N.Y. Private Housing Finance Law § 1172: The New York state HOME program

§ 1172. The New York state HOME program. 1. Agreements. (a) Within

the limit of HOME program funds, the division is hereby authorized to

take administrative actions necessary to comply with HUD requirements

and consistent with the provisions of this article in order to enter

into agreements with applicants to provide grants and loans which such

applicants shall use to finance projects that qualify under HOME

regulations as eligible activities.

(b) The division shall not enter into an agreement under this article

except with an eligible applicant which has submitted an application

pursuant to a notification of fund availability and a request for

proposals issued by the division.

(c) The division and the applicant shall execute a grant or loan

agreement which shall set forth the terms and conditions under which the

grant or loan will be provided.

2. Notice of fund availability. The division shall issue its initial

notice of fund availability and request for proposals within forty-five

working days of the effective date of this article. No more than sixty

percent of the HOME funds shall be available for reservation in such

initial funding cycle. No later than sixteen months from the effective

date of this article, the division shall issue a second request for

proposals and make available those funds not committed during the

initial request for proposals, including funds recaptured by or

otherwise made available to the division by the federal government under

the HOME program. Additional requests for proposals shall be issued at

the discretion of the division but in any event no later than sixty days

following the availability of additional federal funds.

3. Application procedures. (a) Documentation determining eligibility.

The division shall provide each applicant with a list of documents that

must be included in the application before the application can be

entered into the competitive process for the awarding of grants and

loans. The division shall also include with such list of documents a

detailed description of the review and selection procedures criteria

utilized by the division pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision.

Within ten working days after the last day for receipt of applications,

the division shall notify applicants if and how the application is

incomplete and provide ten working days to complete such application.

Documentation requirements shall include but not necessarily be limited

to: (1) a feasibility study and market analysis of the proposal; (2) a

proposed project financing and leveraging plan; (3) a schedule, with

specific dates, of the expected project commencement date, expected

completion date, and if appropriate, the anticipated schedule for

closing and occupancy of units; (4) a description of the applicant's

qualifications and previous experience; (5) a statement by the applicant

as to the status of all public approvals and clearances required to

undertake the project; (6) a plan as to how applicants will ensure

compliance with all federally mandated regulations throughout the

regulatory term; (7) a statement describing the amount of and source of

any matching contributions required for the proposed project and an

opinion of counsel that funds proposed to be used as matching

contributions are legally available to be used as proposed; and (8) a

statement of need and how the project will further goals delineated

within the state CHAS.

(b) The review and selection procedure. Within forty-five working days

of the effective date of this article, the division shall develop,

consistent with federal law and regulations, a review procedure and

selection criteria for evaluating applications, which shall include

design, underwriting, legal and program requirements. Such procedure and

selection criteria shall be provided to applicants with the application.

Such selection criteria shall include but not be limited to the

following factors: (1) the extent to which the proposal will serve a

demonstrated need; (2) the degree to which the proposal leverages

private investment or other funding sources; (3) the likelihood of

successful project completion, including consideration of the submitted

market analysis, the prior experience of the applicant, and the

viability of the submitted completion schedule; and (4) type of

assistance requested.

4. Selection for award and notification requirements. The division

shall base the awarding of grants and loans subject to the availability

of funds upon the competitive review and selection procedure described

in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of this section. Within eighty

working days following the last day for receipt of applications in

response to a request for proposals, the division shall notify all

applicants of its funding decisions.

(a) The division will notify, in writing, all applicants who were not

selected for funding of the reasons why the proposal was not funded,

including the design, underwriting, legal or program deficiencies,

deficiencies of any documents and/or the basis upon which the

application was determined to be ineligible for funding. Until the

issuance of a subsequent notice of fund availability, applicants not

selected for funding due solely to the non-availability of federal funds

under the notice of fund availability shall remain eligible for

selection for funding under such notice of fund availability in the

event that unused federal funds become available for reallocation.

(b) The division shall provide each applicant selected for funding

with a list of conditions that must be met prior to entering into a

contract pursuant to this article. Within fifteen working days of

receipt by the division of all documents in satisfaction of the list,

the division shall notify the applicant of the sufficiency or

insufficiency of the documents. After satisfaction by the applicant of

all conditions required by the division prior to entering into a

contract, the division shall enter into the contract within forty-five

working days of satisfaction of such conditions. Applications which are

not selected for funding must be resubmitted by the applicant for

consideration under subsequent notices of funding availability.

5. Distribution of funds. Eighty percent of the funds available

hereunder after deducting the set asides mandated by NAHA for community

housing development organizations, shall be reserved for projects

located within non-participating jurisdictions, provided however, that

such reservation may be less than eighty percent where, following a

notice of funding availability and request for proposals, the division

has made a written finding that (i) applications, except those not

selected for funding pursuant to subdivision four of this section, for

projects in non-participating jurisdictions will not totally utilize the

remaining available reserved funds and (ii) such funds are subject to

recapture by HUD pursuant to federal HOME regulations within one hundred

eighty days.

6. Monitoring and review. The division shall provide for the review,

at periodic intervals not less than annually, of the performance of

applicants receiving grants or loans pursuant to this article. Such

review shall, among other things, be for the purposes of ascertaining

the conformity to agreement provisions, and adherence to federal HOME

regulations. Agreements entered into pursuant to this article may be

terminated and funds may be withheld or recaptured by the division upon

a finding of substantial nonperformance or breach by such applicant

under its agreement or for failure to adhere to federal NAHA

requirements.

7. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, on and after June

thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-five, the division shall not issue

notices of fund availability, accept applications or enter into any new

agreements pursuant to the provisions of this section.