§ 1172. The New York state HOME program. 1. Agreements. (a) Within
the limit of HOME program funds, the division is hereby authorized to
take administrative actions necessary to comply with HUD requirements
and consistent with the provisions of this article in order to enter
into agreements with applicants to provide grants and loans which such
applicants shall use to finance projects that qualify under HOME
regulations as eligible activities.

(b) The division shall not enter into an agreement under this article
except with an eligible applicant which has submitted an application
pursuant to a notification of fund availability and a request for
proposals issued by the division.

(c) The division and the applicant shall execute a grant or loan
agreement which shall set forth the terms and conditions under which the
grant or loan will be provided.

2. Notice of fund availability. The division shall issue its initial
notice of fund availability and request for proposals within forty-five
working days of the effective date of this article. No more than sixty
percent of the HOME funds shall be available for reservation in such
initial funding cycle. No later than sixteen months from the effective
date of this article, the division shall issue a second request for
proposals and make available those funds not committed during the
initial request for proposals, including funds recaptured by or
otherwise made available to the division by the federal government under
the HOME program. Additional requests for proposals shall be issued at
the discretion of the division but in any event no later than sixty days
following the availability of additional federal funds.

3. Application procedures. (a) Documentation determining eligibility.
The division shall provide each applicant with a list of documents that
must be included in the application before the application can be
entered into the competitive process for the awarding of grants and
loans. The division shall also include with such list of documents a
detailed description of the review and selection procedures criteria
utilized by the division pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision.
Within ten working days after the last day for receipt of applications,
the division shall notify applicants if and how the application is
incomplete and provide ten working days to complete such application.
Documentation requirements shall include but not necessarily be limited
to: (1) a feasibility study and market analysis of the proposal; (2) a
proposed project financing and leveraging plan; (3) a schedule, with
specific dates, of the expected project commencement date, expected
completion date, and if appropriate, the anticipated schedule for
closing and occupancy of units; (4) a description of the applicant's
qualifications and previous experience; (5) a statement by the applicant
as to the status of all public approvals and clearances required to
undertake the project; (6) a plan as to how applicants will ensure
compliance with all federally mandated regulations throughout the
regulatory term; (7) a statement describing the amount of and source of
any matching contributions required for the proposed project and an
opinion of counsel that funds proposed to be used as matching
contributions are legally available to be used as proposed; and (8) a
statement of need and how the project will further goals delineated
within the state CHAS.

(b) The review and selection procedure. Within forty-five working days
of the effective date of this article, the division shall develop,
consistent with federal law and regulations, a review procedure and
selection criteria for evaluating applications, which shall include
design, underwriting, legal and program requirements. Such procedure and
selection criteria shall be provided to applicants with the application.
Such selection criteria shall include but not be limited to the
following factors: (1) the extent to which the proposal will serve a
demonstrated need; (2) the degree to which the proposal leverages
private investment or other funding sources; (3) the likelihood of
successful project completion, including consideration of the submitted
market analysis, the prior experience of the applicant, and the
viability of the submitted completion schedule; and (4) type of
assistance requested.

4. Selection for award and notification requirements. The division
shall base the awarding of grants and loans subject to the availability
of funds upon the competitive review and selection procedure described
in paragraph (b) of subdivision three of this section. Within eighty
working days following the last day for receipt of applications in
response to a request for proposals, the division shall notify all
applicants of its funding decisions.

(a) The division will notify, in writing, all applicants who were not
selected for funding of the reasons why the proposal was not funded,
including the design, underwriting, legal or program deficiencies,
deficiencies of any documents and/or the basis upon which the
application was determined to be ineligible for funding. Until the
issuance of a subsequent notice of fund availability, applicants not
selected for funding due solely to the non-availability of federal funds
under the notice of fund availability shall remain eligible for
selection for funding under such notice of fund availability in the
event that unused federal funds become available for reallocation.

(b) The division shall provide each applicant selected for funding
with a list of conditions that must be met prior to entering into a
contract pursuant to this article. Within fifteen working days of
receipt by the division of all documents in satisfaction of the list,
the division shall notify the applicant of the sufficiency or
insufficiency of the documents. After satisfaction by the applicant of
all conditions required by the division prior to entering into a
contract, the division shall enter into the contract within forty-five
working days of satisfaction of such conditions. Applications which are
not selected for funding must be resubmitted by the applicant for
consideration under subsequent notices of funding availability.

5. Distribution of funds. Eighty percent of the funds available
hereunder after deducting the set asides mandated by NAHA for community
housing development organizations, shall be reserved for projects
located within non-participating jurisdictions, provided however, that
such reservation may be less than eighty percent where, following a
notice of funding availability and request for proposals, the division
has made a written finding that (i) applications, except those not
selected for funding pursuant to subdivision four of this section, for
projects in non-participating jurisdictions will not totally utilize the
remaining available reserved funds and (ii) such funds are subject to
recapture by HUD pursuant to federal HOME regulations within one hundred
eighty days.

6. Monitoring and review. The division shall provide for the review,
at periodic intervals not less than annually, of the performance of
applicants receiving grants or loans pursuant to this article. Such
review shall, among other things, be for the purposes of ascertaining
the conformity to agreement provisions, and adherence to federal HOME
regulations. Agreements entered into pursuant to this article may be
terminated and funds may be withheld or recaptured by the division upon
a finding of substantial nonperformance or breach by such applicant
under its agreement or for failure to adhere to federal NAHA
requirements.

7. Notwithstanding any contrary provision of law, on and after June
thirtieth, nineteen hundred ninety-five, the division shall not issue
notices of fund availability, accept applications or enter into any new
agreements pursuant to the provisions of this section.