New York Laws
Title 12
1971 - Statement of Legislative Findings and Purposes.

§ 1971. Statement of legislative findings and purposes. It is hereby
found and declared that there exists on the lower West side of the
county of New York, North of Battery Park and on and adjacent to the
Hudson River, a blighted area, defined in this title as the Battery Park
project area, marked by substandard, insanitary, deteriorated and
deteriorating conditions, in which area there exists obsolete and
dilapidated buildings and structures, including piers, of defective
construction and outmoded design, lacking proper sanitary facilities and
adequate fire and safety protection, and with insufficient light and
ventilation and inadequate maintenance; buildings or structures
abandoned or not utilized in whole or in part; obsolete systems of
utilities; poorly or improperly designed street patterns and
intersections with inadequate access to areas; traffic congestion; and
obsolete street widths, sizes and shapes, all of which hamper and impede
the proper and economic development of such area and of the city of New
York and of the state as a whole.

It is further found and declared that such area is no longer suitable
or useful for piers or for facilities appurtenant to the loading and
unloading of commercial cargo, and that retaining piers in such area
creates a blighting effect on such area and on surrounding areas and is
detrimental to the development of such area and to the growth and
prosperity of the county and city of New York and of the state as a
whole.

It is hereby declared that the improvement of such area, the
elimination of pier facilities and of the present structures therein,
and the replanning, reconstruction and redevelopment of such area
including the filling of the Hudson River at such area up to the present
pierhead line, the preparation of the resulting land for development,
and the creation in such area, in cooperation with the city of New York
and the private sector, of a mixed commercial and residential community,
with adequate utilities systems and civic and public facilities such as
schools, open public spaces, recreational and cultural facilities, is
necessary for the prosperity and welfare of the people of the city of
New York and of the state as a whole, and is a public use and public
purpose for which tax exemptions may be granted, and that the powers and
duties of battery park city authority as hereinafter recited are
necessary and proper for the purpose of achieving such ends.

It is hereby further found and declared that there continues to exist
throughout the city of New York a seriously inadequate supply of safe
and sanitary dwelling accommodations for persons and families of low
income. This condition is contrary to the public interest and threatens
the health, safety, welfare, comfort and security of the people of the
state. The ordinary operations of private enterprise cannot provide an
adequate supply of safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations at rentals
which persons and families of low income can afford. In order to
encourage the investment of private capital and provide such dwelling
accommodations, provision should be made for mortgage loans at low
interest rates to housing companies which, subject to regulations as to
rents, profits, dividends and disposition of their property, supply such
dwelling accommodations and other facilities incidental or appurtenant
thereto to such persons and families.

Therefore, it is hereby found and declared that Battery Park city
authority, through the issuance of bonds and notes to the private
investing public, by encouraging maximum participation by the private
sector of the economy, including the sale or lease of the authority's
interest in projects at the earliest time deemed feasible, and through
participation in programs undertaken by the state, its agencies and
subdivisions, and by the federal government, may provide or obtain the

capital resources necessary to provide dwelling accommodations for
persons and families of low income, and facilities incidental or
appurtenant thereto, and, where necessary, to carry out the clearance,
replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation of such substandard and
insanitary areas.

It is hereby further found and declared that the acquisition and
construction of adequate, safe and sanitary dwelling accommodations for
persons and families of low income and such facilities as may be
incidental or appurtenant thereto, are public uses and public purposes
for which public money may be loaned and private property may be
acquired and tax exemptions granted, and that the powers and duties of
battery park city authority or its subsidiaries as hereinafter recited
are necessary and proper for the purpose of achieving the ends here
recited.