§ 489-eee. Applications for certificates of eligibility. 1.
Applications for a certificate of eligibility pursuant to this title
shall be submitted for preliminary approval to the office for economic
development commencing immediately after the effective date of a local
law enacted pursuant to this title and continuing until the earlier of
the thirty-first day of January, nineteen hundred eighty-six or the last
day before the date on which applications may be filed in accordance
with a local law enacted pursuant to section four hundred
eighty-nine-bbbb of this chapter, on such form or forms as shall be
prescribed by the board. In addition to any other information required
by the board, the application shall include plans for reconstruction or
construction that have been certified by a professional engineer or an
architect of the applicant's choice and cost estimates or bids for the
proposed reconstruction or construction. Upon a finding by such office
that the application satisfies the requirements of reconstruction or
construction as defined in this title, the application shall be
presented to the board for evaluation and written notice thereof shall
be given to the community board of the district in which the application
site is located.

2. (a) In the case of an application for construction or
reconstruction of an industrial structure or a commercial structure
located in an area designated as of right, the board shall issue a
certificate of eligibility upon determining that the application
satisfies the requirements of construction or reconstruction as defined
in this title, that the applicant has obtained plans for construction or
reconstruction certified by a professional engineer or architect, and
that the applicant has otherwise complied with the provisions of this
title and other applicable provisions of law.

(b) In the case of an application for construction or reconstruction
of a commercial structure not located in an as of right area, or
involving a restricted commercial use, the board shall issue a
certificate of eligibility upon making the determination specified in
paragraph (a) of this subdivision and upon making the further
determination that the granting of a tax exemption for the construction
or reconstruction of such a structure in the proposed location is in the
public interest. In making such determination, the board shall make
findings that there is a need in the area for the services the
enterprise will provide, that the enterprise will generate or retain
employment in the area, and that a tax incentive is required to attract
construction or reconstruction of such a structure to the area. In
addition, the board shall consider the economic impact such commercial
structure will have in the area.

(c) In the case of an application for construction or reconstruction
of a commercial structure not located in an as of right area, or
involving a restricted commercial use, the board may make a further
determination that special circumstances warrant designating the
proposed construction or reconstruction as "specially needed". In making
such determination, the board shall make findings that the commercial
services to be provided will have an especially positive impact on the
area's or the city's economy and that the applicant has demonstrated
that the project cannot go forward without the greater exemption granted
by such designation.

3. Any meeting of the board at which an application for a certificate
of eligibility is to be considered shall be open to the public, and
notice of such meeting shall be given at least two weeks prior thereto
by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the city.

4. The burden of proof shall be on the applicant to show by clear and
convincing evidence that the requirements for granting a tax exemption
pursuant to this title have been satisfied, and the board shall have the
authority to require that statements made in consideration of the
application be taken under oath.

5. After the issuance of a certificate of eligibility the applicant
shall apply to the city tax commission, during the period provided by
law for filing applications for corrections of assessed valuations, for
a tax exemption as provided for in section four hundred eighty-nine-ddd
of this title. The application shall be accompanied by a copy of the
certificate of eligibility.