§ 2306. Purpose and powers of the authority. The purposes of the
authority shall be to promote, develop, encourage and assist in the
acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, improving, maintaining,
equipping and furnishing industrial, manufacturing, warehouse,
commercial and research facilities and facilities for use by a federal
agency or a medical facility including industrial pollution control
facilities, which may include transportation facilities including but
not limited to those relating to water, highway, rail and air, in one or
more areas of the city, and thereby advance the job opportunities,
health, general prosperity and economic welfare of the people of said
city and to improve their medical care and standard of living; provided,
however, that the authority shall not undertake any project if the
completion thereof would result in the removal of an industrial or
manufacturing plant of the project occupant from one area of the state
to another area of the state or in abandonment of one or more plants or
facilities of the project applicant located within the state, provided,
however, that neither restriction shall apply if the authority shall
determine on the basis of the application before it that the project is
reasonably necessary to discourage the project occupant from removing
such other plant or facility to a location outside the state or is
reasonably necessary to preserve the competitive position of the project
occupant in its respective industry. Except as otherwise provided for in
this section, no financial assistance of the authority shall be provided
in respect of any project where facilities or property that are
primarily used in making retail sales to customers who personally visit
such facilities constitute more than one-third of the total project
cost. For the purposes of this article, "retail sales" shall mean: (i)
sales by a registered vendor under article twenty-eight of the tax law
primarily engaged in the retail sale of tangible personal property, as
defined in subparagraph (i) of paragraph four of subdivision (b) of
section eleven hundred one of the tax law; or (ii) sales of a service to
such customers. Except, however, that tourism destination projects shall
not be prohibited by this paragraph. For the purpose of this paragraph,
"tourism destination" shall mean a location or facility which is likely
to attract a significant number of visitors from outside the economic
development region as established by section two hundred thirty of the
economic development law, in which the project is located.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this section to the contrary, such
financial assistance may, however, be provided to a project where
facilities or property that are primarily used in making retail sales of
goods or services to customers who personally visit such facilities to
obtain such goods or services constitute more than one-third of the
total project cost, where: (i) the predominant purpose of the project
would be to make available goods or services which would not, but for
the project, be reasonably accessible to the residents of the city of
Auburn because of a lack of reasonably accessible retail trade
facilities offering such goods or services; or (ii) the project is
located in a highly distressed area. With respect to projects authorized
pursuant to this paragraph no project shall be approved unless the
authority shall find after the public hearing required by section
twenty-three hundred seven of this title that undertaking the project
will serve the public purposes of this article by preserving permanent,
private sector jobs or increasing the overall number of permanent,
private sector jobs in the state. Where the authority makes such a
finding, prior to providing financial assistance to the project by the
authority, the chief executive officer of the city of Auburn shall
confirm the proposed action of the authority. To carry out said purpose,
the authority shall have power:

1. To sue and be sued;

2. To have a seal and alter the same at pleasure;

3. To acquire, hold and dispose of personal property for its corporate
purpose;

4. To acquire by purchase, grant, lease, gift, condemnation, or
otherwise and to use, real property or rights or easements therein
necessary for its corporate purposes, and to sell, convey, mortgage,
lease, pledge, exchange or otherwise dispose of any such property in
such manner as the authority shall determine. With respect to real
property conveyed to it by the city, however, such power of disposition
shall be limited as hereinafter provided in section twenty-three hundred
ten of this title;

5. To make by-laws for the management and regulation of its affairs
and, subject to agreements with its bondholders, for the regulation of
the use of the project.

6. With the consent of the city, to use agents, employees and
facilities of the city, paying the city its agreed proportion of the
compensation or costs.

7. To appoint officers, agents and employees, to prescribe their
qualifications and to fix their compensation and to pay the same out of
funds of the authority, subject, however, to the provisions of the civil
service law hereinafter provided in section twenty-three hundred eight
of this title;

8. To retain and employ financial advisors, engineers, architects,
attorneys and other consultants for professional and technical
assistance and advice; that an attorney acting as bond counsel for a
project must file with the authority a written statement in which the
attorney identifies each party to the transaction which such attorney
represents. If bond counsel provides any legal services to the parties
other than the authority, the written statement must describe the nature
of legal services provided by such bond counsel to all parties to the
transaction, including the nature of the services provided to the
authority;

9. To make contracts and leases upon such terms as the authority shall
deem appropriate, including without limitation leases which grant the
tenant of a project an option to renew or an option to purchase the
project, or both, at a fixed or otherwise predetermined price, and to
execute all instruments necessary or convenient;

10. To acquire, construct, reconstruct, lease, improve, maintain,
equip or furnish one or more projects;

11. To accept gifts, grants, loans or contributions from, and enter
into contracts or other transactions with, the United States and the
state or any agency of either of them, any municipality, any public or
private corporation or any other legal entity, and to use any such
gifts, grants, loans or contributions for any of its corporate purposes;

12. To borrow money and to issue bonds and to provide for the rights
of the holders thereof;

13. To designate the depositories of its money in the city of Auburn.

14. To enter into agreements requiring payments in lieu of taxes. Such
agreements shall be in writing and in addition to other terms shall
contain: the amount due annually to each affected tax jurisdiction (or a
formula by which the amount due can be calculated), the name and address
of the person, office or agency to which payment shall be delivered, the
date on which the payment shall be made, and the date on which payment
shall be considered delinquent if not paid. Unless otherwise agreed by
the affected tax jurisdictions, any such agreement shall provide that
payments in lieu of taxes shall be allocated among affected tax
jurisdictions in proportion to the amount of real property tax and other
taxes which would have been received by each affected tax jurisdiction
had the project not been tax exempt due to the status of the agency
involved in the project. A copy of any such agreement shall be delivered
to each tax affected jurisdiction within fifteen days of signing the
agreement. In the absence of any such written agreement, payments in
lieu of taxes shall be allocated in the same proportions as they had
been prior to January first, nineteen hundred ninety-three for so long
as the authority's activities render a project non-taxable by affected
tax jurisdictions. A notification of the expiration of such agreement
shall be delivered to the affected tax jurisdiction two years prior to
the expiration of such agreement and immediately upon early termination
of an agreement;

15. To establish and reestablish its fiscal year; and

16. To do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes
and exercise the powers expressly given in this title.