Section 1299-HH. Special powers of the authority

In order to effectuate the
  purposes of this title: 1. The authority may acquire, by purchase, gift,
  grant,  transfer, contract or lease, or condemnation, any transportation
  facility, including port  or  related  facilities  wholly  or  partially
  within  the  Rochester-Genesee  regional  transportation district or any
  part thereof, or the use thereof, and may enter into any  joint  service
  arrangements  as  hereinafter  provided.  Any  such acquisition or joint
  service arrangement shall  be  authorized  only  by  resolution  of  the
  authority approved by not less than a majority vote of the authority.
    2. The authority may on such terms and conditions as the authority may
  determine   necessary,   convenient   or   desirable  itself  establish,
  construct, effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve,  extend  or
  repair  any  such  transportation  facility,  or  may  provide  for such
  establishment,  construction,  effectuation,   operation,   maintenance,
  renovation,  improvement,  extension  or  repair  by contract, lease, or
  other arrangement on such terms as the  authority  may  deem  necessary,
  convenient  or  desirable  with any person, including but not limited to
  any common carrier or freight forwarder, the state,  any  state  agency,
  the  federal  government,  any  other state or agency or instrumentality
  thereof, any public  authority  of  this  or  any  other  state  or  any
  political  subdivision  or municipality of the state. In connection with
  the operation of any such transportation  facility,  the  authority  may
  establish,  construct, effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve,
  extend or repair or may provide by contract, lease or other  arrangement
  for    the   establishment,   construction,   effectuation,   operation,
  maintenance, renovation, improvement, extension or repair of any related
  services and activities it deems  necessary,  convenient  or  desirable,
  including  but  not limited to the transportation and storage of freight
  and the  United  States  mail,  feeder  and  connecting  transportation,
  parking  areas,  transportation  centers,  ports,  stations  and related
  facilities.
    3. The authority may establish,  levy  and  collect  or  cause  to  be
  established,  levied  and  collected and, in the case of a joint service
  arrangement, join with others in the establishment, levy and  collection
  of  such  fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges and other fees as it may
  deem necessary, convenient or desirable for the use and operation of any
  transportation facility and related services operated by  the  authority
  or by a subsidiary corporation of the authority or under contract, lease
  or  other  arrangement,  including  joint service arrangements, with the
  authority. Any such fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges or other  fees
  for  the  transportation  of passengers shall be established and changed
  only if approved by resolution of the authority adopted by not less than
  a majority vote of the  authority  and  only  after  a  public  hearing,
  provided  however,  that  fares, tolls, rentals, rates, charges or other
  fees for the transportation of passengers on any transportation facility
  which  are  in  effect  at  the  time  that  the  then  owner  of   such
  transportation   facility   becomes  a  subsidiary  corporation  of  the
  authority or at the time that operation of such transportation  facility
  is  commenced  by the authority or is commenced under contract, lease or
  other  arrangement  including  joint  service  arrangements,  with   the
  authority may be continued in effect without such a hearing. Such fares,
  tolls,  rentals,  rates,  charges and other fees shall be established as
  may in the judgment of  the  authority  be  necessary  to  maintain  the
  combined  operations of the authority and its subsidiary corporations on
  a self-sustaining basis. The said operations shall be deemed to be on  a
  self-sustaining  basis  as required by this title, when the authority is
  able to pay or cause to be paid from revenue  and  any  other  funds  or
  property   actually  available  to  the  authority  and  its  subsidiary

  corporations (a) as the same shall become  due,  the  principal  of  and
  interest  on  the bonds and notes and other obligations of the authority
  and of such subsidiary corporations, together with  the  maintenance  of
  proper  reserves  therefor,  (b)  the  cost  and  expense of keeping the
  properties and assets of the authority and its  subsidiary  corporations
  in good condition and repair, and (c) the capital and operating expenses
  of  the  authority  and  its  subsidiary corporations. The authority may
  contract with the holders  of  bonds  and  notes  with  respect  to  the
  exercise of the powers authorized by this section.
