NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8271

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Cities 2 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 28, 2025	referred to cities 2

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8677
Current Committee:: Senate Cities 2
Law Section:: Parks

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes the city of Yonkers to alienate and discontinue the use of certain parklands.

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8271

SPONSOR: STEWART-COUSINS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act in relation to authorizing the city of Yonkers to alienate and
discontinue the use of certain parklands

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to authorize the City of Yonkers to alienate
a portion of Untermyer Park and to give this portion of land to St.
John's Riverside Hospital in exchange for an adjacent portion of land
owned by St. John's Riverside Hospital.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill authorizes the City of Yonkers to alienate a plot
of existing parkland and to give this plot of land to St. John's River-
side Hospital.

Section 2 states that the City of Yonkers can only take the actions

outlined in Section 1 if it dedicates a new plot of land, equal to or
greater than the fair market value of the plot it is giving to St.
John's Riverside Hospital, to be used as parkland.

Section 3 states the plot of land that the City of Yonkers is giving to
St. John's Riverside Hospital, as described in the City's Official Tax
Map.

Section 4 states the plot of land that St. John's Riverside Hospital is
giving to the City of Yonkers, as described in the City's Official Tax
Map.

Section 5 states that if the amount of land St. John's Riverside Hospi-
tal is giving to the City of Yonkers is less than the amount of land the
City of Yonkers is giving to St. John's Riverside Hospital, the City of
Yonkers must dedicate enough new land as parkland to ensure that this
land transfer does not lead to less parkland in the City of Yonkers.

Section 6 states that if the City of Yonkers has ever used federal fund-
ing or assistance to purchase, maintain, or improve this plot of park-
land, it must comply with all federal parkland alienation requirements
before the plot is alienated.

Section 5 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 1940, Samuel Untermyer, a prominent American lawyer and civic leader,
passed away. Mr. Untermyer bequeathed his 150-acre estate in the City of
Yonkers to the State of New York. In 1946, 43 acres of the estate were
transferred to the City of Yonkers, and the tity dedicated this land as
Untermyer Park.  The Untermyer estate once contained a series of six
terraced gardens each planted in a single color, known as the Color
Gardens. The terraces led down to the Overlook, and contained plants in
the color schemes of, in descending order, pink, blue, red, white and
yellow, with a delphinium garden at the bottom terrace. Today, only the
lowest two terraces remain, as the land that comprised the four higher
terraces is now part of the parking lot of St. John's Riverside Hospi-
tal.  With this parkland alienation and land transfer, the Untermyer
Gardens Conservancy hopes to restore the Color Gardens for the benefit
of the residents of Yonkers and all who visit.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8271
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 2
 
 AN ACT in relation to authorizing the city of Yonkers  to  alienate  and
   discontinue the use of certain parklands
 
   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 city of  Yonkers
 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 sell and convey such lands at fair
 market value to St. John's Riverside Hospital for the purpose of restor-
 ing the Color Gardens once present on the Untermyer estate for residents
 and visitors of the city of Yonkers to enjoy.
   § 2. The authorization contained in section one of this act shall only
 be effective on the condition that the  city  of  Yonkers  dedicate  the
 lands  described in section four of this act as parklands; provided that
 the city of Yonkers has not used such lands for  public  open  space  or
 park purposes since the parkland alienation authorized by chapter 286 of
 the laws of 1960.
   § 3. The parklands authorized by section one of this act to be discon-
 tinued as parkland is described as follows:
   ALL  that  certain  plot,  piece, or parcel of land situate, lying and
 being in the city of Yonkers, county of Westchester  and  state  of  New
 York,  being  a portion of Lot 56, Block 3535, Section 3 as shown on the
 city of Yonkers Tax  Maps,  and  being  more  particularly  bounded  and
 described as follows:
   BEGINNING  at  a point which is the northwesterly corner of Lot 100 as
 described in Liber 6431 page 327;
   RUNNING THENCE along the division line  between  Lot  100  (St.  Johns
 Riverside  Hospital)  on  the  east and Lot 56 (Samuel Untermeyer Park &
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13250-02-5

