N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1299-hh: Special powers of the authority

§ 1299-hh. Special powers of the authority. In order to effectuate the

purposes of this title: 1. The authority may acquire, by purchase, gift,

grant, transfer, contract or lease, or condemnation, any transportation

facility, including port or related facilities wholly or partially

within the Rochester-Genesee regional transportation district or any

part thereof, or the use thereof, and may enter into any joint service

arrangements as hereinafter provided. Any such acquisition or joint

service arrangement shall be authorized only by resolution of the

authority approved by not less than a majority vote of the authority.

2. The authority may on such terms and conditions as the authority may

determine necessary, convenient or desirable itself establish,

construct, effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve, extend or

repair any such transportation facility, or may provide for such

establishment, construction, effectuation, operation, maintenance,

renovation, improvement, extension or repair by contract, lease, or

other arrangement on such terms as the authority may deem necessary,

convenient or desirable with any person, including but not limited to

any common carrier or freight forwarder, the state, any state agency,

the federal government, any other state or agency or instrumentality

thereof, any public authority of this or any other state or any

political subdivision or municipality of the state. In connection with

the operation of any such transportation facility, the authority may

establish, construct, effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve,

extend or repair or may provide by contract, lease or other arrangement

for the establishment, construction, effectuation, operation,

maintenance, renovation, improvement, extension or repair of any related

services and activities it deems necessary, convenient or desirable,

including but not limited to the transportation and storage of freight

and the United States mail, feeder and connecting transportation,

parking areas, transportation centers, ports, stations and related

facilities.

3. The authority may establish, levy and collect or cause to be

established, levied and collected and, in the case of a joint service

arrangement, join with others in the establishment, levy and collection

of such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges and other fees as it may

deem necessary, convenient or desirable for the use and operation of any

transportation facility and related services operated by the authority

or by a subsidiary corporation of the authority or under contract, lease

or other arrangement, including joint service arrangements, with the

authority. Any such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges or other fees

for the transportation of passengers shall be established and changed

only if approved by resolution of the authority adopted by not less than

a majority vote of the authority and only after a public hearing,

provided however, that fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges or other

fees for the transportation of passengers on any transportation facility

which are in effect at the time that the then owner of such

transportation facility becomes a subsidiary corporation of the

authority or at the time that operation of such transportation facility

is commenced by the authority or is commenced under contract, lease or

other arrangement including joint service arrangements, with the

authority may be continued in effect without such a hearing. Such fares,

tolls, rentals, rates, charges and other fees shall be established as

may in the judgment of the authority be necessary to maintain the

combined operations of the authority and its subsidiary corporations on

a self-sustaining basis. The said operations shall be deemed to be on a

self-sustaining basis as required by this title, when the authority is

able to pay or cause to be paid from revenue and any other funds or

property actually available to the authority and its subsidiary

corporations (a) as the same shall become due, the principal of and

interest on the bonds and notes and other obligations of the authority

and of such subsidiary corporations, together with the maintenance of

proper reserves therefor, (b) the cost and expense of keeping the

properties and assets of the authority and its subsidiary corporations

in good condition and repair, and (c) the capital and operating expenses

of the authority and its subsidiary corporations. The authority may

contract with the holders of bonds and notes with respect to the

exercise of the powers authorized by this section.

4. The authority may establish and, in the case of joint service

arrangements, join with others in the establishment of such schedules

and standards of operations and such other rules and regulations

including but not limited to rules and regulations governing the conduct

and safety of the public as it may deem necessary, convenient or

desirable for the use and operation of any transportation facility and

related services operated by the authority or under contract, lease or

other arrangement, including joint service arrangements, with the

authority. Such rules and regulations governing the conduct and safety

of the public shall be filed with the department of state in the manner

provided by section one hundred two of the executive law. In the case of

any conflict between any such rule or regulation of the authority

governing the conduct or safety of the public and any local law,

ordinance, rule or regulation, such rule or regulation of the authority

shall prevail. Violation of any such rule or regulation of the authority

governing the conduct or the safety of the public in or upon any

facility of the authority shall constitute an offense and shall be

punishable by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars or imprisonment for not

more than thirty days or both.

5. The authority may acquire, hold, own, lease, establish, construct,

effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve, extend or repair any

of its facilities through, and cause any one or more of its powers,

duties, functions or activities to be exercised or performed by, one or

more wholly owned subsidiary corporations of the authority and may

transfer to or from any such corporation any moneys, real property or

other property for any of the purposes of this title. The directors or

members of each such subsidiary corporation shall be the same persons

holding the offices of members of the authority. Each such subsidiary

corporation and any of its property, functions and activities shall have

all of the privileges, immunities, tax exemptions and other exemptions

of the authority and of the authority's property, functions and

activities. Each such subsidiary corporation shall be subject to the

restrictions and limitations to which the authority may be subject. Each

such subsidiary corporation shall be subject to suit in accordance with

section twelve hundred ninety-nine-qq of this title. The employees of

any such subsidiary corporation, except those who are also employees of

the authority, shall not be deemed employees of the authority.

