§ 489-cccccc. Eligibility for benefits. 1. Time limit for meeting
minimum required expenditure. Applicants must meet the appropriate
minimum required expenditure as provided in subdivision three of section
four hundred eighty-nine-bbbbbb of this title relating to the abatement
for which such project qualifies as follows:

(a) No later than four years from the date of issuance of the first
building permit, or if no permit was required, the commencement of
construction.

(b) Mixed use properties. Expenditures for construction work related
to the common areas and systems of such property shall be allocated
under rules promulgated by the department between the residential,
nonresidential and retail, if any, portions of the property.

2. Time limit for completion of construction. Construction of
buildings or structures for which benefits have been approved shall be
completed no later than five years from the date of issuance of the
first building permit, or if no permit was required, the commencement of
construction. Failure to meet this requirement shall result in
termination of any inflation protection provided under subdivision three
of section four hundred eighty-nine-bbbbbb of this title for any tax
year that begins following the date by which completion of construction
is required under this paragraph.

3. Non-permissible uses. To be eligible for benefits, the property may
not be used for a non-permissible purpose. Accordingly, no abatement
benefits under this title shall be granted for work to be performed on
property to be used for the following purposes:

(a) Residential. No abatement benefits under this title shall be
granted for construction work for residential purposes, or for work on a
structure or building where twenty percent or more of the total rentable
square footage of such property is or will be dedicated to residential
purposes, provided however that where less than five percent of a
property's rentable square footage is or will be dedicated to
residential purposes, that use shall be considered de minimus and shall
not be considered in determining benefits under this title.

(i) For purposes of this paragraph, "property" means the real property
contained by an individual tax lot.

(ii) Notwithstanding subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, where a
building or structure is owned in condominium form, and an application
for benefits under this title includes more than one property in the
same condominium, then for purposes of this paragraph, the five percent
and twenty percent of the rentable square footage shall be determined
based on the aggregate usage of all such properties.

(iii) Hotel uses, as described in subdivision four of this section,
shall not be considered residential.

(b) Utility property. No abatement benefits under this title shall be
provided for utility property.

(c) Restricted activity. No benefits pursuant to this title shall be
granted for construction work on property any part of which is to be
used for a restricted activity.

(d) Self-storage facilities. For purposes of this title, "self-storage
facility" shall mean any real property or a portion thereof that is
designed and used for the purpose of occupying storage space by
occupants who are to have access thereto for the purpose of storing and
removing personal property, pursuant to subdivision one of section one
hundred eighty-two of the lien law. No benefits shall be granted
pursuant to this title for construction work on real property where any
portion of such property is to be used as a self-storage facility.

4. Hotel uses. Benefits shall be available for commercial construction
work or renovation construction work on a building or structure for the
property's square footage used to provide lodging and support services
for transient guests, provided the applicant is not otherwise
disqualified pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision five of this
section, or section four hundred eighty-nine-eeeeee or four hundred
eighty-nine-iiiiii of this title.

5. Filing requirements. (a) Time to file. (i) Preliminary application.
(A) Building permit. No benefits pursuant to this title shall be granted
for any construction work unless the applicant filed a preliminary
application for such benefits on or before the date of issuance of the
first building permit for such work. This requirement may be satisfied
where the applicant's architect, contractor or other representative
authorized to file the application for such building permit files with
the department on behalf of the applicant a preliminary application
containing such information as the department shall prescribe by rule.

(B) No building permit required. Where construction work does not
require a building permit, a notarized letter from the project's
architect or engineer notifying the department of this fact shall be
filed within thirty calendar days of the commencement of construction.
In such circumstance, such letter shall also satisfy the requirement of
a preliminary application if the letter contains all of the information
required for a preliminary application under rules prescribed by the
department.

(ii) Final application. Applicants shall file a final application for
benefits no later than one year from the date of issuance of the first
building permit for construction work, or, where construction work does
not require a building permit, no later than one year from the date of
commencement of construction. Abatement benefits shall not be granted
until the applicant files the final application. If the final
application is not filed within such one year period, abatement benefits
shall not be granted until such application is filed, and the department
may delay the granting of such benefits, at the department's discretion,
to investigate the reason for the late filing.

