S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 2727 2011-2012 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y January 20, 2011 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. COLTON, JAFFEE, SPANO, CAHILL -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BRENNAN, PHEFFER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means AN ACT relating to large capital projects to be financed in whole or in part with public funds and the disclosure of such projects THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds that there are 2 in the city of New York many large capital projects to be financed in 3 whole or in part with public funds or to be supported by tax and other 4 public incentives and which are crucial to the economic and cultural 5 interests of such city and the state of New York as a whole, and which 6 are at some stage of proposal, planning or implementation. The legisla- 7 ture further finds that it is important that a full disclosure be made 8 of the details of such projects, their projected costs to the city and 9 state and to public benefit corporations, the projected benefits, the 10 reasons why some of them have been delayed and why some of the proposals 11 have been modified. Accordingly, it is critical that the New York state 12 urban development corporation, also known as the Empire State Develop- 13 ment Corporation, provide a prompt report to the legislature on such 14 projects so the legislature may provide the necessary policy determi- 15 nations and establish appropriate priorities so that necessary projects 16 can proceed. 17 S 2. As used in this act, the following terms shall have the following 18 meanings: 19 1. The term "corporation" shall mean the New York state urban develop- 20 ment corporation established by chapter 174 of the laws of 1968. 21 2. The term "chair" shall mean the chairman of the board of directors 22 of the corporation. 23 3. The term "projects" shall mean all development, redevelopment, 24 construction, repair, and refurbishment projects within the city of New 25 York in which the corporation or any subsidiary or affiliate of the 26 corporation is involved with the planning, financing, or contracting in 27 whole or in part and any project related to such projects, whether or EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD00855-01-1 A. 2727 2 1 not the corporation or its subsidiary or affiliate is involved. The 2 projects, for the purposes of this act shall be grouped into three sets 3 as follows: 4 a. The west side redevelopment projects, which shall mean projects 5 located on the West side of midtown Manhattan including, without limita- 6 tion, projects named or sometimes referred to as follows: Javits Conven- 7 tion Center redevelopment; Moynihan Station and Pennsylvania Station 8 redevelopment; the 7 line subway extension, the Hudson Yards develop- 9 ment, the Boulevard, and the ARC project. 10 b. The lower Manhattan redevelopment projects, including all projects 11 located at or near the site of the former World Trade Center buildings 12 and related to reconstruction or replacement of buildings destroyed or 13 damaged in the heinous terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, and all 14 associated mass transportation facilities in that area. 15 c. All other projects within the city of New York, including but not 16 limited to the Atlantic Yards development, Willetts Point development 17 and Sunnyside Yards development. 18 d. Any other project in the region that in the judgment of the chair- 19 man of the board of the corporation should be a part of the report that 20 is required by section three of this act. 21 S 3. The chair shall prepare and deliver to the governor, the tempo- 22 rary president of the senate, the minority leader of the senate, the 23 speaker of the assembly the minority leader of the assembly, the chair- 24 person of the senate corporations, authorities and commissions committee 25 and the chairperson of the assembly corporations, authorities and 26 commissions committee not later than 45 days after the effective date of 27 this act a comprehensive report on each of the projects individually and 28 as they interact with and have any effect on the other. In preparing 29 such report, the chair shall consult with private developers, and 30 government officials and agencies involved with each project, including 31 without limitation, the port authority of New York and New Jersey, the 32 lower Manhattan development corporation, the metropolitan transportation 33 authority, the office of the mayor of the city of New York, the city 34 council of the city of New York, and the governor of the state of New 35 York, and any other person or institution deemed appropriate. All such 36 officials and agencies are hereby authorized and directed to consult 37 with and assist the chair in the preparation of such report. 38 Such report shall discuss all aspects of the progress of each project 39 relating to planning, financing, permitting, contracting, constructing, 40 and occupying such project, with comments on the current situation 41 relating to organizational, legal, financial, economic and construction 42 status and prospects, and the impact of such project, if any, on the 43 capital needs of the metropolitan transportation authority, with refer- 44 ence to differing opinions from various stakeholders and parties 45 involved to the extent that such opinions exist. The report shall make 46 recommendations with regard to the goals of each project and the recom- 47 mended methods to achieve such goals. It shall also present an analysis 48 of the potential financing of each project, including incentives, bene- 49 fits, subsidies, and revenues to be provided by any governmental unit or 50 public benefit corporation and the economic impact that the project is 51 expected to have on the city of New York, the state of New York, and the 52 metropolitan area centered in the city of New York, and a comparison of 53 expected benefits with anticipated costs. 54 S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.