If the authority shall determine that one or more of its subsidiary

corporations should be in the form of a public benefit corporation, it

shall create each such public benefit corporation by executing and

filing with the secretary of state a certificate of incorporation, which

may be amended from time to time by filing, which shall set forth the

name of such public benefit subsidiary corporation, its duration, the

location of its principal office, and any or all of the purposes of

acquiring, owning, leasing, establishing, constructing, effectuating,

operating, maintaining, renovating, improving, extending or repairing

one or more facilities of the authority. Each such public benefit

subsidiary corporation shall be a body politic and corporate and shall

have all those powers vested in the authority by the provisions of this

title which the authority shall determine to include in its certificate

of incorporation except the power to contract indebtedness.

Whenever any state, political subdivision, municipality, commission,

agency, officer, department, board, division or person is authorized and

empowered for any of the purposes of this title to co-operate and enter

into agreements with the authority such state, political subdivision,

municipality, commission, agency, officer, department, board, division

or person shall have the same authorization and power for any of such

purposes to co-operate and enter into agreements with a subsidiary

corporation of the authority.

6. The authority, in its own name or in the name of the state, may

apply for and receive and accept grants of property, money and services

and other assistance offered or made available to it by any person,

government or agency whatever, which it may use to meet capital or

operating expenses and for any other use within the scope of its powers,

and to negotiate for the same upon such terms and conditions as the

authority may determine to be necessary, convenient or desirable.

7. The authority may do all things it deems necessary, convenient or

desirable to manage, control and direct the maintenance and operation of

transportation facilities, equipment or real property operated by or

under contract, lease or other arrangement with the authority. Except as

hereinafter specially provided, no municipality or political

subdivision, including but not limited to a county, city, village, town

or school or other district shall have jurisdiction over any facilities

of the authority or any of its activities or operations. In the

operation, maintenance and control of any facilities devoted to purposes

other than direct transportation purposes, the authority shall be

subject to all local laws, resolutions, ordinances, rules and

regulations of a municipality or political subdivision. Each

municipality or political subdivision, including but not limited to a

county, city, village, town or district in which any facilities of the

authority are located shall provide for such facilities police, fire and

health protection services of the same character and to the same extent

as those provided for residents of such municipality or political

subdivision.

The authority may agree with the state department of transportation

for the execution by such department of any grade crossing elimination

project or any grade crossing separation reconstruction project along

any railroad facility operated by the authority or by one of its

subsidiary corporations or under contract, lease or other arrangement

with the authority. Any such project shall be executed as provided in

the grade crossing elimination act and the railroad law, respectively,

and the costs of any such project shall be borne as provided in such

laws, except that the authority's share of such costs shall be borne by

the state.

8. The authority may accept unconditional grants of money or property

as subsidy payments for expansion of service into areas where such

service would not be self-supporting. The authority may accept

unconditional grants of money or property from any city, village, town

or county not wholly contained within a city the whole or any part of

which shall be served or to be served by a transportation facility

operated by the authority. Such grants of money or property would be for

the purpose of assisting the authority in meeting its capital or

operating expenses. The acceptance of any such grant shall not operate

to make the authority an agency of the municipality making the grant.

The provisions of this section are intended as enabling legislation only

and shall not be interpreted as implying that absent their enactment an

authority would lack the power to accept such grant or subsidy.

9. The authority may do all things necessary, convenient or desirable

to design, develop, acquire, construct, maintain, operate, improve and

reconstruct a rapid transit system in the Charlotte-Henrietta Corridor

which is described generally as follows: commencing on the north at the

Port of Rochester, thence southwesterly along the Penn Central railroad

right of way to its intersection with the Baltimore and Ohio

railroad-belt line division right of way, thence southerly along the

Baltimore and Ohio railroad-belt line division to its intersection with

the railroad right of way of the former "rapid transit and industrial

railway", near Lexington Avenue, owned by the City of Rochester, thence

southerly along said former "rapid transit and industrial railway"

through certain abandoned canal lands owned by the State of New York to

the point where it intersects with the Rochester branch of the Lehigh

Valley railroad right of way, thence southerly along said Lehigh Valley

railroad to the point where it intersects with the Erie railroad right

of way, thence southerly along the Erie railroad right of way to a

terminus near Erie Station Road at the Riverton new community, also

thence southeasterly along said Lehigh Valley Railroad from the point

where it intersects with the Erie Railroad right of way, to a terminus

near Calkins Road. The Charlotte-Henrietta Corridor shall be deemed a

"transportation facility" of the authority for all of the purposes of

this title.

10. Notwithstanding any of the above provisions, no project may be

undertaken by the authority unless such project is a part of or

consistent with the adopted master plan.