Section 36-A. Additional powers of municipalities

In addition to any other
  powers granted  to  a  municipality  by  law,  and  notwithstanding  the
  provisions  of  any  other  law,  a  municipality  acting  by  its local
  legislative body shall have power:
    1. To undertake, plan, develop, construct or enter into contracts  for
  the  planning,  development  or  construction  of, or to own one or more
  projects or any part thereof, or to  engage  in  one  or  more  of  such
  activities  in  respect to one or more projects or any part thereof. For
  any of the purposes of this subdivision,  a  municipality  may  contract
  either  with a housing company incorporated under this article or with a
  housing development fund company incorporated pursuant to article eleven
  of this chapter.
    2. (a) Acquire by  purchase,  gift,  devise,  lease,  condemnation  or
  otherwise, in accordance with the provisions of the appropriate general,
  special  or  local law applicable to the acquisition of real or personal
  property by such municipality, real or personal property or any interest
  therein necessary for or incidental to  a  project,  including  but  not
  limited  to  air rights, and easements or other rights of user necessary
  for the use and development of such air rights, to be developed  as  air
  rights  sites  for a project; provided, however, that the acquisition of
  any air rights over railroad tracks, rights of  way  or  facilities  and
  easements  or other rights of user necessary for the use and development
  of such air rights are  to  be  subject  to  the  provision  of  section
  fifty-one-a  of  the  railroad  law.  The  acquisition  of real property
  pursuant to a plan shall in every case be deemed to be and constitute  a
  continuous rather than separate takings.
    (b)  Property  so  acquired  by  a  municipality  shall be exempt from
  taxation until sold, leased for a term not exceeding  ninety-nine  years
  or  otherwise  disposed  of  in  accordance  with the provisions of this
  section; provided however, that any such  municipality  shall  have  the
  power  and authority, with respect to such property, to pay or transfer,
  out of funds available to it for the effectuating  of  such  program  or
  project  annual  sums  in  lieu  of  taxes  to  any  taxing jurisdiction
  providing services to the project  area,  or  to  the  part  or  portion
  thereof  within  such  taxing jurisdiction, in order that no such taxing
  jurisdiction shall suffer an inequitable loss of revenue  by  virtue  of
  such  project; provided, further, that the amount so paid or transferred
  for any year with respect to any such  property  shall  not  exceed  the
  lesser  of  (1)  the  sum  last  levied  for  the benefit of such taxing
  jurisdiction as an annual tax on such property prior to the time of  its
  acquisition for project purposes or (2) such amount as shall be approved
  by the commissioner pursuant to such rules, regulations, limitations and
  conditions as he may prescribe, as an eligible and proper charge against
  such  project.   Upon the sale, lease or disposition of such property to
  any person, firm or corporation,  not  entitled  to  an  exemption  from
  taxation or entitled to only a partial tax exemption such property shall
  immediately  become subject to taxation in whole or in part, as the case
  may be, and shall be taxed pro rata for the  unexpired  portion  of  the
  taxable year.
    As  used  in  this paragraph, the term "taxing jurisdiction" means any
  municipal corporation or  district  corporation,  including  any  school
  district  or  any  special district, having the power to levy or collect
  taxes and benefit assessments upon real property,  or  in  whose  behalf
  such taxes or benefit assessments may be levied or collected.
    3.  To  sell  or  lease for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years any
  such project, or part thereof, at any stage before or at the date of  or
  after  the  physical completion of such project, to a company which will
  undertake, plan, construct, own,  manage  or  operate  such  project  in

  accordance  with  the  plan  and  the provisions of this article. In the
  event of a sale or lease of any  such  project  prior  to  the  physical
  completion  thereof,  the  municipality  may  agree  to complete and may
  complete  construction and development of such project or cause the same
  to be completed. Any such sale or  lease  may  be  made  without  public
  bidding,  public  sale  or  public  offering pursuant to such negotiated
  contract, agreement or lease, containing such  provisions,  limitations,
  requirements,  terms  and  conditions,  price or rental as the governing
  body of the municipality may deem necessary or desirable  to  effectuate
  the plan and the public policy and public purposes described in sections
  eleven and eleven-a of this article.
    4.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  section thirty-three of this
  article the real property in a project sold or  leased  as  provided  in
  this  section,  when the transfer thereunder becomes effective, shall be
  exempt from local and municipal taxes, other than assessments for  local
  improvements  to  such extent as may be granted by the local legislative
  body of the municipality. The tax exemption shall operate  and  continue
  so long as capital loans of the company to which such project shall have
  been  sold  or  leased  or any additional loan the proceeds of which are
  primarily used  for  the  residential  portion  of  the  project,  which
  additional  loan  is  approved  by  the  commissioner or the supervising
  agency are outstanding.
    Notes, bonds, mortgages and other obligations of such  a  company  are
  declared   to   be  issued  for  a  public  purpose  and  to  be  public
  instrumentalities and, together with interest thereon, shall  be  exempt
  from tax.
    5.  The  provisions  of section thirteen of this article requiring the
  approval by the commissioner of housing of the persons  incorporating  a
  limited-profit housing company and the provisions of section fourteen of
  this article requiring the consent of the commissioner of housing to the
  filing  of  the  certificate  of  incorporation of such a company in the
  office of the secretary of state and the  amendment  thereof  shall  not
  apply to a corporation created pursuant to this article on a cooperative
  basis  for  the purchase or lease of a project pursuant to this section;
  nor shall any of the provisions of  this  article  conferring  upon  the
  commissioner  of housing any powers in respect of limited-profit housing
  companies  apply  to  such  a  corporation.  The  application  of   this
  subdivision  shall be limited to corporations undertaking a project with
  the aid of a municipal loan under this article.
    6. A project or part of a project sold or leased to a housing  company
  pursuant  to  the provisions of this section thirty-six-a shall be owned
  or operated by such housing company in accordance with the provisions of
  this article and in accordance with an agreement of sale or lease to  be
  entered  into  by  the  municipality and such housing company. Each such
  agreement shall contain, in addition to such other terms and  conditions
  as may lawfully be agreed upon by the parties, the following provisions,
  which  shall  be  subject to any approvals which may be required by this
  article:
    (a) Establishing a schedule of maximum rents which may be  charged  by
  the housing company.
    (b) Prescribing the method by which tenants are to be selected for the
  project and criteria of tenant eligibility.
    (c)  Any such agreement of lease may provide for the transfer of title
  of the real property so leased to the housing company at the end of  the
  term or lease.
    7.  A  housing  company shall have the power, in addition to any other
  powers under this article to enter into and carry out the provisions  of
  any   agreement   authorized   under   this  section  or  under  section

  twenty-three-a or twenty-three-b of this article, and to enter into  and
  carry  out  agreements  in  order  to  obtain  insurance  by the federal
  government of a mortgage for the purpose of refinancing all or any  part
  of a mortgage loan pursuant to section twenty-three of this article.
    8.  Any  project that received a tax exemption under this section may,
  upon  the  expiration  of  the  tax  exemption  period,  be  granted  an
  additional tax exemption period of up to fifty years, or until such time
  as  the project is no longer operated under the restrictions and for the
  purposes set forth in this article, whichever is sooner.