NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9053

Senate Bill S9053

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Exempts certain other than for-profit community gardens from payment for water usage and supply

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Cities 1 Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 12, 2024	referred to cities 1

2023-S9053 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9919
Current Committee:: Senate Cities 1
Law Section:: New York City
Laws Affected:: Amd §1, Chap 696 of 1887

2023-S9053 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Exempts certain other than for-profit community gardens from payment for water usage and supply; exempts non-profit community gardens located on property in the city of New York and licensed by or registered with such city's department of parks and recreation from payment for water usage and supply.

2023-S9053 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9053

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend chapter 696 of the laws of 1887 relating to providing
hospitals, orphan asylums and other charitable institutions in the city
of New York with water and remitting assessments therefor, in relation
to exempting certain other than for-profit community gardens from
payment for water usage and supply

 
PURPOSE:

Expands community garden eligibility for this program by creating a more
inclusive legal definition for New York City community gardens

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 expands community garden eligibility for this program by broa-
dening the requirement from non-profit to "other than for profit" and
amending "licensed" to "licensed by or registered with" NYC Parks.

Section 2 outlines the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Current law signed in 2023, provided for water cost exemption for commu-
nity gardens that are "licensed by" NYC Parks. Requiring gardens be both
"registered" and "licensed" limits the scope of gardens that would be
benefitted. Licensed gardens are located on City property under NYC
Parks jurisdiction, and thus are already exempted from water costs.

This bill expands on S1082/A1909, which was chaptered last year. The
bill exempts non-profit community gardens located on property in the
City of New York that are registered with and licensed by the NYC
Department of Parks and Recreation (NYC Parks) from payment for water
usage and supply. Last year's chapter only applied to those that are
licensed, and not everyone who is registered is also licensed.  Addi-
tionally, the reference to "non-profit" gardens be amended to "other
than for-profit community gardens," to allow for local garden groups to
benefit from the water cost exemption, regardless of their status as a
formal 501(c)3 non-profit corporation.

If enacted, the legislation would significantly reduce the overall
financial burden for GreenThumb gardens with internal water systems
located on property outside of NYC Parks' jurisdiction (i.e., registered
but not licensed) that may currently be charged for water usage. For
example, there are 75 registered GreenThumb gardens with internal water
systems that are on property owned and managed by non-profit land trusts
that are currently required to pay for water access, requiring signif-
icant fundraising capacity for these volunteer-run organizations. If
enacted with the proposed amendments, the legislation would address
these operational needs by providing reliable and affordable water
access for all registered GreenThumb gardens, the majority of which are
in historically disinvested communities.

The goal of providing equitable water access for volunteer-run community
gardens in New York City: As climate change intensifies, New York City's
community gardens are threatened with the worsening impacts of extreme
heat and drought conditions. These publicly-accessible green spaces are
managed by volunteers, who are responsible for day-to-day stewardship
and operation, including watering, weeding, harvesting and public
programming. Periods of limited rainfall and extreme heat place addi-
tional pressures on volunteer stewards to meet water needs to keep crops
and other vegetation alive. In addition, community gardens help keep
neighborhoods cool and absorb stormwater during heavy rain events,
underscoring their role in creating a more climate-resilient city.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD. Note: this change was requested by the municipality that this bill
governs.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2023-S9053 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9053
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              April 12, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 1
 
