N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1728: Powers and duties of the authority

§ 1728. Powers and duties of the authority. The authority shall have

the following powers and duties:

1. To sue and be sued;

2. To have a seal or alter the same at pleasure;

3. To make and alter by-laws for the organization and the management

and regulation of its affairs;

4. To appoint officers and employees, fix their compensation and

require background investigations, including but not limited to the

criminal history of all applicants for employment to determine the

suitability of such applicants for employment. Such investigation shall

include but not be limited to the taking of fingerprints of such

officers and employees as a prerequisite for employment; provided,

however, that every set of fingerprints taken pursuant to this

subdivision shall be promptly submitted to the division of criminal

justice services where it shall be appropriately processed and forwarded

to the federal bureau of investigation, at a rate required by such

agencies for state and national criminal history record checks;

5. To design, construct, reconstruct, improve, rehabilitate, maintain,

furnish, repair, equip and otherwise provide for educational facilities,

as defined in section twenty-five hundred ninety-a of the education law,

for the city board pursuant to agreements with the city board;

6. To acquire real and personal property, or any interest therein, by

any method, including but not limited to purchase or condemnation, for

the purpose of constructing, reconstructing, improving, rehabilitating,

maintaining, repairing, furnishing, equipping or otherwise providing for

educational facilities for the city board; provided, however, that the

authority shall use such condemnation power only if the authority is

unable to purchase property by negotiation or bidding and provided

further that, except to the extent permitted by subdivision two of

section seventeen hundred twenty-nine of this title, the authority may

not condemn property dedicated to use, used or mapped as a city street

or any other property owned by, or subject to any interest therein, of

the city of New York;

7. To make and execute contracts and all other instruments necessary

or convenient for the exercise of its functions, powers and duties,

provided that the authority may not unless otherwise specifically

authorized by law issue negotiable bonds or notes;

8. To engage the services of private consultants on a contract basis

for rendering professional and technical assistance and advice;

9. To enter into agreements with the city board pursuant to which the

authority will be responsible for the acquisition, design, construction,

reconstruction, improvement, rehabilitation, maintaining, repairing,

furnishing, equipping of and otherwise providing for educational

facilities for the city board, provided, however, that (i) any agreement

under which the authority shall engage in maintenance shall be limited

to maintenance that is attendant to the authority's implementation of a

five-year educational facilities capital plan; (ii) nothing herein shall

be deemed to diminish the rights of school custodians and custodian

engineers as established in the existing collective bargaining agreement

with the city board or other custodian or maintenance employees as

established in their respective collective bargaining agreements; and

(iii) further provided that the authority is not empowered to engage in

custodial operations;

10. Notwithstanding the provisions of section two thousand five

hundred four of the insurance law or any other law, to procure insurance

on behalf of itself and others against any loss in connection with its

activities, properties and other assets, in such amounts and from such

insurers as it deems desirable; provided that the authority may enter

into agreements with the city, acting by the mayor alone, providing for

indemnification by the city of the authority against tort and contract

judgments and claims, which agreements may contain provisions requiring

legal representation of the authority by the corporation counsel of the

city and specifying any insurance to be carried by the authority, which

provisions shall supersede any agreements with the city board on such

subject;

11. Upon completion of the design, construction, reconstruction,

improvement, rehabilitation, maintaining, repairing, furnishing,

equipping of or otherwise providing for educational facilities, to

convey title to any such facilities to the city for use as educational

facilities by the city board. In the case of educational facilities

leased by the authority, the city board may occupy or sublet such

facilities from the authority without compensation and without further

approval and, upon transfer or assignment of the authority's interest in

these facilities to the city board, the city board shall assume all

rights and obligations of the authority under such lease;

12. To dispose of personal property and, with the consent of the city,

acting by the mayor and the council, to dispose of real property, or any

interest therein, held by the authority and not required for educational

purposes of the city board, by sale, lease, sublease or otherwise,

provided that such disposition is pursuant to the implementation of a

five-year educational facilities capital plan;

13. To enter into agreements with the city's department of city

planning to render any services the authority may request, including but

not limited to professional and technical assistance by planning

experts, engineers, architects and any other staff as may be necessary,

and the use of the premises, personnel, equipment, access to relevant

data and personal property of the department of city planning;

13-a. To enter into agreements with the city's department of health

and mental hygiene to render any services the authority may request,

including but not limited to access to data necessary to develop

reasonable student population projections citywide, for each community

school district and for each community board;

13-b. To enter into agreements with the city's department of buildings

to render any services the authority may request, including but not

limited to access to building permit and construction data, including

the number and size of units within buildings;

13-c. To enter into agreements with the city's department of housing

preservation and development to render any services the authority may

request, including but not limited to access to building permit and

construction data, including the number and size of units within

buildings;

13-d. To coordinate with the office of city planning, the department

of buildings, the department of housing preservation and development,

the department of health and mental hygiene and community boards to

create uniform, citywide student population projections, community

school district and community board, for a minimum of five years, based

on data produced by the office of city planning, the department of

buildings, the department of housing preservation and development and

the department of health and mental hygiene. Such projections shall be

used in the creation and implementation of the authority's five-year

educational facilities capital plan;

14. To enter into agreements with the city board to render services,

including but not limited to the use of the premises, personnel and

personal property of the city board, and to provide for reimbursement to

the city board from the authority for any expenses incurred by the city

board in carrying out the terms of these agreements;

15. To enter into agreements with the city board pursuant to which the

city board may make available to the authority the services of employees

of the city board who are contemplated to be transferred to the

authority pursuant to a plan for such transfers for the purpose of

rendering assistance in establishing the operations of the authority;

provided, however, that such employees shall no longer be available to

the authority pursuant to the terms of this subdivision beyond one year

following the effective date of this title;

* 15-a. To establish employment goals in accordance with the program

established pursuant to section thirty-five hundred two of the New York

city charter, including but not limited to employment goals established

pursuant to paragraph seven of subdivision a and the corresponding best

efforts provisions set forth in subdivision d of such section; provided,

however, that where a provision of such section requires action by the

director of the office of community hiring and workforce development,

such action shall not be taken by the director of the office of

community hiring and workforce development but shall be taken by the

president of the authority or his or her designee;

* NB Effective May 15, 2024

* NB Repealed May 15, 2029

16. To apply for or accept any gifts, grants or loans of funds or

property or financial or other aid in any form from the federal

government or any agency or instrumentality thereof, from the state or

any agency or instrumentality thereof, from the city or any agency or

instrumentality thereof or from any other source, for any or all of the

purposes specified in this title, and it may comply, subject to the

provisions of this title, with the terms and conditions thereof; and

17. To do any and all things necessary or convenient to carry out and

exercise the powers given and granted by this section.