§ 502. Definitions. As used in this article and article fifteen-A of
this chapter, the following terms shall mean:

1. "Governing body." (a) In a city, the board of aldermen, common
council, commission or other body vested by its charter or other law
with jurisdiction to enact ordinances or local laws, except that in a
city having a population of one million or more the term "governing
body" shall, as to such city, mean the council or mayor, as appropriate,
who shall act pursuant to this article in accordance with the powers
vested in them by the charter of such city, or by other law; (b) in a
town, the town board; (c) in a village, the board of trustees.

2. "Municipality." A city, town or village.

3. "Urban renewal." A program established, conducted and planned by a
municipality for the redevelopment, through clearance, replanning,
reconstruction, rehabilitation, and concentrated code enforcement, or a
combination of these and other methods, of substandard and insanitary
areas of such municipalities, and for recreational and other facilities
incidental or appurtenant thereto, pursuant to and in accordance with
article eighteen of the constitution and this article, including those
programs authorized by and to effectuate the purposes of title one of
the housing act of nineteen hundred forty-nine and section three hundred
fourteen of title three of the housing act of nineteen hundred
fifty-four, whether such programs and contracts pursuant thereto were in
process on or before June sixteenth, nineteen hundred sixty-eight and
all federal laws amendatory and supplementary thereto. The terms
"clearance, replanning, reconstruction and rehabilitation" shall include
renewal, redevelopment, conservation, restoration or improvement or any
combination thereof as well as relocation activities and the testing and
reporting of methods and techniques for the arrest, prevention and
elimination of slums and blight; the term "program" may mean or include
and be interchangeable with the term "project."

4. "Substandard or insanitary area." The term "substandard or
insanitary area" shall mean and be interchangeable with a slum,
blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating area, or an area which has a
blighting influence on the surrounding area, whether residential,
non-residential, commercial, industrial, vacant, or land in highways,
railway and subway tracks, bridge and tunnel approaches and entrances,
or other similar facilities, over which 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 the elimination of the
blighting influence, or any combination thereof and may include land,
buildings or improvements, or air rights and concomitant easements or
other rights of user necessary for the use and development of such air
rights, not in themselves substandard or insanitary, the inclusion of
which is deemed necessary for the effective undertaking of one or more
urban renewal programs.

5. "Agency." The officer, board, commission, department, or other
agency of the municipality designated by the governing body, or as
otherwise provided by law, to carry out the functions vested in the
agency under this article or delegated to the agency by the governing
body in order to carry out the purpose and provisions of this article.
The term "agency" shall include a corporate governmental agency
established pursuant to article fifteen-A of this chapter.

6. "Comprehensive community plan." The term "comprehensive community
plan" shall mean and be interchangeable with "master plan" or "general
plan."

7. "Urban renewal plan." A plan for an urban renewal project, which
shall conform to the comprehensive community plan for the development of
the municipality as a whole and which shall be consistent with local
objectives. Such urban renewal plan shall include but shall not be
limited to: a statement of proposed land uses; proposed land
acquisition, demolition and removal of structures; proposed acquisition
of air rights and concomitant easements or other rights of user
necessary for the use and development of such air rights; proposed
methods or techniques of urban renewal; proposed public, semi-public,
private or community facilities or utilities; a statement as to proposed
new codes and ordinances and amendments to existing codes and ordinances
as are required or necessary to effectuate the plan; proposed program of
code enforcement; a proposed time schedule for the effectuation of such
plan, and such additional statements or documentation as the agency may
deem appropriate.

8. "Commission." The planning commission or other analogous body or,
if there be none, the board of estimate or other governing body of the
municipality.

9. "Urban renewal area." An area designated by the governing body, or
by the commission where so authorized to act by the governing body,
pursuant to section five hundred four of this article as appropriate for
urban renewal, except that in municipalities having a population of one
million or more, such designation shall be made only after a public
hearing held by the governing body or the commission, as the case may
be.

10. "State capital grant." A capital grant or subsidy paid to a
municipality or an agency established pursuant to the provisions of
article fifteen-A of this chapter with monies appropriated therefor from
the general fund of the state and not to be applied to the payment of
principal and interest on any state loan made or contracted to be made
pursuant to this article.

11. "Commissioner." The commissioner of housing and community renewal
of the state of New York.