 S. 8271                             2
 
 Gardens) on the west, South 17 degrees 10' 35"  West  99.76  feet  to  a
 point;
   RUNNING THENCE through Lot 56 the following courses and distances:
   North 69 degrees 36' 28" West 74.30 feet to a point;
   North 72 degrees 12' 13" West, 32.11 feet to a point; and
   North  06 degrees 50' 01" East, 86.90 feet to a point on the southerly
 line of land now or Formerly of Michael Malotz  Skilled  Nursing  Pavil-
 lion, known as Tax Lot 84, Block 355, Section 3;
   RUNNING  THENCE  along the southerly line of said Tax Lot 84, South 77
 degrees 24' 04" East, 122.09 feet to the point or place of BEGINNING.
 Containing a total of 10,535 square  feet  or  approximately  0.24185032
 acres.
   §  4. Prior to the discontinuance and alienation of parkland described
 in section three of this act, the City of Yonkers, acting by and through
 its governing body, shall dedicate replacement land for use as parklands
 described as follows:
   ALL that certain, plot, piece, or parcel of land  situate,  lying  and
 being  in  the  city  of Yonkers, county of Westchester and state of New
 York, being a portion of Lot 100, Block 3535, Section 3 as shown on  the
 city  of  Yonkers  Tax  Maps,  and  being  more particularly bounded and
 described as follows:
   BEGINNING at a point which is the southwesterly corner of said Lot 100
 as described in Liber 6431 page 327;
   RUNNING THENCE along the division line  between  Lot  100  (St.  Johns
 Riverside  Hospital)  on  the  east  and Lot 56 (Samuel Untermyer Park &
 Gardens), on the west, North 17 degrees 10' 35" East, 87.36  feet  to  a
 point;
   RUNNING THENCE through Lot 100 the following courses and distances:
 South 72 degrees 37' 25" East, 78.12 feet to a point;
 North 17 degrees 22' 35" East, 94.60 feet to a point of curve;
 In  a  northeasterly and southeasterly direction on a curve to the right
 having a radius of 10.00 feet and a length of 25.87 feet to a point;
 South 14 degrees 22' 48" East, 41.24 feet to a point;
 South 12 degrees 27' 30" East, 35.48 feet to a point;
 South 17 degrees 11' 49" East, 41.42 feet to a point of curve;
 In a southeasterly direction on a curve to the left having a  radius  of
 522.85 feet and a length of 21.98 feet to a point of compound curve;
 In  a  southeasterly direction on a curve to the left having a radius of
 180.00 feet and a length of 27.42 feet to a point; and
 South 12 degrees 35' 56" West, 32.88 feet to the point on the  southerly
 side of Lot 100;
   RUNNING  THENCE  along  the division line between Lot 100 on the north
 and Lot 56 on the south, North 77 degrees 24' 04" West  193.54  feet  to
 the point or place of BEGINNING.
 Containing  a  total  of  19,840 square feet or approximately 0.45546373
 acres.
   § 5. In the event that the fair market value of the  parklands  to  be
 dedicated  by  the city of Yonkers described in section four of this act
 are not equal to or greater than the fair market value of the  parklands
 to  be  discontinued  in  section three of this act, the city of Yonkers
 shall dedicate the difference of the fair market value of the  lands  to
 be  alienated and the lands to be dedicated for the acquisition of addi-
 tional parklands and/or capital improvements to existing park and recre-
 ational facilities.
   § 6. In the event that  the  city  of  Yonkers  received  any  funding
 support  or  assistance  from  the  federal government for the purchase,
 S. 8271                             3
 
 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 city of
 Yonkers  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.
   § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S8271

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Cities 2 Committee

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8271

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Sponsored By

Andrea Stewart-Cousins

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Cities 2 Committee

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8271 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments