§ 36-a. Additional powers of municipalities. In addition to any other
powers granted to a municipality by law, and notwithstanding the
provisions of any other law, a municipality acting by its local
legislative body shall have power:

1. To undertake, plan, develop, construct or enter into contracts for
the planning, development or construction of, or to own one or more
projects or any part thereof, or to engage in one or more of such
activities in respect to one or more projects or any part thereof. For
any of the purposes of this subdivision, a municipality may contract
either with a housing company incorporated under this article or with a
housing development fund company incorporated pursuant to article eleven
of this chapter.

2. (a) Acquire by purchase, gift, devise, lease, condemnation or
otherwise, in accordance with the provisions of the appropriate general,
special or local law applicable to the acquisition of real or personal
property by such municipality, real or personal property or any interest
therein necessary for or incidental to a project, including but not
limited to 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 a project; provided, however, that the acquisition of
any air rights over railroad tracks, rights of way or facilities and
easements or other rights of user necessary for the use and development
of such air rights are to be subject to the provision of section
fifty-one-a of the railroad law. The acquisition of real property
pursuant to a plan shall in every case be deemed to be and constitute a
continuous rather than separate takings.

(b) Property so acquired by a municipality shall be exempt from
taxation until sold, leased for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years
or otherwise disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this
section; provided however, that any such municipality shall have the
power and authority, with respect to such property, to pay or transfer,
out of funds available to it for the effectuating of such program or
project annual sums in lieu of taxes to any taxing jurisdiction
providing services to the project area, or to the part or portion
thereof within such taxing jurisdiction, in order that no such taxing
jurisdiction shall suffer an inequitable loss of revenue by virtue of
such project; provided, further, that the amount so paid or transferred
for any year with respect to any such property shall not exceed the
lesser of (1) the sum last levied for the benefit of such taxing
jurisdiction as an annual tax on such property prior to the time of its
acquisition for project purposes or (2) such amount as shall be approved
by the commissioner pursuant to such rules, regulations, limitations and
conditions as he may prescribe, as an eligible and proper charge against
such project. Upon the sale, lease or disposition of such property to
any person, firm or corporation, not entitled to an exemption from
taxation or entitled to only a partial tax exemption such property shall
immediately become subject to taxation in whole or in part, as the case
may be, and shall be taxed pro rata for the unexpired portion of the
taxable year.

As used in this paragraph, the term "taxing jurisdiction" means any
municipal corporation or district corporation, including any school
district or any special district, having the power to levy or collect
taxes and benefit assessments upon real property, or in whose behalf
such taxes or benefit assessments may be levied or collected.

3. To sell or lease for a term not exceeding ninety-nine years any
such project, or part thereof, at any stage before or at the date of or
after the physical completion of such project, to a company which will
undertake, plan, construct, own, manage or operate such project in
accordance with the plan and the provisions of this article. In the
event of a sale or lease of any such project prior to the physical
completion thereof, the municipality may agree to complete and may
complete construction and development of such project or cause the same
to be completed. Any such sale or lease may be made without public
bidding, public sale or public offering pursuant to such negotiated
contract, agreement or lease, containing such provisions, limitations,
requirements, terms and conditions, price or rental as the governing
body of the municipality may deem necessary or desirable to effectuate
the plan and the public policy and public purposes described in sections
eleven and eleven-a of this article.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of section thirty-three of this
article the real property in a project sold or leased as provided in
this section, when the transfer thereunder becomes effective, shall be
exempt from local and municipal taxes, other than assessments for local
improvements to such extent as may be granted by the local legislative
body of the municipality. The tax exemption shall operate and continue
so long as capital loans of the company to which such project shall have
been sold or leased or any additional loan the proceeds of which are
primarily used for the residential portion of the project, which
additional loan is approved by the commissioner or the supervising
agency are outstanding.

Notes, bonds, mortgages and other obligations of such a company are
declared to be issued for a public purpose and to be public
instrumentalities and, together with interest thereon, shall be exempt
from tax.

5. The provisions of section thirteen of this article requiring the
approval by the commissioner of housing of the persons incorporating a
limited-profit housing company and the provisions of section fourteen of
this article requiring the consent of the commissioner of housing to the
filing of the certificate of incorporation of such a company in the
office of the secretary of state and the amendment thereof shall not
apply to a corporation created pursuant to this article on a cooperative
basis for the purchase or lease of a project pursuant to this section;
nor shall any of the provisions of this article conferring upon the
commissioner of housing any powers in respect of limited-profit housing
companies apply to such a corporation. The application of this
subdivision shall be limited to corporations undertaking a project with
the aid of a municipal loan under this article.

6. A project or part of a project sold or leased to a housing company
pursuant to the provisions of this section thirty-six-a shall be owned
or operated by such housing company in accordance with the provisions of
this article and in accordance with an agreement of sale or lease to be
entered into by the municipality and such housing company. Each such
agreement shall contain, in addition to such other terms and conditions
as may lawfully be agreed upon by the parties, the following provisions,
which shall be subject to any approvals which may be required by this
article:

(a) Establishing a schedule of maximum rents which may be charged by
the housing company.

(b) Prescribing the method by which tenants are to be selected for the
project and criteria of tenant eligibility.

(c) Any such agreement of lease may provide for the transfer of title
of the real property so leased to the housing company at the end of the
term or lease.

7. A housing company shall have the power, in addition to any other
powers under this article to enter into and carry out the provisions of
any agreement authorized under this section or under section
twenty-three-a or twenty-three-b of this article, and to enter into and
carry out agreements in order to obtain insurance by the federal
government of a mortgage for the purpose of refinancing all or any part
of a mortgage loan pursuant to section twenty-three of this article.

8. Any project that received a tax exemption under this section may,
upon the expiration of the tax exemption period, be granted an
additional tax exemption period of up to fifty years, or until such time
as the project is no longer operated under the restrictions and for the
purposes set forth in this article, whichever is sooner.