NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7493

Senate Bill S7493

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Authorizes the town of Niagara to alienate and discontinue the use of certain parklands and to convey such parklands to Rajendra Sharma

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government 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

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 17, 2025	referred to local government

2025-S7493 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7349
Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: Niagara County

2025-S7493 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the town of Niagara to alienate and discontinue the use of certain parklands.

2025-S7493 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7493

SPONSOR: ORTT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to authorizing the town of Niagara to alienate and
discontinue the use of certain parklands and to convey such parklands to
Rajendra Sharma

 
PURPOSE:

Authorizes the Town of Niagara to alienate and discontinue the use of
certain parklands.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1.Subject to the provisions of this act, the town of Niagara,
county of Niagara, is hereby authorized, acting by and through its
governing body, and upon such terms and conditions as determined by such
governing body, to discontinue the use as parkland and alienate the
lands described in section three of this act.

Section 2: The authorization contained in section one of this act shall
only be effective on the condition that the town of Niagara dedicate an
amount equal to or greater than the fair market value of the parklands
being alienated pursuant to section one of this act towards the acquisi-
tion of new parklands and/or capital improvements to existing park and
recreational facilities.

Section 3. The parkland authorized by section one of this act to be
discontinued as parkland is described as follows:ALL THAT TRACT OR
PARCEL OF LAND situate in the Town of Niagara, County of Niagara and
State of New York, being Part of Lot 11, Township 13,Range 9 of the
Holland Land Company's Survey, and further described as follows:  BEGIN-
NING at a point on the north line of Joanne Circle North, formerly Joann
Circle, (a 60.0 foot right of way) which point is the southeasterly
corner of Sublot 35 as shown on a map of Greenwood Acres,Section No. 2
Part of Lot 11, Township 13, Range 9, Town and County of Niagara, State
of New York, made by henry R. Feldman and Associates, Civil Engineers
and Land Surveyors, dated October 17, 1968 and filed in Niagara County
Clerk's Office November 8, 1968 in Book 44 of Microfilmed Maps at pages
4287 and 4288; thence easterly along the north line of Joanne Circle
North, a distance of 67.0 feet to a point; thence northerly, at right
angles to the north line of Joanne Circle North, a distance of 97.31
feet to a point; thence westerly and parallel to the north line 03/13/25
3 10985-01-5 of Joanne Circle North, a distance of 67.0 feet to a point
which is the northeast corner of said Sublot 35; thence southerly along
the easterly line of said Sublot 35, a distance of 97.31 feet to the
north line of Joanne Circle North at the point or place of beginning.

Section 5. Effective date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

For more than a century, New York courts have held that municipal park-
land is subject to a "public trust" for the benefit of the public. As a
result, courts have ruled that municipal parkland may not be alienated
without prior enactment of state legislation authorizing such alien-
ation.
Municipally owned parkland greatly enhances the quality of life, commu-
nity character, and economic vitality of communities throughout New York
State by providing healthy, affordable, and educational opportunities to
New Yorkers and tourists. Unfortunately, once lost municipal parkland is
difficult, if not impossible, to recover.  Therefore, the alienation of
parkland should be limited to instances of compelling public need where
no other alternative is available and should be accompanied by replace-
ment parkland to be made available to the community.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect immediately.

2025-S7493 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7493
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 17, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing the town of Niagara  to  alienate  and
   discontinue  the use of certain parklands and to convey such parklands
   to Rajendra Sharma

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subject to the provisions of this act, the town of Niagara,
 county  of  Niagara,  is  hereby  authorized,  acting by and through its
 governing body, and upon such terms and conditions as determined by such
 governing body, to discontinue the use  as  parkland  and  alienate  the
 lands  described  in  section  three of this act, and to convey property
 interests in such lands to Rajendra Sharma for  the  purpose  of  adding
 sufficient  additional  land to owned adjacent land to construct a resi-
 dence.
   § 2. The authorization contained in section one of this act shall only
 be effective on the condition that  the  town  of  Niagara  dedicate  an
 amount  equal  to or greater than the fair market value of the parklands
 being alienated pursuant to section one of this act towards the acquisi-
 tion of new parklands and/or capital improvements to existing  park  and
 recreational facilities.
   §  3. The parkland authorized by section one of this act to be discon-
 tinued as parkland is described as follows:
   ALL THAT TRACT OR PARCEL OF LAND situate in the Town of Niagara, Coun-
 ty of Niagara and State of New York, being Part of Lot 11, Township  13,
 Range  9 of the Holland Land Company's Survey, containing .15 acres more
 or less, and further described as follows:
   BEGINNING at a point on the north line of Joanne Circle North, former-
 ly Joann Circle, (a 60.0 foot right of way) which point  is  the  south-
 easterly  corner  of  Sublot  35  as  shown on a map of Greenwood Acres,
 Section No. 2 Part of Lot 11, Township 13, Range 9, Town and  County  of

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10985-03-5

 S. 7493                             2
 
 Niagara,  State  of  New  York, made by henry R. Feldman and Associates,
 Civil Engineers and Land Surveyors, dated October 17, 1968 and filed  in
 Niagara County Clerk's Office November 8, 1968 in Book 44 of Microfilmed
 Maps  at  pages  4287  and 4288; thence easterly along the north line of
 Joanne Circle North, a distance of 67.0 feet to a point; thence norther-
 ly, at right angles to the north line of Joanne Circle North, a distance
 of 97.31 feet to a point; thence westerly and parallel to the north line
 of Joanne Circle North, a distance of 67.0 feet to a point which is  the
 northeast  corner of said Sublot 35; thence southerly along the easterly
 line of said Sublot 35, a distance of 97.31 feet to the  north  line  of
 Joanne Circle North at the point or place of beginning.
   §  4.  In  the  event  that  the  town of Niagara received any funding
 support or assistance from the  federal  government  for  the  purchase,
 maintenance,  or improvement of the parklands set forth in section three
 of this act, the discontinuance and alienation of such parklands author-
 ized by the provisions of this act shall not occur  until  the  town  of
 Niagara  has  complied  with  any federal requirements pertaining to the
 alienation or conversion of parklands, including satisfying  the  secre-
 tary of the interior that the alienation or conversion complies with all
 conditions which the secretary of the interior deems necessary to assure
 the substitution of other lands shall be equivalent in fair market value
 and usefulness to the lands being alienated or converted.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.

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