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Reform Allows Some Below-Market Land Sales

NEW YORK CITY-The state Assembly on Wednesday passed a modified version of the Public Authorities Reform Act, to the relief of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

By Paul Bubny | Updated on November 19, 2009

NEW YORK CITY-The state Assembly’s passage of a modified bill to reform as many as 1,098 public authorities throughout New York State drew plaudits from Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who expressed relief Wednesday afternoon that the revised legislation no longer prohibits the authorities from making any land sales at below-market rates, as an earlier version of the measure did.

“Rather than requiring authorities to sell land at fair market value no matter the use–eliminating countless opportunities to create affordable housing, community centers and jobs–the new bill takes into account an authority’s mission,” Bloomberg says in a release. The land-sale provision, as now constituted allows a below-market sale, “if it is within the mission of the public authority, as defined by their authorizing statute,” according to a legislative summary of the bill. However, the governor and either house of the Legislature can deny below-market transactions “within 60 days of receiving notification.”

Bloomberg adds that “rather than requiring authority board members to act in the agency’s narrowly defined goals without taking into account broader issues that may be important to city residents, the new bill allows them to exercise independent judgment while considering local interests.” Both Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson had expressed concern that the original version of the legislation, which was passed in July, was too restrictive.

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