N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 2306: Purpose and powers of the authority

§ 2306. Purpose and powers of the authority. The purposes of the

authority shall be to promote, develop, encourage and assist in the

acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, maintaining,

equipping and furnishing industrial, manufacturing, warehouse,

commercial and research facilities and facilities for use by a federal

agency or a medical facility including industrial pollution control

facilities, which may include transportation facilities including but

not limited to those relating to water, highway, rail and air, in one or

more areas of the city, and thereby advance the job opportunities,

health, general prosperity and economic welfare of the people of said

city and to improve their medical care and standard of living; provided,

however, that the authority shall not undertake any project if the

completion thereof would result in the removal of an industrial or

manufacturing plant of the project occupant from one area of the state

to another area of the state or in abandonment of one or more plants or

facilities of the project applicant located within the state, provided,

however, that neither restriction shall apply if the authority shall

determine on the basis of the application before it that the project is

reasonably necessary to discourage the project occupant from removing

such other plant or facility to a location outside the state or is

reasonably necessary to preserve the competitive position of the project

occupant in its respective industry. Except as otherwise provided for in

this section, no financial assistance of the authority shall be provided

in respect of any project where facilities or property that are

primarily used in making retail sales to customers who personally visit

such facilities constitute more than one-third of the total project

cost. For the purposes of this article, "retail sales" shall mean: (i)

sales by a registered vendor under article twenty-eight of the tax law

primarily engaged in the retail sale of tangible personal property, as

defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph four of subdivision (b) of

section eleven hundred one of the tax law; or (ii) sales of a service to

such customers. Except, however, that tourism destination projects shall

not be prohibited by this paragraph. For the purpose of this paragraph,

"tourism destination" shall mean a location or facility which is likely

to attract a significant number of visitors from outside the economic

development region as established by section two hundred thirty of the

economic development law, in which the project is located.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, such

financial assistance may, however, be provided to a project where

facilities or property that are primarily used in making retail sales of

goods or services to customers who personally visit such facilities to

obtain such goods or services constitute more than one-third of the

total project cost, where: (i) the predominant purpose of the project

would be to make available goods or services which would not, but for

the project, be reasonably accessible to the residents of the city of

Auburn because of a lack of reasonably accessible retail trade

facilities offering such goods or services; or (ii) the project is

located in a highly distressed area. With respect to projects authorized

pursuant to this paragraph no project shall be approved unless the

authority shall find after the public hearing required by section

twenty-three hundred seven of this title that undertaking the project

will serve the public purposes of this article by preserving permanent,

private sector jobs or increasing the overall number of permanent,

private sector jobs in the state. Where the authority makes such a

finding, prior to providing financial assistance to the project by the

authority, the chief executive officer of the city of Auburn shall

confirm the proposed action of the authority. To carry out said purpose,

the authority shall have power:

1. To sue and be sued;

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

3. To acquire, hold and dispose of personal property for its corporate

purpose;

4. To acquire by purchase, grant, lease, gift, condemnation, or

otherwise and to use, real property or rights or easements therein

necessary for its corporate purposes, and to sell, convey, mortgage,

lease, pledge, exchange or otherwise dispose of any such property in

such manner as the authority shall determine. With respect to real

property conveyed to it by the city, however, such power of disposition

shall be limited as hereinafter provided in section twenty-three hundred

ten of this title;

5. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs

and, subject to agreements with its bondholders, for the regulation of

the use of the project.

6. With the consent of the city, to use agents, employees and

facilities of the city, paying the city its agreed proportion of the

compensation or costs.

7. To appoint officers, agents and employees, to prescribe their

qualifications and to fix their compensation and to pay the same out of

funds of the authority, subject, however, to the provisions of the civil

service law hereinafter provided in section twenty-three hundred eight

of this title;

8. To retain and employ financial advisors, engineers, architects,

attorneys and other consultants for professional and technical

assistance and advice; that an attorney acting as bond counsel for a

project must file with the authority a written statement in which the

attorney identifies each party to the transaction which such attorney

represents. If bond counsel provides any legal services to the parties

other than the authority, the written statement must describe the nature

of legal services provided by such bond counsel to all parties to the

transaction, including the nature of the services provided to the

authority;

9. To make contracts and leases upon such terms as the authority shall

deem appropriate, including without limitation leases which grant the

tenant of a project an option to renew or an option to purchase the

project, or both, at a fixed or otherwise predetermined price, and to

execute all instruments necessary or convenient;

10. To acquire, construct, reconstruct, lease, improve, maintain,

equip or furnish one or more projects;

11. To accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions from, and enter

into contracts or other transactions with, the United States and the

state or any agency of either of them, any municipality, any public or

private corporation or any other legal entity, and to use any such

gifts, grants, loans or contributions for any of its corporate purposes;

12. To borrow money and to issue bonds and to provide for the rights

of the holders thereof;

13. To designate the depositories of its money in the city of Auburn.

14. To enter into agreements requiring payments in lieu of taxes. Such

agreements shall be in writing and in addition to other terms shall

contain: the amount due annually to each affected tax jurisdiction (or a

formula by which the amount due can be calculated), the name and address

of the person, office or agency to which payment shall be delivered, the

date on which the payment shall be made, and the date on which payment

shall be considered delinquent if not paid. Unless otherwise agreed by

the affected tax jurisdictions, any such agreement shall provide that

payments in lieu of taxes shall be allocated among affected tax

jurisdictions in proportion to the amount of real property tax and other

taxes which would have been received by each affected tax jurisdiction

had the project not been tax exempt due to the status of the agency

involved in the project. A copy of any such agreement shall be delivered

to each tax affected jurisdiction within fifteen days of signing the

agreement. In the absence of any such written agreement, payments in

lieu of taxes shall be allocated in the same proportions as they had

been prior to January first, nineteen hundred ninety-three for so long

as the authority's activities render a project non-taxable by affected

tax jurisdictions. A notification of the expiration of such agreement

shall be delivered to the affected tax jurisdiction two years prior to

the expiration of such agreement and immediately upon early termination

of an agreement;

15. To establish and reestablish its fiscal year; and

16. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes

and exercise the powers expressly given in this title.