N.Y. Rapid Transit Law § 34: Issue of bonds by city

§ 34. Issue of bonds by city. a. For the purpose of providing the

necessary means for such construction, or equipment, or both, as the

case may be, or acquiring by purchase, at the public expense, of any

such road or subsurface structures, and the necessary means to pay for

property rights which shall be acquired by the city for the purposes of

the construction or the operation of any such road as provided in this

chapter, and the necessary means to pay awards made as provided in this

chapter for damages for change of grade on any street and to pay the

expenses of proceedings to determine such damages, and of meeting the

interest on obligations, issued for the purposes of this section,

accruing thereon prior to the completion and readiness for operation of

the portion of such road, and such sub-surface structures, for the

purchase, construction, or equipment of which such obligations shall

have been respectively issued, the mayor, from time to time, as the same

shall be necessary, upon the requisition of the board of transportation,

shall make available such sums as may be necessary, upon vouchers

certified by the board of transportation. In case any person shall claim

to be entitled to any money on account of a contract entered into under

the terms of this chapter, for the construction of any part of a

municipal railroad and the board of transportation shall fail, neglect

or refuse to certify a proper or sufficient voucher for the payment of

the money so claimed, a proper or sufficient voucher shall not be a

condition precedent to the liability of the city, but an action may be

brought directly against the city for the recovery of such money as such

person may be entitled to. This section shall not affect the powers of

the board or its engineers, as set forth in this chapter or as they may

be prescribed in any contract entered into pursuant thereto, or to

change or alter in any respect the existing rules of law as to the force

or effect of any certificate which shall have been or may hereafter be

made under any contract. This section shall be deemed to apply also to

any such actions instituted before May sixth, nineteen hundred

twenty-one. If bonds are issued by the city for the purposes of this

section they may be made payable out of a sinking fund to be established

and created out of the annual rentals or revenues of such road,

including sub-surface structures, as provided in this chapter. In case

the board shall request the mayor to have any part of the work of

restoration of street surfaces or property incidental to the

construction of any such road performed by or under the direction of any

head of an agency of such city or any subdivision of such city, the

mayor may set apart out of any appropriation theretofore made under the

foregoing provisions of this section such amount as the board of

transportation may specify and shall make such amount available for the

use of such head of such agency for the purposes of such restoration of

street surfaces or property.

b. A contract for the construction of such road shall not be made

unless and until the mayor shall have consented thereto and prescribed a

limit to the amount of funds available for the purposes of this section

which shall be sufficient to meet the requirements of such contract in

addition to all obligations theretofore incurred and to be satisfied

from such funds. The board of transportation of the city of New York, in

its discretion, may request the mayor to make available either such

amounts from time to time as it shall deem the progress of the work to

require, or the full amount sufficient to pay the entire estimated

expenses of executing any contract made pursuant to this chapter. The

certificate of the comptroller, mentioned in section 93c-3.0 of the

administrative code of the city of New York shall not be necessary to

make any such contract binding on the city. Before finally fixing the

terms and conditions of any contract for any of the purposes contained

and set forth in this chapter, the board of transportation may set a

date or dates for a public hearing upon the proposed terms and

conditions thereof, at which citizens shall be entitled to appear and be

heard. No such hearing shall be held, however, until notice thereof

shall have been published for at least two weeks immediately prior

thereto in the city record, or other official publication of the city,

and at least twice in two daily newspapers published in the city. In any

case where such a public hearing has been scheduled, it shall be the

duty of the board of transportation to cause as many copies of a draft

of the proposed contract to be printed at least two weeks in advance of

such hearing as may be necessary. Such notice of such public hearing

shall state where copies of such drafts may be obtained upon payment of

a fee, to be fixed by such board, but not to exceed one dollar for each

copy. The board, after the hearing to be held as above required, may

alter, modify or amend such draft contract in any manner in its

discretion.

