N.Y. General Municipal Law § 506: Acquisition of property

§ 506. Acquisition of property. 1. (a) A municipality, acting through

its governing body, may acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease,

condemnation or otherwise, in accordance with the provisions of the

appropriate general, special or local law applicable to the acquisition

of real property by such municipality, real property or any interest

therein, including but not limited to 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

influences of an area or areas consisting principally of land in

streets, alleys, highways, and other public rights of way, railway or

subway tracks, bridge or tunnel approaches or entrances, or other

similar facilities which have a blighting influence on the surrounding

area, necessary for or incidental to a program of urban renewal for

residential, commercial, industrial, public, semi-public, community or

other uses or combinations of such uses in accordance with an urban

renewal plan for a designated area, or for a part or portion of such

area, provided, however, that the acquisition of any air rights over

railroad tracks, rights of way or facilities and easements or other

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

are to be subject to the provision of section fifty-one-a of the

railroad law. The acquisition of real property within a designated urban

renewal area shall in every case be deemed to be and constitute a

continuous rather than separate takings.

(b) Property so acquired by a municipality shall be exempt from

taxation until sold, leased for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years

or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this

article of this chapter; provided however, that any such municipality

shall have the power and authority, with respect to such property, to

pay or transfer, out of funds available to it for the effectuating of

such urban renewal program, annual sums in lieu of taxes to any taxing

jurisdiction providing services to the urban renewal area, or to the

part or portion thereof within such taxing jurisdiction, in order that

no such taxing jurisdiction shall suffer an inequitable loss of revenue

by virtue of such urban renewal program; provided, further, that the

amount so paid or transferred for any year with respect to any such

property shall not exceed the lesser of (1) the sum last levied for the

benefit of such taxing jurisdiction as an annual tax on such property

prior to the time of its acquisition for urban renewal purposes or (2)

such amount as shall be approved by the commissioner, pursuant to such

rules, regulations, limitations and conditions as he may prescribe, as

an eligible and proper charge against such urban renewal program. Upon

the sale, lease or disposition of such property to any person, firm or

corporation not entitled to an exemption from taxation or entitled to

only a partial tax exemption such property shall immediately become

subject to taxation in whole or in part, as the case may be, and shall

be taxed pro rata for the unexpired portion of the taxable year.

As used in this paragraph, the term "taxing jurisdiction" means any

municipal corporation or district corporation, including any school

district or any special district, having the power to levy or collect

taxes and benefit assessments upon real property, or in whose behalf

such taxes or benefit assessments may be levied or collected.

c. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, a

municipality may acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation

or otherwise, upon recommendation of the agency and in accordance with

the appropriate provisions of any general, special or local law or

charter applicable to the acquisition of real property by such

municipality, such real property or any interest therein, within an area

designated pursuant to this article as appropriate for urban renewal, as

it may deem ultimately necessary or proper to effectuate the purposes of

this article although temporarily not required for such purposes,

provided that the early acquisition of such property is approved as

follows:

(1) In a municipality where there is a planning commission, the agency

shall submit the proposal for early acquisition to the commission for

its approval. Such planning commission shall, not later than ten weeks

from the date of the referral of the proposal to it, after a public

hearing held on due notice, submit its report to the governing body

certifying its unqualified consent, its disapproval, or its qualified

consent with recommendations for modifications of the proposal.

After public hearing held on due notice after the report is received

or due from the planning commission, the governing body may:

(i) if the commission shall have certified its unqualified consent,

approve the proposal by a majority vote:

(ii) if the commission shall have certified its disapproval or shall

have failed to make its report within ten weeks from the date such

proposal was submitted to it by the agency, nevertheless approve the

proposal, but only by a three-fourths vote:

(iii) if the commission shall have certified its qualified consent

together with recommendations for modifications of the proposal, approve

the proposal together with the modifications recommended by the

commission by a majority vote, or approve the proposal without such

modifications but only by a three-fourths vote.

(2) In a municipality where there is no planning commission, the

agency shall submit the proposal to the governing body which, after

public hearing held on due notice, may either approve or disapprove the

proposal.