§ 119-r. Provision of mass transportation by certain municipal
corporations. * 1. To assure the provision of mass transportation
services to the public at adequate levels and at reasonable cost, every
city, town, village or county not wholly contained within a city, shall
have power to adopt local laws to authorize:

a. The acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement,
equipment, maintenance, financing subject to the provisions of paragraph
f of this subdivision, or operation of one or more mass transportation
projects. Such municipal corporation shall have power to occupy or use
any of the streets, roads, highways, avenues, parks or public places of
such municipal corporation therefor and to agree upon and contract for
the terms and conditions thereof.

b. The making of a contract or contracts for the acquisition by
purchase of all or any part of the property, plant and equipment of an
existing mass transportation facility actually used and useful for the
convenience of the public.

c. The making of a contract or contracts with any person, firm or
corporation, including a public authority, for the equipment,
maintenance or operation of a mass transportation facility owned,
acquired, constructed, reconstructed or improved by it.

d. The making of a contract or contracts for a fair and reasonable
consideration for mass transportation services to be rendered to the
public by a privately-owned or operated mass transportation facility.
Such power shall include but not be limited to the power to appropriate
funds for payment of such consideration, and to provide that all or part
of such consideration shall be in the form of capital equipment to be
furnished to and used and maintained by such privately-owned or operated
mass transportation facility.

e. The making of unconditional grants of money or property to a public
authority providing mass transportation services to all or part of such
municipal corporation in order to assist such public authority in
meeting its capital or operating expenses, provided such money does not
consist of borrowed funds and such property has not been acquired by the
use of borrowed funds. Such purpose is hereby declared to be county,
city, town or village purposes, respectively. The provisions of this
paragraph are intended as enabling legislation only and shall not be
interpreted as implying that absent their enactment a municipal
corporation would lack the power to authorize any such grant; but they
shall not be interpreted as an authorization to public authorities
generally to accept such grants. The acceptance of any such grant by a
public authority shall not operate to make such authority an agency of
the municipal corporation making the grant.

f. The making of a contract with the metropolitan transportation
authority, by itself or with one or more other municipal corporations to
assist the authority in meeting its capital or operating expenses in
providing mass transportation services of benefit to all or part of such
municipal corporation, including undertaking a mass transportation
capital project in or near the municipal corporation. Such a municipal
corporation may, according to the terms of the contract with the
authority, establish, levy and collect taxes, assessments, and/or
charges and may conditionally or unconditionally grant or pledge a
portion of its revenues allocated according to subdivision e of this
section. Such municipal corporation may designate mass transportation
capital project districts that a municipal corporation finds, after
conducting a public hearing, will benefit from an identified mass
transportation capital project. Upon designating such a district, the
municipal corporation may allocate a portion of its revenues from the
district according to terms it designs or has agreed to by contract. The
municipal corporation may, in allocating and collecting revenues from
the district, make use of one or more methods to capture the value
created by a mass transportation capital project, including, but not
limited to:

(i) tax increment financing, meaning the allocation of an increment of
property tax revenues in excess of the amount levied at the time prior
to planning of a mass transportation capital project;

(ii) a special transportation assessment imposed upon benefited real
property in proportion to the benefit received by such property from a
mass transportation capital project, which shall not constitute a tax;

(iii) land value taxation, meaning the allocation of an increment of
tax revenues gained from levying taxes on the assessed value of taxable
land at a higher rate than the improvements, as defined in subdivision
twelve of section one hundred two of the real property tax law; and

(iv) some combination of the above or other methods of gaining
revenues that the municipal corporation is empowered to use, provided
that the total amount of all taxes, assessments, fees, charges, or rates
levied on each parcel or lot under this section shall be limited to a
proportionate amount as near as possible to the actual benefit which
each lot or parcel will derive from the mass transportation capital
project; and

(v) for purposes of this paragraph the term municipal corporation
shall include only those cities, towns, villages and counties described
in section twelve hundred sixty-two of the public authorities law.

* NB Effective until April 1, 2025

* 1. To assure the provision of mass transportation services to the
public at adequate levels and at reasonable cost, every city, town,
village or county not wholly contained within a city, shall have power
to adopt local laws to authorize:

a. The acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement,
equipment, maintenance or operation of one or more mass transportation
projects. Such municipal corporation shall have power to occupy or use
any of the streets, roads, highways, avenues, parks or public places of
such municipal corporation therefor and to agree upon and contract for
the terms and conditions thereof.

b. The making of a contract or contracts for the acquisition by
purchase of all or any part of the property, plant and equipment of an
existing mass transportation facility actually used and useful for the
convenience of the public.

c. The making of a contract or contracts with any person, firm or
corporation, including a public authority, for the equipment,
maintenance or operation of a mass transportation facility owned,
acquired, constructed, reconstructed or improved by it.

d. The making of a contract or contracts for a fair and reasonable
consideration for mass transportation services to be rendered to the
public by a privately-owned or operated mass transportation facility.
Such power shall include but not be limited to the power to appropriate
funds for payment of such consideration, and to provide that all or part
of such consideration shall be in the form of capital equipment to be
furnished to and used and maintained by such privately-owned or operated
mass transportation facility.

e. The making of unconditional grants of money or property to a public
authority providing mass transportation services to all or part of such
municipal corporation in order to assist such public authority in
meeting its capital or operating expenses, provided such money does not
consist of borrowed funds and such property has not been acquired by the
use of borrowed funds. Such purpose is hereby declared to be county,
city, town or village purposes, respectively. The provisions of this
paragraph are intended as enabling legislation only and shall not be
interpreted as implying that absent their enactment a municipal
corporation would lack the power to authorize any such grant; but they
shall not be interpreted as an authorization to public authorities
generally to accept such grants. The acceptance of any such grant by a
public authority shall not operate to make such authority an agency of
the municipal corporation making the grant.

* NB Effective April 1, 2025

2. The acquisition, construction, reconstruction, or improvement of
any mass transportation capital project by a county, city, town or
village pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the
jurisdiction of the commissioner of transportation except as provided in
sections sixty-eight, sixty-nine, sixty-nine-a, sixty-nine-b,
sixty-nine-c, and sixty-nine-d of the transportation corporations law.

3. The powers granted by this section shall be in addition to and not
in substitution for any other power to acquire, construct, reconstruct,
improve, equip, maintain or operate any mass transportation capital
project.