NY State Assembly Bill 2009-A10140

Assembly Bill A10140

2009-2010 Legislative Session

Authorizes the use of surplus funds from the greater Catskills flood remediation program by Ulster county

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Assembly Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Mar 05, 2010	referred to housing

co-Sponsors

2009-A10140 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Senate Version of this Bill:: S6276
Current Committee:: Assembly Housing
Law Section:: Budget Bills
Laws Affected:: Amd Part NN §3, Chap 57 of 2008
Versions Introduced in 2011-2012 Legislative Session:: A125, S3508

2009-A10140 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the use of surplus funds from the greater Catskills flood remediation program by Ulster county.

2009-A10140 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:A10140

TITLE  OF  BILL:   An act to amend section 3 of part NN of chapter 57 of
the laws of 2008 relating to authorizing the  New  York  state  mortgage
agency  to  transfer  certain  moneys, in relation to the use of surplus
funds from the greater Catskills flood remediation program

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To authorize the purchase of homes near  the  New  York  City  aqueducts
which are susceptible to flooding or water infiltration near the leaking
New  York  City  owned aqueduct in Ulster County near the Rondout Reser-
voir.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Authorizes the use of remaining funds from the Greater  Catskills  Flood
remediation  program  (of  which  there  are  currently approximately $4
million in unused funds) to purchase homes within two miles of  the  New
York  City  Aqueducts in the County of Ulster. The homes must be subject
to water seepage and be under $250,000 in fair market value.

EFFECTS OF PRESENT LAW WHICH THIS BILL WOULD ALTER:
The Catskills have been subject to substantial flooding  over  the  last
several years. While various persons blame other persons for the action,
the  reality  is year in and year out, families were being victimized by
the flooding and lives were being  lost.  The  Legislature  enacted  the
Greater  Catskills Flood Remediation Program which allocated $15 million

to purchase homes where the owner was subject to flooding. The  time  to
apply  for  that  funding and meet the guidelines has expired. Dozens of
homes have been bought out or are under  contract  and  expected  to  be
bought  out.  There  remains  approximately  $4 million from the program
available. The legislation would reallocate that funding to Ulster Coun-
ty to purchase homes which experience seepage near the leaking New  York
City aqueducts.

JUSTIFICATION:
Families  in  Wawarsing who live near the leaking New York City aqueduct
have seen substantial seepage into their basements. Families have blamed
the City of New York for that seepage due to the leaking  aqueduct.  The
City  acknowledges  that millions of gallons per day leak from its aque-
ducts. While the City is taking  steps  to  repair  the  aqueducts,  the
repairs, if ever done, are not expected to take place for years.

The  DEP  has  done testing in terms of shutting off the water supply in
the aqueduct and a correlation has been shown that water rises and falls
when the water in the tunnel is or is not flowing.  Still,  despite  the
correlation, other factors are also pointed to as a potential culprit of
the  seepage.  City officials have advised Wawarsing area residents that
they may file claims with the City Comptroller's office - a  timely  and
costly  proceeding. The reality is that litigating against the City is a
substantial if not overwhelming task for a homeowner, particularly  when
it  comes to proving cause and effect of leakage of an aqueduct hundreds
of feet below the ground.

During the past two years, City DEP staff have become substantially more
engaged with watershed residents to try and study the issue. However, no
solution has been forthcoming  and  the  only  actions  taken  are  more
studies and the aforementioned recommendation that residents file claims
against  the  City.  Watershed  area  residents  simply  do not have the
hundreds of thousands of dollars it would take to prosecute  such  civil
litigation,  particularly when the City raises genuine questions of fact
as to whether they are absolutely the culprit.

This legislation seeks to put the question of whether or not the City is
actually responsible for the seepage aside, and use  the  surplus  funds
from  the Greater Catskills Flood remediation program to buyout property
owners who live near the leaking aqueduct, and who wish  to  sell  their
land.  It  does  not  seek  to  cast blame on any individual, but rather
offers a reasonable solution to an  ongoing  problem  that  is  damaging
relationships  between  watershed  communities  and  upstate  - and more
importantly, is hurting people.

The legislation is a reasonable  solution  to  a  constant  problem  for
watershed  families using existing funds. It is a "win/win" for both the
City DEP - which, while appearing to be sympathetic to this  issue,  are
not  in a position to admit liability to the watershed families. It is a
win for watershed area families who are unable to sell their  homes  due
to constant seepage.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No  new  funds are utilized. Rather, existing funds are being redistrib-
uted since not all funds have been used.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2009-A10140 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  10140

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              March 5, 2010
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Housing

AN  ACT  to amend section 3 of part NN of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008
  relating to authorizing the New York state mortgage agency to transfer
  certain moneys, in relation to the  use  of  surplus  funds  from  the
  greater Catskills flood remediation program

