Senate Bill S6029

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

                                  6029

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 21, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen. KRUEGER -- (at request of the Division of Housing &
  Community Renewal) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed
  to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation  to  activ-
  ities engaged in by neighborhood preservation companies

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

  Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section 902 of the private housing finance
law, as amended by chapter 668 of the laws of 1985, is amended  to  read
as follows:
  5.   "Neighborhood  preservation  activities"  shall  mean  activities
engaged in by a neighborhood preservation  company  within  a  geograph-
ically  defined  neighborhood of a municipality, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT
THE DIVISION MAY AUTHORIZE A NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMPANY TO ENGAGE
IN SUCH ACTIVITIES IN UNSERVED AREAS OF THE MUNICIPALITY  LYING  OUTSIDE
OF  ITS INITIALLY DESIGNATED NEIGHBORHOOD AREA, THAT ARE designed (a) to
construct,  maintain,  preserve,  repair,  renovate,  upgrade,  improve,
modernize,  rehabilitate  or  otherwise  prolong  the useful life and to
manage and coordinate the rehabilitation of residential dwelling  accom-
modations  within  such neighborhood, to restore abandoned and vacant as
well as occupied  housing  accommodations  to  habitable  condition;  to
demolish  structurally  unsound  or  unsafe  or  otherwise  unsightly or
unhealthy structures which no longer serve or can economically  be  made
to  serve  a  useful  purpose consistent with stabilizing or improving a
neighborhood; to seal and maintain vacant but structurally sound  struc-
tures which are capable of being rehabilitated at a future time and used
for  housing  purposes;  to  acquire, where appropriate, buildings which
contain housing accommodations; to facilitate the disposition of  build-
ings  containing  housing accommodations to individual occupants thereof
or to cooperative groups whose members shall be  occupants  thereof;  to
assist owners, occupants and tenants of housing accommodations to obtain

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09050-05-9
              

S. 6029                             2

improvements  in  the physical conditions thereof and in the maintenance
and management thereof; and to manage housing accommodations  as  agents
for  the  owners  thereof  or  administrators  or receivers appointed or
designated pursuant to any law of the state; and (b) to accomplish simi-
lar  purposes  and meet similar needs with respect to retail and service
establishments within such neighborhoods when carried out in  connection
with and incidental to a program of housing related activities.
  S  2.  Section  902  of  the private housing finance law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
  7. "COMPELLING PUBLIC PURPOSE" SHALL MEAN: (I) THE MERGER  OR  CONSOL-
IDATION  OF  TWO  OR  MORE NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVATION COMPANIES WHERE THE
PRE-EXISTING SERVICE AREAS  OF  ALL  MERGED  OR  CONSOLIDATED  COMPANIES
REMAIN  SERVED  FOLLOWING  THE  MERGER OR CONSOLIDATION, AND SUCH ACTION
RESULTS IN MORE EFFICIENT AND COST EFFECTIVE DELIVERY  OF  SERVICES;  OR
(II)  SERVICE  TO AN AREA UNSERVED BY AN EXISTING NEIGHBORHOOD PRESERVA-
TION COMPANY TO PROMOTE THE HEALTH, SAFETY  AND  WELFARE  OF  A  SERVICE
AREA.
  S  3. Subdivision 4 of section 903 of the private housing finance law,
as amended by section 1 of part FF of chapter 57 of the laws of 2009, is
amended to read as follows:
  4. Contracts entered into  hereunder  with  neighborhood  preservation
companies  shall  be limited in duration to periods of one year, but may
thereafter be renewed, extended or succeeded by new contracts from  year
to  year in the discretion of the commissioner; they shall be limited in
amount to the sum of one hundred thousand  dollars  in  a  single  year,
provided  that  in  any year in which the aggregate sum of three hundred
thousand dollars shall have been reached and all succeeding  years,  the
annual contract amount shall be subject to a limit of ninety-seven thou-
sand five hundred dollars per year, AND FURTHER PROVIDED THAT THE APPLI-
CABLE  LIMIT  ON THE ANNUAL CONTRACT AMOUNT MAY BE EXCEEDED IN INSTANCES
WHERE THE DIVISION HAS DETERMINED  THAT  SUCH  ADDITIONAL  FUNDING  WILL
ADDRESS A COMPELLING PUBLIC PURPOSE; they shall define with particulari-
ty  the  neighborhood  or  portion thereof within which the neighborhood
preservation activities shall  be  performed;  they  shall  specify  the
nature  of  the  neighborhood  preservation  activities  which  shall be
performed including the approximate  number  of  buildings,  residential
dwelling  units  and local retail and service establishments which shall
be affected; they shall locate and describe, with as much  particularity
as  is  reasonably  possible,  the  buildings with respect to which such
activities shall be performed during the contract term; and  they  shall
specify  the  number of persons, salaries or rates of compensation and a
description of duties of those who shall be engaged by the  neighborhood
preservation  company to perform the activities embraced by the contract
together with a schedule of other anticipated expenses.
  S 4. Section 1002 of the private housing finance  law  is  amended  by
adding a new subdivision 7 to read as follows:
  7.  "COMPELLING  PUBLIC PURPOSE" SHALL MEAN: (I) THE MERGER OR CONSOL-
IDATION OF TWO OR MORE CORPORATIONS WHERE THE PRE-EXISTING SERVICE AREAS
OF ALL MERGED OR CONSOLIDATED CORPORATIONS REMAIN SERVED  FOLLOWING  THE
MERGER  OR  CONSOLIDATION, AND SUCH ACTION RESULTS IN MORE EFFICIENT AND
COST EFFECTIVE DELIVERY OF SERVICES; OR (II) SERVICE TO AN AREA UNSERVED
BY AN EXISTING CORPORATION PRESERVATION COMPANY TO PROMOTE  THE  HEALTH,
SAFETY AND WELFARE OF A SERVICE AREA.
  S 5. Subdivision 4 of section 1003 of the private housing finance law,
as amended by section 2 of part FF of chapter 57 of the laws of 2009, is
amended to read as follows:

S. 6029                             3

  4. Contracts pursuant to this section shall be for a period of no more
than  one  year,  but  may be renewed or extended from year to year, and
shall provide for payment by the division of no more  than  one  hundred
thousand dollars per year, provided that in any year in which the aggre-
gate  sum  of three hundred thousand dollars shall have been reached and
all succeeding years, the annual contract amount shall be subject  to  a
limit  of  ninety-seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  per year, AND
FURTHER PROVIDED THAT THE APPLICABLE LIMIT ON THE ANNUAL CONTRACT AMOUNT
MAY BE EXCEEDED IN INSTANCES WHERE THE DIVISION HAS DETERMINED THAT SUCH
ADDITIONAL FUNDING WILL ADDRESS A COMPELLING PUBLIC PURPOSE; they  shall
define with particularity the region or portion thereof within which the
housing   preservation   and   community  renewal  activities  shall  be
performed; they shall specify the nature of the housing preservation and
community renewal activities which  shall  be  performed  including  the
approximate  number  of  buildings, residential dwelling units and local
retail and service establishments which shall be  affected;  they  shall
locate  and describe, with as much particularity as is reasonably possi-
ble, the buildings with  respect  to  which  such  activities  shall  be
performed during the contract term; and they shall specify the number of
persons,  salaries  or rates of compensation and a description of duties
of those who shall be engaged by the corporation to perform  the  activ-
ities  embraced by the contract together with a schedule of other antic-
ipated expenses.
  S 6. This act shall take effect immediately.