§ 489-ccc. Functions, powers and duties of the board; annual
designation of exemption areas and restricted commercial uses. 1. The
members of the board shall have the following functions, powers and
duties:

(a) to receive and review applications for certificates of eligibility
pursuant to this title and pursuant to any local law authorized by
chapter seven hundred seventy-two of the laws of nineteen hundred
sixty-six, containing provisions analogous to subsection four-d thereof;

(b) to make findings and determinations on the qualification of
applicant for certificates of eligibility pursuant to this title and
pursuant to any local law authorized by chapter seven hundred
seventy-two of the laws of nineteen hundred sixty-six, containing
provisions analogous to subdivision (f) of subsection one hundred one
thereof;

(c) to issue certificates of eligibility and amendments thereto;

(d) to make recommendations to the tax commission on the termination
of a tax exemption pursuant to section four hundred eighty-nine-ggg of
this title;

(e) to designate annually, pursuant to subdivision two of this
section, areas in which exemptions for commercial construction or
reconstruction shall be granted as of right, areas from which such
exemptions shall be excluded and commercial uses for which the granting
of exemptions shall be restricted; and

(f) to make and promulgate rules and regulations to carry out the
purposes of the board.

2. (a) Not later than October first of each year the board shall
publish a notice at least once in the official paper or a newspaper of
general circulation in the city setting forth: (i) the proposed
boundaries of areas in which commercial construction or reconstruction
shall be granted exemptions as of right, proposed boundaries of areas
from which exemptions for commercial construction or reconstruction
shall be excluded and proposed restricted commercial uses; and (ii) the
date, not earlier than ten nor later than thirty days following the
publication of such notice, on which the board will hold a public
hearing to hear all persons interested in the designation of such
boundaries and restricted commercial uses.

(b) Not earlier than ten nor later than thirty days following the
conclusion of the public hearing provided for in paragraph (a) of this
subdivision, the board shall designate the boundaries of areas in which
exemptions for commercial construction or reconstruction shall be
granted as of right and areas from which such exemptions shall be
excluded and shall also designate restricted commercial uses. Such
designations shall be made upon the following determinations:

(i) With respect to areas in which exemption for commercial
construction or reconstruction shall be granted as of right, the board
shall determine that market conditions in each area are such that
exemptions are required to attract commercial construction or
reconstruction to the area and that attracting such construction or
reconstruction, and the granting of exemptions therefor, are in the
public interest. In making such determination, the board may consider,
among other factors, that the area is experiencing economic distress or
is characterized by an unusually large number of vacant, underutilized,
unsuitable or substandard structures, or by other substandard,
unsanitary, deteriorated or deteriorating conditions, with or without
tangible blight, or that commercial development in the area will be
beneficial to the city's economy.

(ii) With respect to areas from which exemptions for commercial
construction or reconstruction are to be excluded, the board shall
determine that market conditions in each area are such that exemptions
are not required to attract commercial construction or reconstruction to
the area, or that it is not in the public interest to grant exemptions
for commercial construction or reconstruction in the area. No
applications for exemptions for commercial construction or
reconstruction shall be accepted from such areas.

(iii) With respect to restricted commercial uses, the board shall
determine that it is not in the public interest to grant exemptions for
such uses unless the board further determines that in certain areas
designated pursuant to this subdivision, such uses will have an
especially positive impact on the area's economy. All applications for
exemptions for restricted commercial uses shall be determined pursuant
to paragraphs (b) and (c) of subdivision two of section four hundred
eighty-nine-eee of this title.

(c) Designations made pursuant to this subdivision shall be effective
on the first day of January of each year.

3. So far as practicable and subject to the approval of the mayor, the
services of all other city departments and agencies shall be made
available by their respective heads to the board for the carrying out of
the functions stated in this title. The head of any department or agency
shall furnish information in the possession of such department or agency
when the board, after consultation with the mayor, so requests.