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Section 3 of part NN of chapter 57  of  the  laws  of  2008
relating  to  authorizing the New York state mortgage agency to transfer
certain moneys, as amended by section 1 of part B of chapter  2  of  the
laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
  S 3. (A) Within the amounts transferred to the corporation pursuant to
section  one  of  this  act  for the greater Catskills flood remediation
program, the corporation shall provide funds to the counties of  Broome,
Chenango,  Delaware,  Herkimer,  Montgomery,  Orange, Otsego, Schoharie,
Sullivan, Tioga and Ulster, upon application by a county and within  the
amounts  available  for disbursement to such county, to enable the coun-
ties to purchase and demolish one or two family  homes  that  have  been
certified  by  the local building inspector and county emergency manage-
ment director, to the satisfaction of the corporation,  as  having  been
subject  to one or more incidents of flooding since April 1, 2004 and as
likely to be subject  to  a  future  flood  incident  that  would  cause
substantial damage thereto. Any application by a county for disbursement
of  funds  under  this act shall demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the
corporation, that: (1) the home is occupied as the primary residence  of
an  owner with a family income of up to one hundred fifty percent of the
area median income as defined by the United States department of housing
and urban development, provided, however,  that  an  otherwise  eligible
home  shall be eligible for purchase under this act if the current owner
can demonstrate that the home was occupied as the owner's primary  resi-
dence prior to a flood event that rendered the home unsuitable for habi-
tation;  (2) the current appraised value of the home does not exceed two
hundred fifty thousand dollars and the purchase price for the home  will

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                           LBD14996-02-9

A. 10140                            2

not  exceed the appraised value less the amount of any property casualty
insurance or disaster relief payments received by the owner  as  compen-
sation  for  damage incurred in a flood incident; (3) all recorded liens
or  other  encumbrances on the home will be released at closing; (4) the
county provides assurances that the home will be condemned and the prop-
erty will be dedicated and maintained in perpetuity for a  use  that  is
compatible  with  open space, recreational, flood mitigation or wetlands
management practices; and (5) disbursements under this section shall  be
limited  to the costs of acquisition of eligible homes, including legal,
appraisal, recording and other transaction costs, and the costs of demo-
lition.  In selecting homes for purchase  pursuant  to  this  act,  each
county  shall give preference to homes with a current appraised value of
less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars and to homes that have been
subject to two or more incidents of flooding since April  1,  2004.  The
corporation shall establish policies and procedures consistent with this
section,  which  shall  include county reporting requirements, and shall
report to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, the temporary pres-
ident of the senate and the director of the division of the budget on or
before December 31, 2008 regarding the implementation of  this  section.
Of the amounts transferred to the corporation pursuant to section one of
this  act,  the  amounts  disbursed to counties pursuant to this section
shall not exceed the  following  amounts:  Broome,  $750,000;  Chenango,
$750,000;   Delaware,   $2,000,000;   Herkimer,   $750,000;  Montgomery,
$750,000; Orange, $2,000,000;  Otsego,  $750,000;  Schoharie,  $750,000;
Sullivan, $3,750,000; Tioga, $750,000; and Ulster, $2,000,000.
  (B) ANY FUNDS NOT UNDER CONTRACT OR GRANT AGREEMENT BETWEEN ANY COUNTY
PROVIDED  FOR  BY  THIS  SECTION AND THE STATE OF NEW YORK OR ANY OF ITS
DIVISIONS OR AGENCIES ON OR BY JANUARY 1, 2010 MAY BE USED, UPON A FIND-
ING BY THE CORPORATION THAT SUCH FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE, BY ULSTER  COUNTY,
WHETHER  THE  FUNDS  ARE  ALLOCATED  TO SUCH COUNTY OR TO ANOTHER COUNTY
UNDER THIS PROGRAM, TO PURCHASE HOMES WHICH ARE VALUED AT UNDER $250,000
UPON A FINDING  BY  THE  CORPORATION  THAT:  (1)  THE  HOMES  HAVE  BEEN
SUBJECTED TO SEEPAGE OF WATER INTO THE HOMES EITHER THROUGH THE WALLS OR
FOUNDATION  OF  SUCH  HOME OR WATER OTHERWISE ENTERS INTO THE HOME OTHER
THAN THROUGH PIPES INTENDED FOR SUCH PURPOSE AND (2) THE HOME  IS  SITU-
ATED  WITHIN  TWO  MILES OF AN UNDERGROUND AQUEDUCT OWNED, MAINTAINED OR
OPERATED BY THE CITY OF NEW YORK OR ANY  BOARD,  AGENCY,  DEPARTMENT  OR
BUREAU  THEREOF  AND  IS USED FOR THE TRANSPORT OF DRINKING WATER TO THE
CITY OF NEW YORK. THE REQUIREMENTS ENUMERATED IN PARAGRAPHS ONE  THROUGH
FIVE  OF  SUBDIVISION (A) OF THIS SECTION SHALL APPLY, PROVIDED, HOWEVER
THAT NOTWITHSTANDING THE REQUIREMENTS OF PARAGRAPH  ONE  OF  SUBDIVISION
(A)  OF  THIS  SECTION,  NO  PERSON  OR  PERSONS WHO OTHERWISE MEETS THE
REQUIREMENTS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL  BE  EXCLUDED  ON  THE  BASIS  OF
INCOME  AND  IT  IS FURTHER PROVIDED THAT THE COSTS OF DEMOLITION OF ANY
HOME PURCHASED THROUGH THIS SECTION ARE AN ELIGIBLE COST.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Assembly Bill A10140

Share this bill

Sponsored By

CAHILL