(iii) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the time
limit to file a final application for benefits as specified in
subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph shall not apply to brand-new
construction from the ground up located on property purchased from the
city of New York where such property which is the site of the new
construction was purchased from the city of New York for the purposes of
an eligible development pursuant to this article and where the sales
agreement with the city of New York for such property includes a
restriction preventing the sale or transfer of such property for a
period of five years or more and where the first valuation and
assessment for the purposes of property taxes occurred within that
period of restriction from sale, provided the project meets the other
requirements of this title.

(b) Who may file for benefits. An applicant shall be:

(i) obligated to pay real property tax on the property, either by
virtue of ownership or contract; or

(ii) the record owner or lessee of property that is exempt from real
property taxation who has entered into an agreement to sell or lease
such property to another person. Such applicant shall be a co-applicant
with such owner or lessee.

(c) Applicant affidavit. No benefits pursuant to this title shall be
granted for any construction work unless the applicant provides,
together with the final application, an affidavit setting forth the
following information:

(i) a statement that within the seven years immediately preceding the
date of the preliminary application for benefits, neither the applicant,
nor any person owning a substantial interest in the property as defined
in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, nor any officer, director or
general partner of the applicant or such person was finally adjudicated
by a court of competent jurisdiction to have violated section two
hundred thirty-five of the real property law or any section of article
one hundred fifty of the penal law or any similar arson law of another
state with respect to any building, or finally adjudicated by a
competent authority, agency, or a court of competent jurisdiction to
have violated any state, city, or municipal business regulations or
ordinances related to payment of taxes, payment of wages, or fraudulent
representation to governmental entities, or was an officer, director or
general partner of a person at the time such person was finally
adjudicated to have violated such state, city, or municipal laws,
business regulations, and ordinances related to payment of taxes,
payment of wages, or fraudulent representation to governmental entities;
and

(ii) a statement setting forth any pending charges alleging violation
of section two hundred thirty-five of the real property law or any
section of article one hundred fifty of the penal law or any similar
arson law of another jurisdiction with respect to any building and
pending charges alleging violation of state, city, or municipal business
regulations or ordinances related to payment of taxes, payment of wages,
or fraudulent representation to governmental entities by the applicant
or any person owning a substantial interest in the property as defined
in subparagraph (iii) of this paragraph, or any officer, director or
general partner of the applicant or such person.

(iii) "Substantial interest" as used in this subdivision shall mean
ownership and control of an interest of ten percent or more in a
property or any person owning a property.

(iv) If any person described in the statement required by subparagraph
(ii) of this paragraph is finally adjudicated by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be guilty of any charge listed in such statement, the
recipient shall cease to be eligible for benefits pursuant to this title
and shall pay with interest any taxes for which an abatement was claimed
pursuant to this title.

6. Requirement to file income and expense statements. No benefits
pursuant to this title shall be granted for any property in a city that
requires income and expense statements to be filed for income producing
property, unless income and expense statements are filed for the
property with respect to the tax year as to which the assessment roll
described in paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section four hundred
eighty-nine-bbbbbb of this title applies, and all subsequent tax years
up to and including the tax year on which the assessment roll described
in paragraph (c) of subdivision two of section four hundred
eighty-nine-bbbbbb of this title applies.

7. Co-application with public entity. A co-applicant with a public
entity may be eligible for abatement benefits, provided that for any
period for which the property is exempt from real property tax because
it is owned or controlled by a public entity, no benefits shall be
available to such recipient under this title. Such recipient may receive
benefits under this title when the property is no longer eligible for an
exemption as follows: (a) No benefits under this title shall be provided
during the period of exemption; (b) during such period of exemption, the
years of the benefit period applicable to the project provided in
subdivision three of section four hundred eighty-nine-bbbbbb of this
title shall not be tolled, but shall run in accordance with the
applicable schedule provided therein; and (c) the recipient shall,
starting with the date the exemption ceases, and continuing until the
abatement benefit period expires, receive the abatement benefits to
which such recipient is entitled in the tax year that corresponds to the
year of the benefit period provided in subdivision three of section four
hundred eighty-nine-bbbbbb of this title.