c. A railroad owned or to be owned by the city, and for the

construction of which with public money in whole or in part a contract

was or is authorized by this chapter to be entered into as aforesaid,

shall be a local improvement the cost of which railroad may be met in

whole or in part by assessment on the property benefited. The board,

with the approval of the board of estimate and of the mayor, shall have

power to determine whether all or any, and if any, what portion of the

cost and expense necessary to be incurred for any such road shall be

assessed upon property benefited thereby, and whether all or any, and if

any, what portion of the cost and expense necessary to be incurred, or

which shall have been already necessarily incurred, for the acquisition

of any property for the construction or operation of such railroad shall

be assessed upon property benefited by such railroad. An assessment upon

the property so benefited may be laid, confirmed, enforced and collected

in accordance with such determination and pursuant to the provisions of

the charter, administrative code of such city and other laws respecting

assessments for local improvements in such city.

d. At any time after the consents have been obtained for any such

railroad and the detailed plans and specifications therefor have been

prepared as authorized and directed by this chapter, the board may

certify and transmit to such board of estimate an estimate of the cost

and expense necessary to be incurred for the construction of such

railroad, and for the acquisition of any property, including equipment

other than rolling stock, that shall be necessary either for the

construction or the operation of such railroad, or from time to time an

estimate of the cost and expense necessary to be incurred or a statement

of the cost and expense which has been necessarily incurred for the

acquisition of any property for the construction or operation of such

railroad. With such estimate or statement the board of transportation

shall transmit a statement which shall show:

1. The proportion of such cost and expense, together with the amount

thereof in money, which should be assessed upon the property benefited;

2. The boundaries of the district in such city upon which an

assessment aggregating such amount should in the opinion of the board be

levied, and

3. The amount so to be levied in every such district.

Thereupon the board with the approval of the board of estimate and of

the mayor, shall have power to, and, if in their judgment the interests

of the public so require, after publishing a notice at least one week in

advance in the City Record and in such other newspapers published in

such city as such board of estimate with the approval of the mayor,

shall designate as sufficient, stating the time, place and subjects to

be considered, and after a joint hearing, pursuant to such notice by and

before the board of transportation and the board of estimate, which may

be adjourned from time to time, in accordance with the charter, code,

and laws aforesaid, they shall fix and determine the boundaries of the

district upon which such assessment shall be levied, the whole amount or

proportion of any such cost and expense to be assessed upon property

benefited by such improvement, and the amount or proportion of such

whole assessment to be levied in such district benefited by such

improvement, and take such other and further proceedings as shall be

necessary to levy and collect such assessment. Such decision of the

board of transportation so approved by the board of estimate and the

mayor, shall be final as to each matter so fixed and determined and

shall not be subject to review.

e. The board of estimate, with the approval of the mayor, shall

certify to the board of assessors of such city the amount of such cost

and expense so directed to be assessed upon property benefited in each

such district. Such board of assessors shall thereupon proceed forthwith

to levy and assess such amount upon the real property within the

district benefited thereby in proportion to the amount of such benefit

and shall not be limited in the levying of such assessment to one-half

of the fair value of any house or lot or improved or unimproved land.

Such assessment when laid shall be subject to, and protected by, all

provisions of the charter and administrative code of such city

applicable to assessments for local improvements levied pursuant to such

charter and code.

f. An assessment levied against any property in accordance with this

section shall be payable as follows, namely: one-tenth thereof within

sixty days from the date of the confirmation and entry of each

assessment and the remainder of such assessment in nine installments as

nearly equal in amount as may be with interest thereon from the date of

entry and confirmation at the rate of six per centum per annum in one,

two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight and nine years respectively

thereafter, but all installments not due may be paid at any time with

interest to the date of payment. If any installment and interest thereon

be not paid within three years after it shall become due and payable the

entire assessment less such part thereof as shall have been already

paid, shall become due and payable and must be immediately collected, or

the tax lien therefor sold or enforced in the same manner as other

delinquent assessments are required to be collected by the charter,

administrative code and other laws of such city.

g. Obligations of the city issued in advance of the collection of such

assessments shall be payable out of the rapid transit construction fund

as hereinafter directed to be constituted. They shall be a legal

investment for the sinking funds of such city and for trustees and other

fiduciaries charged with the investment of trust funds.

