Bill Text: NY S07089 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Provides for the powers and duties of the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Queens county, New York; reestablishes the powers and duties of the board of directors.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-03-02 - SUBSTITUTED BY A7946A [S07089 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S07089-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7089--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 28, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  LIU  --  read  twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations,  Authorities
          and  Commissions  --  recommitted  to  the  Committee on Corporations,
          Authorities and Commissions in accordance with Senate Rule 6,  sec.  8
          --  committee  discharged,  bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
          and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend chapter 188 of the laws of 1978, relating to incorporat-
          ing the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society  of  Bellerose,  Queens
          county,  New  York, in relation to providing for the powers and duties
          of such society

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. Chapter 188 of the laws of 1978, relating to incorporating
     2  the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Queens  county,
     3  New  York,  section  6  as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 1981, is
     4  amended to read as follows:
     5    Section 1. Incorporation; membership.  A  not-for-corporation  by  the
     6  name  of  "Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Inc." is
     7  hereby created.   [It shall be composed  of  such  persons  eligible  to
     8  membership  therein  as  hereinafter  provided  as  shall (a) notify the
     9  membership secretary of the Colonial Farmhouse  Restoration  Society  of
    10  Bellerose,  an  educational organization, in writing prior to the organ-
    11  ization meeting hereinafter provided for the corporation created by this
    12  act of their desire to become members, or (b) shall attend such  meeting
    13  or  an  adjournment  thereof,  and  also such persons so eligible as may
    14  thereafter become members of such corporation pursuant to its by-laws.
    15    § 2. Persons eligible to membership. Anyone, regardless  of  place  of
    16  residency,  shall  be eligible for membership in the corporation created
    17  by this act, except they shall not be eligible to hold office unless  at
    18  least  eighteen years of age and bona fide residents of Queens or Nassau
    19  Counties, nor eligible to vote unless at least eighteen years old.]  The

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11714-03-2
        S. 7089--A                          2

     1  corporation  shall  not have any members. Any person who was a member of
     2  the corporation prior to the year two thousand twenty-two shall no long-
     3  er be a member.
     4    §  [3]  2.  Purposes.  The  purposes  of  such corporation shall be to
     5  preserve and restore the Colonial vintage farmhouse on  the  grounds  of
     6  what  formerly  constituted  the  hospital farm of Creedmoor Psychiatric
     7  Center, together with the surrounding grounds and outbuildings[; and the
     8  Society shall endeavor to recreate and  demonstrate  in  an  educational
     9  format,  the  lifestyle  of  agrarian  civilization as it existed in the
    10  eighteenth century in eastern  Queens  County  for  current  and  future
    11  generations;  and  it shall foster educational programs in horticulture,
    12  agriculture, conservation, ecology, and  other  disciplines  that  would
    13  lead  to  an  increase in the public's appreciation and awareness of the
    14  unique qualities of the  site  and  building  of  the  Creedmoor  Farm.]
    15  representing  one  of  the  longest continually farmed sites in New York
    16  State dating back to 1697; and the corporation  shall  endeavor  to  (a)
    17  recreate  and  demonstrate  in  an  educational format, the lifestyle of
    18  agrarian civilization as it existed in Queens County  and  in  New  York
    19  City  for  current  and  future  generations,  including  showcasing the
    20  300-year history and future of agriculture as a way of life in New  York
    21  City;  (b)  preserve, restore, and interpret its farmland, including its
    22  history  and  owner's  lifestyles;  (c)  provide  and  host  educational
    23  programs,  public  events,  and  museum services to its visitors and the
    24  general public, including with respect to the  significance  of  Queens'
    25  agricultural and horticultural past as New York City grew around it; and
    26  (d)  serve  as a resource connecting people to agriculture and the envi-
    27  ronment, creating learning opportunities about biodiversity, health  and
    28  wellness, climate change and preserving local history.
    29    § [4] 3. Powers and duties. Such corporation shall have all the powers
    30  of  a  not-for-profit  charitable corporation, and the provisions of law
    31  relating to not-for-profit charitable corporations shall apply  to  such
    32  corporation except where they conflict with the provisions of this act.
    33    §  [5] 4. [Organization meeting; by-laws. The general secretary of the
    34  Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose shall call a meeting
    35  for the organization of such corporation to be held not later than three
    36  months after this act takes effect, notice of which shall  be  given  by
    37  him  by  publication  in  the  Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of
    38  Bellerose membership newsletter and also by publication of notice there-
    39  of in one or more newspapers having  a  general  circulation  in  Queens
    40  county,  and  such publication shall be effected at least ten days prior
    41  to the date of such meeting. At such meeting or any adjournment  thereof
    42  the  members  of  such corporation present shall adopt by-laws and elect
    43  officers and directors to serve until the  first  annual  meeting  which
    44  shall  be  held on a date to be fixed by the by-laws. Any member failing
    45  to comply with the by-laws, rules or regulations duly  adopted  by  such
    46  corporation  shall be subject to suspension and expulsion in such manner
    47  as may be provided for in such by-laws. Any  member  who  ceases  to  be
    48  such,  voluntarily or otherwise, shall forfeit all interest in the prop-
    49  erty of such corporation.] By-laws. The members of the board  of  direc-
    50  tors  shall  be  responsible for adopting and maintaining the by-laws of
    51  the corporation.
    52    § [6] 5. Control and disposal of funds and property. The  control  and
    53  disposal of the funds and property of the said corporation, the exercise
    54  of  its  powers,  and the management and control of its affairs shall be
    55  vested in and exercised by a board of directors which shall  consist  of
    56  [seventeen  members of such corporation, to wit: the president, the vice
        S. 7089--A                          3

     1  president, the general secretary, the financial secretary,  the  member-
     2  ship  secretary,  the treasurer, the archivist, the sergeant-at-arms and
     3  nine other members having the title of director.] not less than nine and
     4  not more than twenty-one members of such corporation, to wit: the presi-
     5  dent,  the  vice  president,  the secretary, the treasurer, and not less
     6  than five and not more than seventeen other members having the title  of
     7  director.  Such  officers  and  directors shall be elected at the annual
     8  meeting of such corporation in the manner prescribed by its by-laws.  No
     9  part  of  the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit
    10  of any member, trustee, director, officer of  the  corporation,  or  any
    11  private  individual, except that reasonable compensation may be paid for
    12  services rendered to or for the corporation,  and  no  member,  trustee,
    13  officer  of  the corporation or any private individual shall be entitled
    14  to share in the distribution of any of the corporate assets  on  dissol-
    15  ution of the corporation.
    16    No  substantial  part  of  the activities of the organization shall be
    17  carrying on propaganda, or  otherwise  attempting  to  influence  legis-
    18  lation,  except  as  otherwise provided by Internal Revenue Code section
    19  501(h), or participating in, or intervening in, including  the  publica-
    20  tion  or distribution of statements, any political campaign on behalf of
    21  any candidate for public office.
    22    In the event of dissolution, all of the remaining assets and  property
    23  of  the corporation shall, after necessary expenses thereof, be distrib-
    24  uted to such organizations as shall qualify under section  501(c)(3)  of
    25  the Internal Revenue Code of nineteen hundred fifty-four, as amended or,
    26  to  another organization to be used in such manner as in the judgment of
    27  a justice of the supreme court of the state of New York will best accom-
    28  plish the general purposes for which this corporation was formed.
    29    § [7] 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
    30    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately,  provided,  however,  the
    31  amendments  to  chapter  188 of the laws of 1978, made by section one of
    32  this act, shall not interfere with any right, liability,  or  obligation
    33  of the corporation as created by such chapter.