N.Y. General Municipal Law § 555: Acquisition of property

§ 555. Acquisition of property. 1. (a) 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 over 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 any urban renewal program or part

thereof in accordance with an urban renewal plan may be acquired by an

agency by gift, grant, devise, purchase, condemnation or otherwise and

by a municipality for and on behalf of an agency by condemnation.

Property may be acquired by condemnation by an agency or by a

municipality for an agency pursuant to the condemnation law or pursuant

to the laws relating to the condemnation of land by the municipality for

which the agency is acting or the municipality, as the case may be.

(b) Property so acquired by an agency, or by a municipality in behalf

of an agency, 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 or article fifteen of

this chapter; provided, however, that any such agency shall have the

power and authority, with respect to such property, to pay, 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

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, regulation,

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, an agency

may acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation or otherwise, in

accordance with the appropriate provisions of any general, special or

local law or charter applicable to the acquisition of real property by

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

designated pursuant to article fifteen of this chapter 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, by

majority vote authorize the agency to proceed with the acquisition;

(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, nevertheless authorize the agency to

proceed with the acquisition, 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,

authorize the agency to proceed with the acquisition in accordance with

the modifications recommended by the commission, by majority vote, or

authorize such acquisition 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.