    4.  The  authority  may  establish  and,  in the case of joint service
  arrangements, join with others in the establishment  of  such  schedules
  and  standards  of  operations  and  such  other  rules  and regulations
  including but not limited to rules and regulations governing the conduct
  and safety of the  public  as  it  may  deem  necessary,  convenient  or
  desirable  for  the use and operation of any transportation facility and
  related services operated by the authority or under contract,  lease  or
  other  arrangement,  including  joint  service  arrangements,  with  the
  authority. Such rules and regulations governing the conduct  and  safety
  of  the public shall be filed with the department of state in the manner
  provided by section one hundred two of the executive law. In the case of
  any conflict between any  such  rule  or  regulation  of  the  authority
  governing  the  conduct  or  safety  of  the  public  and any local law,
  ordinance, rule or regulation, such rule or regulation of the  authority
  shall prevail. Violation of any such rule or regulation of the authority
  governing  the  conduct  or  the  safety  of  the  public in or upon any
  facility of the authority shall  constitute  an  offense  and  shall  be
  punishable by a fine not exceeding fifty dollars or imprisonment for not
  more than thirty days or both.
    5.  The authority may acquire, hold, own, lease, establish, construct,
  effectuate, operate, maintain, renovate, improve, extend or  repair  any
  of  its  facilities  through,  and  cause any one or more of its powers,
  duties, functions or activities to be exercised or performed by, one  or
  more  wholly  owned  subsidiary  corporations  of  the authority and may
  transfer to or from any such corporation any moneys,  real  property  or
  other  property  for any of the purposes of this title. The directors or
  members of each such subsidiary corporation shall be  the  same  persons
  holding  the  offices  of members of the authority. Each such subsidiary
  corporation and any of its property, functions and activities shall have
  all of the privileges, immunities, tax exemptions and  other  exemptions
  of  the  authority  and  of  the  authority's  property,  functions  and
  activities. Each such subsidiary corporation shall  be  subject  to  the
  restrictions and limitations to which the authority may be subject. Each
  such  subsidiary corporation shall be subject to suit in accordance with
  section twelve hundred ninety-nine-qq of this title.   The employees  of
  any  such subsidiary corporation, except those who are also employees of
  the authority, shall not be deemed employees of the authority.
    If the authority shall determine that one or more  of  its  subsidiary
  corporations  should  be in the form of a public benefit corporation, it
  shall create each such  public  benefit  corporation  by  executing  and
  filing with the secretary of state a certificate of incorporation, which
  may  be  amended  from time to time by filing, which shall set forth the
  name of such public benefit subsidiary corporation,  its  duration,  the
  location  of  its  principal  office,  and any or all of the purposes of
  acquiring, owning, leasing,  establishing,  constructing,  effectuating,
  operating,  maintaining,  renovating,  improving, extending or repairing
  one or more facilities  of  the  authority.  Each  such  public  benefit
  subsidiary  corporation  shall be a body politic and corporate and shall
  have all those powers vested in the authority by the provisions of  this

  title  which the authority shall determine to include in its certificate
  of incorporation except the power to contract indebtedness.
    Whenever  any  state, political subdivision, municipality, commission,
  agency, officer, department, board, division or person is authorized and
  empowered for any of the purposes of this title to co-operate and  enter
  into  agreements  with  the authority such state, political subdivision,
  municipality, commission, agency, officer, department,  board,  division
  or  person  shall  have the same authorization and power for any of such
  purposes to co-operate and  enter  into  agreements  with  a  subsidiary
  corporation of the authority.
    6.  The  authority,  in  its own name or in the name of the state, may
  apply for and receive and accept grants of property, money and  services
  and  other  assistance  offered  or  made available to it by any person,
  government or agency whatever, which it  may  use  to  meet  capital  or
  operating expenses and for any other use within the scope of its powers,
  and  to  negotiate  for  the  same upon such terms and conditions as the
  authority may determine to be necessary, convenient or desirable.
