N.Y. General Municipal Law § 502: Definitions

§ 502. Definitions. As used in this article and article fifteen-A of

this chapter, the following terms shall mean:

1. "Governing body." (a) In a city, the board of aldermen, common

council, commission or other body vested by its charter or other law

with jurisdiction to enact ordinances or local laws, except that in a

city having a population of one million or more the term "governing

body" shall, as to such city, mean the council or mayor, as appropriate,

who shall act pursuant to this article in accordance with the powers

vested in them by the charter of such city, or by other law; (b) in a

town, the town board; (c) in a village, the board of trustees.

2. "Municipality." A city, town or village.

3. "Urban renewal." A program established, conducted and planned by a

municipality for the redevelopment, through clearance, replanning,

reconstruction, rehabilitation, and concentrated code enforcement, or a

combination of these and other methods, of substandard and insanitary

areas of such municipalities, and for recreational and other facilities

incidental or appurtenant thereto, pursuant to and in accordance with

article eighteen of the constitution and this article, including those

programs authorized by and to effectuate the purposes of title one of

the housing act of nineteen hundred forty-nine and section three hundred

fourteen of title three of the housing act of nineteen hundred

fifty-four, whether such programs and contracts pursuant thereto were in

process on or before June sixteenth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight and

all federal laws amendatory and supplementary thereto. The terms

"clearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation" shall include

renewal, redevelopment, conservation, restoration or improvement or any

combination thereof as well as relocation activities and the testing and

reporting of methods and techniques for the arrest, prevention and

elimination of slums and blight; the term "program" may mean or include

and be interchangeable with the term "project."

4. "Substandard or insanitary area." The term "substandard or

insanitary area" shall mean and be interchangeable with a slum,

blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating area, or an area which has a

blighting influence on the surrounding area, whether residential,

non-residential, commercial, industrial, vacant, or land in highways,

railway and subway tracks, bridge and tunnel approaches and entrances,

or other similar facilities, over which 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 the elimination of the

blighting influence, or any combination thereof and may include land,

buildings or improvements, or air rights and concomitant easements or

other rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air

rights, not in themselves substandard or insanitary, the inclusion of

which is deemed necessary for the effective undertaking of one or more

urban renewal programs.

5. "Agency." The officer, board, commission, department, or other

agency of the municipality designated by the governing body, or as

otherwise provided by law, to carry out the functions vested in the

agency under this article or delegated to the agency by the governing

body in order to carry out the purpose and provisions of this article.

The term "agency" shall include a corporate governmental agency

established pursuant to article fifteen-A of this chapter.

6. "Comprehensive community plan." The term "comprehensive community

plan" shall mean and be interchangeable with "master plan" or "general

plan."

7. "Urban renewal plan." A plan for an urban renewal project, which

shall conform to the comprehensive community plan for the development of

the municipality as a whole and which shall be consistent with local

objectives. Such urban renewal plan shall include but shall not be

limited to: a statement of proposed land uses; proposed land

acquisition, demolition and removal of structures; proposed acquisition

of air rights and concomitant easements or other rights of user

necessary for the use and development of such air rights; proposed

methods or techniques of urban renewal; proposed public, semi-public,

private or community facilities or utilities; a statement as to proposed

new codes and ordinances and amendments to existing codes and ordinances

as are required or necessary to effectuate the plan; proposed program of

code enforcement; a proposed time schedule for the effectuation of such

plan, and such additional statements or documentation as the agency may

deem appropriate.

8. "Commission." The planning commission or other analogous body or,

if there be none, the board of estimate or other governing body of the

municipality.

9. "Urban renewal area." An area designated by the governing body, or

by the commission where so authorized to act by the governing body,

pursuant to section five hundred four of this article as appropriate for

urban renewal, except that in municipalities having a population of one

million or more, such designation shall be made only after a public

hearing held by the governing body or the commission, as the case may

be.

10. "State capital grant." A capital grant or subsidy paid to a

municipality or an agency established pursuant to the provisions of

article fifteen-A of this chapter with monies appropriated therefor from

the general fund of the state and not to be applied to the payment of

principal and interest on any state loan made or contracted to be made

pursuant to this article.

11. "Commissioner." The commissioner of housing and community renewal

of the state of New York.