N.Y. Private Housing Finance Law § 11-a: Additional policy and purposes of article

§ 11-a. Additional policy and purposes of article. 1. It is hereby

declared that the elimination of conditions causing a deterioration of

the quality of urban life in municipalities of the State and the

revitalization and improvement of the quality of urban life in such

municipalities through comprehensive programs and projects constituting

a total attack upon such conditions are the most critical problems

facing the municipalities, the state and the federal government, and are

vital to the health, well-being, safety and prosperity of the

inhabitants of the municipalities and the people of the state. Neither

the municipalities nor the state have adequate resources to undertake,

develop and operate the comprehensive programs and projects necessary

for the accomplishment of such purposes. The ordinary operations of

private enterprise cannot rectify such conditions or accomplish such

purposes. The elimination of such conditions and accomplishment of such

purposes require the participation and cooperation of the

municipalities, the State, the Federal government, private enterprise,

institutions of higher learning, community and civic groups, fraternal

and labor organizations, foundations, and all other responsible

components of the community.

2. Among the conditions causing such deterioration are: the residence

of large numbers of families, adults and children in slum ghettos;

insanitary and inadequate housing or other physical environment; a

severe shortage of decent healthful housing accommodations to meet the

needs of large numbers of families, adults and children; economic,

educational or community imbalance resulting from excessive migration of

economic or other groups to or from communities; depletion of job or

business opportunities because of migration of business and industry

from communities; and the existence of physical, social, and economic

blight and crime. Such conditions create and perpetuate slum ghettos,

blight and crime, cause a progressive deterioration of the quality of

urban life for all persons in the municipalities and the State, render

or tend to render the municipalities undesirable places in which to

live, work and raise families, impair the sound economic, cultural and

social growth of municipalities and communities thereof, break down the

ability of municipalities or communities thereof to grow, expand,

develop or continue as viable municipalities or communities, and

threaten the life, health, well-being, safety and prosperity of all

persons in municipalities and the people of the State.

2-a. It is hereby found that improvement of the physical environment

and revitalization of the quality of urban life in such municipalities

would be promoted by cooperative action by tenants who are persons or

families of low income to acquire ownership of their dwellings and to

operate them on a nonprofit basis; that such cooperative undertakings,

with their consequent pride and responsibility of ownership, would help

to stem the abandonment of deteriorating but structually sound

buildings, which contributes to a substantial loss of much needed

housing stock, and would lead to the stabilization and renewal of

deteriorating neighborhoods. It is found necessary, in order to assure

the feasibility of such cooperative undertakings, to make available to

such tenants long-term financing on a favorable basis and tax exemption

to enable them to purchase and maintain their dwellings at a reasonable

cost.

3. The rehabilitation or redevelopment of slum ghettos and other areas

into sound healthy balanced viable communities, the enhancement of the

physical environment, health, and social well-being of the inhabitants

and the expansion of their social and economic opportunity require among

other measures the attraction to the neighborhoods of varying economic

classes in addition to persons of low income and the availability

therein of a wide choice of housing from the standpoint of design and

amenities.

4. It is hereby further found that there are certain parts of

municipalities where conditions of blight are so extensive in area that,

notwithstanding a continued shortage of safe and sanitary dwelling

accommodations in the municipality for low and middle income families,

it is not economic for private enterprise to build limited profit

housing in such areas since it cannot supply proper housing at prices

within the economic reach of low-income families in such blighted areas

or attract tenants or buyers from other areas by offering rents and

prices which are competitive with rents and prices of housing in areas

of the municipality which are not blighted. It is found that there are

other locations in such municipalities where housing development is

desirable for sound community growth, but, similarly, where private

enterprise cannot build limited profit housing which is within the

economic reach of persons in the area who require such housing.

5. It is the purpose of this article to enable municipalities to

undertake projects directly or in combination with the Federal

government, private enterprise and any of the other responsible

components of the community, to accomplish the public purposes herein

described through the most effective and economical concentration and

coordination of Federal, State, local and private resources and efforts.

6. It is hereby further found and determined that the accomplishment

of the purposes herein described is a matter of public concern, a

governmental purpose, a city, town, and village purpose, and a public

purpose and a public use for the accomplishment of which (a) the money

and property of a city, town or village, may be given, loaned or

expended, (b) indebtedness may be contracted by a city, town or village,

and (c) eminent domain exercised by a city, town or village, as

hereinafter provided.