The New York State Senate

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10669
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              August 12, 2022
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. O'Donnell)
   -- read once and referred to the Committee on Tourism, Parks, Arts and
   Sports Development
 
 AN ACT to amend the parks, recreation and historic preservation law,  in
   relation  to requiring the state commissioner of parks, recreation and
   historic preservation to consult with the  state  board  for  historic
   preservation  prior  to entering into a resident curator lease for any
   at risk structure, including those eligible for listing on  the  state
   and national registers of historic places, and to adopt a plan identi-
   fying at risk structures within state parks and historic sites
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  Subdivision 2-h of section 3.09 of the  parks,  recreation
 and  historic preservation law, as amended by chapter 382 of the laws of
 2016, is amended to read as follows:
   2-h. Be empowered, in addition to any other provision of law authoriz-
 ing the leasing of certain property under its jurisdiction, to establish
 a resident curator program  to  encourage  investment,  restoration  and
 occupancy  of  [buildings which serve no park-related purpose and which,
 if remain unoccupied, are at risk of progressive deterioration,] AT-RISK
 STRUCTURES by authorizing the leasing of such at-risk [buildings] STRUC-
 TURES on a competitive basis pursuant to the issuance of a  request  for
 proposal  announced  publicly including on the office website, for resi-
 dential use only, as a single family  dwelling,  to  individuals  to  be
 known  as "resident curators" for terms of up to forty years in exchange
 for the resident curator assuming  liability  and  financial  obligation
 associated  with  the rehabilitation, maintenance and use of such build-
 ings and any other property, real or personal, included  in  the  lease.
 FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "AT-RISK STRUCTURE" SHALL
 MEAN  A HOUSE, BUILDING OR OTHER ROOFED STRUCTURE UNDER THE JURISDICTION
 OF THE OFFICE THAT IS OR  HAS  BECOME  FUNCTIONALLY  ISOLATED  FROM  THE
 DIRECT  PUBLIC SERVICE MISSION OF THE OFFICE SUCH THAT SUCH STRUCTURE IS
 VACANT AND AT RISK OF UNDERGOING PROGRESSIVE DETERIORATION AND/OR  FUNC-
 TIONAL  ABANDONMENT  BECAUSE OF FISCAL OR OTHER CIRCUMSTANTIAL DIFFICUL-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03270-01-1
 A. 10669                            2

 TIES. The length of the term of [such] leases EXECUTED PURSUANT TO  THIS
 SUBDIVISION shall relate to the [financial] investment to be made by the
 resident curator which will be required to rehabilitate and maintain the
 [building]  AT-RISK  STRUCTURE  for residential occupancy. The amount of
 rent to be charged, which may be nominal, shall be based on  an  assess-
 ment  of  fair  market  value  taking into account the projected cost of
 rehabilitating the [building] AT-RISK STRUCTURE invested by the resident
 curator. Any lease executed pursuant to this section shall: require  the
 resident  curator  to  comply  with  all laws, rules and regulations and
 maintain appropriate insurance coverage associated  with  the  rehabili-
 tation,  maintenance  and use of the leased premises; prohibit the resi-
 dent curator from using the leased premises except  in  accordance  with
 criteria  to  be  determined [by the commissioner] PER ESTABLISHED RULE;
 prohibit the resident curator from using the leased premises as security
 for any debt, or from assigning or subletting  the  premises  except  as
 authorized  by the commissioner[; and require the commissioner to deter-
 mine in his or her sole discretion when the  restoration  is  complete].
 Upon  termination  of  any lease executed pursuant to this section, full
 use and enjoyment of the property reverts automatically to the state. No
 lease entered into in the resident curator program shall result  in  the
 displacement  of  any  currently  employed  worker  or loss of position,
 including the partial displacement such as reduction  in  the  hours  of
 non-overtime  labor,  wages  or  employee  benefits, the diminishment of
 benefits, or seniority rights provided to such  employee  in  the  civil
 service law, or result in the impairment of existing collective bargain-
 ing agreements. [The commissioner is authorized to lease for the purpose
 of  residential occupancy in the ninth park region, the building identi-
 fied as LI 73 Lab residence  at  Cold  Spring  Harbor  state  park,  the
 Hollins  House at Heckscher State Park, the building identified as LI 40
 house at Hither Hills State Park; and in the eleventh park  region,  the
 Susan  B.  Anthony House.] The Commissioner SHALL CONSULT WITH THE STATE
 BOARD FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION, ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO  SECTION  11.03
 OF  THIS  TITLE, PRIOR TO ENTERING INTO A RESIDENT CURATOR LEASE FOR ANY
 AT RISK STRUCTURE, INCLUDING THOSE ELIGIBLE FOR LISTING ON THE STATE AND
 NATIONAL REGISTERS OF HISTORIC PLACES. THE COMMISSIONER  SHALL  ADOPT  A
 PLAN  IDENTIFYING  AT  RISK  STRUCTURES  WITHIN STATE PARKS AND HISTORIC
 SITES, AND shall adopt rules and regulations for  the  resident  curator
 program,  which  shall  include,  but  not  be  limited to, criteria for
 selecting  responsible  resident  curators,  criteria  for  establishing
 length  of terms for leases, criteria for determining the amount of rent
 to be charged to resident curators which may be nominal factoring in the
 capital investment required to  rehabilitate  and  maintain  the  leased
 premises  and  determining  appropriate  uses and restrictions on use of
 leased premises in the resident curator program, including  whether  and
 under what circumstances public access is appropriate to property in the
 resident  curator  program.    THIS PLAN, AS WELL AS THE RULES AND REGU-
 LATIONS, SHALL BE PRESENTED TO AND  APPROVED  BY  THE  STATE  BOARD  FOR
 HISTORIC PRESERVATION PRIOR TO THEIR ADOPTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.