to

obtain a portion of the funds necessary to finance the construction of

the school portion of such structures and to apply the revenues received

from both the school and non-school portions thereof to the payment of

such bonds, notes or other obligations. In furtherance of these

purposes, the creation, continued operation and solvency of the New York

city educational construction fund, including the maintenance of the

capital reserve fund provided for in subdivision one of section four

hundred sixty-two of this article, is hereby declared to be a school

purpose for which public monies may be appropriated, apportioned and

expended.

While responsibility for the educational affairs of the city school

district of the city of New York, including the selection of school

sites and the design and construction of school facilities, must

continue in the board of education of the city of New York, title to

such sites and the school facilities constructed thereon pursuant to

this article should be vested in the fund in order to facilitate the

exercise of its powers.