Bill Text: NY S04688 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Authorizes the commissioner of general services to transfer and convey certain lands in New York City to the urban development corporation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-07-15 - signed chap.99 [S04688 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S04688-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         4688--A
            Cal. No. 413
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     March 20, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. BENJAMIN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Govern-
          ment Operations -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered  to
          first  and  second  report,  ordered  to  a third reading, amended and
          ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
        AN ACT authorizing the commissioner of general services to transfer  and
          convey  certain  lands in the county of New York, city of New York, to
          the urban development corporation; and providing  for  the  repeal  of
          certain provisions upon expiration thereof
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of  law  to  the
     2  contrary, the commissioner of general services is authorized to transfer
     3  and  convey  to  the  urban development corporation the remaining right,
     4  title, and interest of the people of the state of New York in the  lands
     5  and  improvements located at 121 West 125th Street and further described
     6  in section two of this act. The conveyance shall be  made  in  consider-
     7  ation  of  the  sum of no less than one million dollars collected by the
     8  state in connection with land transferred pursuant to  this  act,  which
     9  shall  be  deposited  into  the  125th Street Improvement Trust Fund, as
    10  amended and as may be further amended, hereinafter referred  to  as  the
    11  "Fund",  and  shall  be used for purposes outlined in the fund agreement
    12  and projects located within the established geographic boundaries of the
    13  Fund.
    14    § 2. The lands and improvements authorized by section one of this  act
    15  to be conveyed are generally described as follows:
    16                                  Parcel 1
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10888-03-9

        S. 4688--A                          2
     1    All  that  certain  plot,  piece or parcel of land, situate, lying and
     2  being in the Borough of Manhattan, City, County and State of  New  York,
     3  bounding and described as follows:
     4    BEGINNING  at  a  point on the northerly side of West 125th Street and
     5  150 feet west of the point of intersection between the westerly side  of
     6  Lenox Avenue and the northerly side of West 125th Street;
     7    (1)  thence  running  westerly  along the northerly side of West 125th
     8  Street, 210 feet to a point;
     9    (2) thence running in a northerly direction parallel to  the  Westerly
    10  side  of  Lenox Avenue, 199 feet 10 inches to the southerly side of West
    11  126th Street;
    12    (3) thence running easterly along the southerly  side  of  West  126th
    13  Street 210 feet to a point;
    14    (4)  thence running in a southerly direction, parallel to the westerly
    15  side of Lenox Avenue 199 feet, 10 inches to the point of beginning.
    16                                  Parcel 2
    17    All that certain volume of space which lies above a  horizontal  plane
    18  (the  "Limiting  Plane")  drawn at elevation 80.20 feet and intersecting
    19  the vertical planes determined by the above-described boundaries of  the
    20  Premises;  the  elevation of the Limiting Plane being that in the System
    21  known as the Borough Works Datum  of  the  Borough  of  Manhattan  which
    22  designates  as zero an elevation which is 2.75 feet above mean sea level
    23  at Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
    24    SUBJECT to that certain Easement Agreement and Declaration made by and
    25  between the people of the state of New York, acting by and  through  the
    26  commissioner  of general services, and the New York state urban develop-
    27  ment corporation, doing business as the empire state development  corpo-
    28  ration,  dated  December  13,  2002  and  recorded July 10, 2003 as CRFN
    29  2003000222170; and that certain Indenture made the 20th day of December,
    30  1977 by The New York state urban development corporation and The city of
    31  New York recorded on 12/23/77 in Reel 422 page 1084.
    32    § 3. The description in section two of this act is not intended to  be
    33  a  legal  description  but  is  intended  to  identify  the parcel to be
    34  conveyed.  As a condition of the purchase, the urban development  corpo-
    35  ration  may  submit  to  the  commissioner  of  general services for her
    36  approval an accurate survey and description of the lands to be conveyed,
    37  which may be used in the conveyance thereof.
    38    § 4. The commissioner of general services shall not transfer or convey
    39  the aforesaid lands and improvements unless an application  is  made  by
    40  the  urban development corporation within one year of the effective date
    41  of this act. Such application shall be  in  the  form  of  a  resolution
    42  setting  forth  a  comprehensive  statement approved by the board of the
    43  urban  development  corporation  acknowledging  and  accepting  the  use
    44  restrictions  set forth in section five of this act. The commissioner of
    45  general services and the president of the urban development  corporation
    46  are  hereby  empowered  to effect the transfer and conveyance and do all
    47  things necessary to carry out the purposes and provisions of this act.
    48    § 5. The aforesaid land and improvements shall be  used  and  improved
    49  for the purposes of, the National Urban League headquarters, including a
    50  conference  center,  a  civil  rights  museum,  retail and office space,
    51  approximately one hundred seventy units  of  affordable  housing,  which
    52  solely for the purposes of this act, shall mean that one hundred percent
    53  of  the rental dwelling units in the building shall, upon initial rental
    54  and upon each subsequent rental following a vacancy,  be  affordable  to

        S. 4688--A                          3
     1  and  restricted  to  occupancy  by individuals or families in accordance
     2  with a plan developed and approved by the commissioner of New York state
     3  division of homes and community  renewal,  and  any  accessory  uses  as
     4  described  in the general project plan prepared by the urban development
     5  corporation in accordance with the urban  development  corporation  act,
     6  including  any  amendments  or  modifications thereto, provided that the
     7  proportion of space allotted for retail and office  purposes  shall  not
     8  exceed the other required uses of such transferred land pursuant to this
     9  act.  Upon termination of a required use, the people of the state of New
    10  York shall have the right to retake the title to  such  portion  of  the
    11  land  and  improvements  described herein that are not committed to such
    12  required uses. In the event of such termination  of  any  required  use,
    13  during  the  term of the conveyance instrument, between said corporation
    14  and the entity  or  entities  engaged  to  construct  and  maintain  the
    15  improvements,  the  urban development corporation shall, consistent with
    16  the terms and conditions of the instrument of conveyance, provide  writ-
    17  ten  notice  to such entity or entities and provide such entity or enti-
    18  ties a reasonable opportunity to cure; provided, however, and only  with
    19  respect  to  the National Urban League Headquarters and the civil rights
    20  museum, the  Urban  Development  Corporation  is  hereby  authorized  to
    21  approve  a comparable community or public use for such land and improve-
    22  ments thereon. If the entity or entities fails or is  unable  to  comply
    23  with  any  demand  to cure, pursuant to this act, in the manner and time
    24  period specified under the  terms  of  the  lease  or  other  conveyance
    25  instrument,  the  urban  development  corporation  shall provide written
    26  notice to the commissioner of general services within one hundred eighty
    27  days thereof, and the commissioner of  general  services  shall  request
    28  that the attorney general institute an action in the supreme court for a
    29  judgment  declaring a revesting of such title in the people of the state
    30  of New York to the portion of the land and improvements not  in  compli-
    31  ance with the aforesaid use restrictions, or, in lieu of an action seek-
    32  ing  a  judgment  declaring a revesting of title as aforesaid, allow the
    33  owner of the land and  improvements  not  in  compliance  with  the  use
    34  restriction,  to  purchase  the reverter interest from the people of the
    35  state of New York at the current fair market value of the  non-compliant
    36  portion of the land less the value of any improvements thereto as deter-
    37  mined  by  independent  certified  appraisal or appraisals, and less any
    38  proportionate consideration previously paid, as shall be defined in  the
    39  general project plan and lease.
    40    §  6.  This act shall take effect immediately and the authority of the
    41  commissioner of general services to transfer and  convey  the  aforesaid
    42  lands and improvements pursuant to this act shall expire two years after
    43  such effective date.
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