    7. The authority may do all things it deems necessary,  convenient  or
  desirable to manage, control and direct the maintenance and operation of
  transportation  facilities,  equipment  or  real property operated by or
  under contract, lease or other arrangement with the authority. Except as
  hereinafter   specially   provided,   no   municipality   or   political
  subdivision,  including but not limited to a county, city, village, town
  or school or other district shall have jurisdiction over any  facilities
  of  the  authority  or  any  of  its  activities or operations.   In the
  operation, maintenance and control of any facilities devoted to purposes
  other than  direct  transportation  purposes,  the  authority  shall  be
  subject   to   all   local  laws,  resolutions,  ordinances,  rules  and
  regulations  of  a   municipality   or   political   subdivision.   Each
  municipality  or  political  subdivision, including but not limited to a
  county, city, village, town or district in which any facilities  of  the
  authority are located shall provide for such facilities police, fire and
  health  protection services of the same character and to the same extent
  as those provided  for  residents  of  such  municipality  or  political
  subdivision.
    The  authority  may  agree with the state department of transportation
  for the execution by such department of any grade  crossing  elimination
  project  or  any  grade crossing separation reconstruction project along
  any railroad facility operated  by  the  authority  or  by  one  of  its
  subsidiary  corporations  or  under contract, lease or other arrangement
  with the authority. Any such project shall be executed  as  provided  in
  the  grade  crossing elimination act and the railroad law, respectively,
  and the costs of any such project shall be borne  as  provided  in  such
  laws,  except that the authority's share of such costs shall be borne by
  the state.
    8. The authority may accept unconditional grants of money or  property
  as  subsidy  payments  for  expansion  of  service into areas where such
  service  would  not  be  self-supporting.  The  authority   may   accept
  unconditional  grants  of money or property from any city, village, town
  or county not wholly contained within a city the whole or  any  part  of
  which  shall  be  served  or  to  be served by a transportation facility
  operated by the authority. Such grants of money or property would be for
  the purpose of  assisting  the  authority  in  meeting  its  capital  or
  operating  expenses.  The acceptance of any such grant shall not operate
  to make the authority an agency of the municipality  making  the  grant.
  The provisions of this section are intended as enabling legislation only
  and  shall not be interpreted as implying that absent their enactment an
  authority would lack the power to accept such grant or subsidy.

    9. The authority may do all things necessary, convenient or  desirable
  to  design,  develop, acquire, construct, maintain, operate, improve and
  reconstruct a rapid transit system in the  Charlotte-Henrietta  Corridor
  which  is described generally as follows: commencing on the north at the
  Port  of Rochester, thence southwesterly along the Penn Central railroad
  right  of  way  to  its  intersection  with  the  Baltimore   and   Ohio
  railroad-belt  line  division  right  of way, thence southerly along the
  Baltimore and Ohio railroad-belt line division to its intersection  with
  the  railroad  right  of way of the former "rapid transit and industrial
  railway", near Lexington Avenue, owned by the City of Rochester,  thence
  southerly  along  said  former  "rapid  transit  and industrial railway"
  through certain abandoned canal lands owned by the State of New York  to
  the  point  where  it intersects with the Rochester branch of the Lehigh
  Valley railroad right of way, thence southerly along said Lehigh  Valley
  railroad  to  the point where it intersects with the Erie railroad right
  of way, thence southerly along the Erie  railroad  right  of  way  to  a
  terminus  near  Erie  Station  Road  at the Riverton new community, also
  thence southeasterly along said Lehigh Valley Railroad  from  the  point
  where  it  intersects with the Erie Railroad right of way, to a terminus
  near Calkins Road. The Charlotte-Henrietta Corridor shall  be  deemed  a
  "transportation  facility"  of  the authority for all of the purposes of
  this title.
    10. Notwithstanding any of the above provisions,  no  project  may  be
  undertaken  by  the  authority  unless  such  project  is  a  part of or
  consistent with the adopted master plan.