h. All moneys derived from the sale of such obligations, and all

moneys derived from the collection of such assessments shall be kept

separate and apart from all other funds of the city and shall be known

as the rapid transit construction fund of such railroad. Unless the

assessment be made separately for the cost and expense of acquisition of

property as aforesaid, they shall be applied only to the following uses

and, among such uses, only in the following order as nearly as may be:

1. To the cost and expenses of the construction of such railroad and

the acquisition of property necessary for such construction, including

equipment other than rolling stock;

2. To the acquisition of real property necessary for the operation

thereof;

3. To the retirement of the obligations therefor.

In case an assessment is made separately for the cost and expense

incurred or to be incurred for the acquisition of any property for the

construction or operation of any such railroad, the money derived from

the sale of such obligations, and all moneys derived from the collection

of such assessment shall be applied only to pay or reimburse the cost

and expense of acquisition of the property for which such assessment was

made or to the retirement of the obligations issued in advance of the

collection of such assessment.

i. In case of default in the payment of any installment of interest or

principal of any such obligations the holder thereof may require, if

necessary, by peremptory order of mandamus, any tax lien of such city

for the amount of any assessment upon the property benefited which is

then due and payable, to be immediately sold or enforced in accordance

with the charter, administrative code and other laws of such city. If at

such time the tax lien so sold shall include, in addition to the lien of

the assessment aforesaid, any lien for delinquent taxes or other

lienable charges due to the city, and if it shall become necessary to

reduce the amount of the tax lien pursuant to such charter, code and

laws of such city, the lien shall not be reduced so as to make it less

in value than the amount of the assessment aforesaid with the interest

thereon. Notwithstanding any reduction as aforesaid, the proceeds of the

sale of such a lien, to the extent of the full amount of the assessment

and interest, shall be paid into the rapid transit construction fund of

the railroad aforesaid, and the balance, if any, shall be applied as

proceeds of the rest of the tax lien.

j. If any assessment shall be reduced for fraud, substantial error or

other reason, the cost and expense aforesaid may be reassessed, and the

reassessment shall stand as security for the obligations aforesaid to

the same degree and in the same manner as if it had been an original

assessment. In case any assessment is reduced below its original amount,

however, either the amount to be expended in constructing the railroad

aforesaid and for acquisition of property necessary for construction and

operation thereof as aforesaid, or to be expended for acquisition of

property, if the assessment reduced is for cost and expense thereof

separately, shall be correspondingly reduced or else the difference

between the original assessment and the reassessment shall be paid by

the city into the rapid transit construction fund of the railroad

aforesaid, either from current revenue or from sums to be made available

as the board of estimate shall determine.

k. If the cost and expenses of construction of any such railroad and

for acquisition of property necessary for construction and operation

thereof as aforesaid shall be only partially assessed as aforesaid upon

the property benefited, no provisions in any contract for the

construction thereof shall become operative until the board of estimate

and the mayor shall have consented thereto and shall have prescribed a

limit to the amount of city funds if any, available for the purpose of

such contract as hereinbefore provided. No provisions in any contract

for the construction of any railroad which construction is to be paid

for wholly or partly by means of local assessments shall become

operative until the board of estimate shall have levied an assessment to

provide for the construction thereof, and until either assessments shall

have been paid in, or obligations issued in advance of the collection of

such assessments, shall have been sold in sufficient amounts when paid

for, to cover the cost and expense payable from assessments levied as

aforesaid and until the board of estimate and the mayor shall have

consented to such a contract.

l. In a case where the moneys collected pursuant to such an assessment

shall be insufficient to discharge the obligations so issued as

aforesaid, or if the amount arising on the sale of such obligations is

insufficient to pay the expenses incurred for the construction of such

railroad and for acquisition of property necessary for construction and

operation thereof as aforesaid, or incurred for acquisition of property,

if the assessment is for cost and expense thereof separately, the

deficiency up to an amount not in excess of ten per centum of the total

amount of the assessment shall be paid by such city into the rapid

transit construction fund, either from current revenue or from sums made

available as the board of estimate and the mayor shall determine.