 AN ACT to amend chapter 696 of the laws of 1887  relating  to  providing
   hospitals,  orphan  asylums  and  other charitable institutions in the
   city of New York with water and  remitting  assessments  therefor,  in
   relation  to exempting certain other than for-profit community gardens
   from payment for water usage and supply
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  1 of chapter 696 of the laws of 1887 relating to
 providing hospitals, orphan asylums and other charitable institutions in
 the city of New York with water and remitting assessments  therefor,  as
 amended  by  chapter  634  of  the  laws  of 2023, is amended to read as
 follows:
   Section 1. Except as otherwise provided in section three of this  act,
 the  several  hospitals, dispensaries, orphan asylums, registered volun-
 teer ambulance corps, homes for the aged, [non-profit] OTHER  THAN  FOR-
 PROFIT  community  gardens  located  on property in the city of New York
 [and registered with] and licensed by OR  REGISTERED  WITH  such  city's
 department of parks and recreation, houses or homes for the reformation,
 protection or shelter of females, day nurseries or corporations or soci-
 eties  for  the  care and instruction of poor babies and needy children,
 any corporation which was created by an act of congress  of  the  United
 States  to  be non-profit and without capital stock and organized exclu-
 sively for the purpose of furnishing  volunteer  aid  to  the  sick  and
 wounded  of  armies in time of war and to continue and carry on a system
 of national international relief in time of peace and  to  mitigate  the
 suffering  caused  by  fire, floods and other great national calamities,
 and industrial homes,  and  any  benevolent  or  charitable  corporation
 owning or maintaining an institution for medical research, public baths,
 for free school societies or free circulating libraries or veteran fire-
 men's  associations,  and any social settlement, whether incorporated or
 unincorporated, which shall own or lease for a term not less than  three
 years  a  building  or  buildings devoted exclusively to the purposes of
 such social settlement work or any religious society owning  or  leasing
 for a period of not less than three years a building devoted exclusively
 to  social settlement work, now existing or hereafter established in the

 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15224-02-4
 S. 9053                             2
 
 city of New York, or the real estate owned by any religious  corporation
 located  in  the city of New York as now constituted, actually dedicated
 and used by such corporation exclusively as a place of  public  worship,
 or  the real estate used exclusively for education through and including
 the twelfth grade which is owned by any corporation or association enti-
 tled to exemption under the provisions of paragraph (a)  of  subdivision
 one  of  section  four hundred twenty-a of the real property tax law, or
 the  real  estate  owned  by  an  association  of  honorably  discharged
 soldiers,  sailors,  or  marines,  devoted  exclusively to patriotic and
 charitable purposes, are hereby exempted from the payment of any sum  of
 money  whatever  to  said  city, for the use of water taken by same from
 said city, and water shall be supplied to the  same  by  said  city,  in
 sufficient  quantity  for  all purposes for which it is now used by said
 corporations, societies and institutions, or which may be  necessary  to
 be  used by the same, free of all charge whatsoever, and the real estate
 necessarily used for any hospital, dispensary, institution  for  medical
 research,  orphan asylum, registered volunteer ambulance corps, home for
 the aged, free school or free  circulating  library,  veteran  firemen's
 association,  house  or  home  for reformation, protection or shelter of
 females, day nurseries or corporations or societies  for  the  care  and
 instruction  of poor babies and needy children, or any corporation which
 was created by an act of the congress of the United States  to  be  non-
 profit  and  without  capital  stock  and  organized exclusively for the
 purpose of furnishing volunteer aid to the sick and wounded of armies in
 time of war and to continue and carry on a system of national and inter-
 national relief in time of peace and to mitigate the suffering caused by
 fire, floods and other great national calamities, or  industrial  homes,
 or  social  settlements  maintained  or conducted by any incorporated or
 unincorporated social settlement, church or religious society, or  occu-
 pied  for  such public bath, owned or leased for a term of not less than
 three years, or held under any renewal or extension of such lease by any
 such corporation, societies and  institutions  aforesaid,  or  the  real
 estate  owned  by  any  religious corporation located in the city of New
 York, as now constituted, actually dedicated and  used  by  such  corpo-
 ration exclusively as a place of public worship, or the real estate used
 exclusively  for education through and including the twelfth grade which
 is owned by any corporation or association entitled to  exemption  under
 the  provisions  of  paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision one of section four
 hundred twenty-a of the real property tax law, or the real  estate  used
 exclusively  by  [non-profit]  OTHER  THAN  FOR-PROFIT community gardens
 located on property in the city of New York [and  registered  with]  and
 licensed  by  OR  REGISTERED  WITH  such  city's department of parks and
 recreation, is hereby released, discharged and exempted  from  all  lien
 and  charge  for water heretofore used or which may hereafter be used by
 any such institution, society or corporation. Notwithstanding the  fore-
 going provisions, the mayor of the city of New York, by executive order,
 may  provide  that such institution, society or corporation shall not be
 exempt from payment for the use and supply of water,  except  that  such
 executive  order  shall  apply  only with respect to those institutions,
 societies or corporations who are eligible to receive reimbursement from
 either the United States, the state of New York,  or  the  city  of  New
 York,  or  any  agency  thereof,  for payments for the use and supply of
 water.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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