Senator Stewart-Cousins Proposes Dissolving 118 Defunct Public Authorities

Legislation Cuts Wasteful Government Agencies and Increases Efficiency

(Albany)- Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (35th District- D/WF/I), ranking member of the Senate’s Local Government Committee, is urging passage of legislation (S.2845), which she sponsors, that would eliminate 118 inactive or defunct public authorities and agencies around the state.

The list of authorities is comprised of local urban renewal agencies; community development agencies; industrial development agencies and parking authorities which are currently authorized by State law, but were either never activated, or ceased to operate after a limited time. These authorities were confirmed to be defunct as the result of a year-long investigation by Senator Stewart-Cousins’ office. All localities affected by this legislation agreed to dissolution and none of these 118 authorities maintain any outstanding debt or obligations.

“It is important that we not allow these defunct public authorities to go unchecked because they needlessly increase the size of our government,” said Senator Stewart-Cousins. “Some of these authorities have been inactive for 30 years, and many were never even operational to begin with. This bill dissolves these inactive agencies, reduces the size of our government and provides a good step towards more efficient and cost-effective delivery of services.”

Senator Stewart-Cousins first introduced this legislation last year, as Chair of the Senate’s Local Government Committee, and this year, the measure gained sponsorship in the Assembly by Assemblyman George Latimer. The Senator has contacted Local Committee Chairman Jack Martins, to request that he help move the bill out of committee to the Senate floor for a full vote. In addition, Senator Stewart-Cousins has contacted her Senate colleagues whose districts include one or more of these 118 defunct public authorities, and encouraged them to sign on to the bill as co-sponsors.

“The elimination of these needless government entities would be a great start to the important work of cutting waste and inefficiency in New York State,” added Stewart-Cousins.

In a memo of support, the New York State Public Authorities Federation commented: “Most of the authorities eliminated through this legislation are not even functioning, yet inexplicably they remain in existence.” The memo continued, “New

York would be better served by reducing the number of quasi-public agencies as suggested by this bill.”

Of the 118 defunct authorities, nine are located in Westchester County, and one of which is the Tarrytown Urban Renewal Agency, which Village Administrator Michael Blau says was non-operational even before he became Administrator in 1987.

“It certainly makes sense to eliminate any subset of government that doesn’t serve any particular purpose at the local level, and the Urban Renewal Agency serves no purpose in the Village of Tarrytown,” said Tarrytown Village Administrator Michael Blau.

In March of 2010, the legislature passed the Public Authorities Accountability Act to bring greater accountability to New York’s over 700 public authorities. Since then, public authorities throughout the State have been subject to oversight by the Legislature, the Comptroller, the Attorney General and the New York State Authorities Budget Office.

Please see below for the complete list of the 118 defunct public authorities in New York State that would be dissolved in this legislation.

 

Defunct Public Authorities

 

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES

 

City of Beacon Industrial Development Agency

Town of Carmel Industrial Development Agency

Town of Deerpark Industrial Development Agency

Town of East Greenbush Industrial Development Agency

Town of East Hampton Industrial Development Agency

Village of Greenport Industrial Development Agency

Town of Horseheads Industrial Development Agency

Village of Horseheads Industrial Development Agency

Village of Keesesville Industrial Development Agency

Village of Lake Placid Industrial Development Agency

Town of Oyster Bay Industrial Development Agency

Town of Queensbury Industrial Development Agency

Town of Schodack Industrial Development Agency

 

URBAN RENEWAL AGENCIES; DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES, PARKING AUTHORITIES AND OTHER AUTHORITIES

 

Village of Albion Urban Renewal AgencyAlfred, Almond, Hornellsville Sewer Authority

Amsterdam Parking Authority

Village of Auburn Urban Renewal Agency

Baldwinsville Urban Renewal Agency

Beacon Community Development Agency

Town of Bethlehem Urban Renewal Agency

Town of Brookhaven Resource Recovery Agency

Broome County Resource Recovery Agency

Village of Canajoharie Urban Renewal Agency

City of Canandaigua Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Catskill Urban Renewal Agency

Chautauqua Sports, Recreation and Cultural Authority

Clayville Urban Renewal Agency

City of Cohoes Urban Renewal Agency

Town of Colonie Urban Renewal Agency

Dolgeville Community Development Agency

Dunkirk Urban Renewal Agency

Village of East Rochester Urban Renewal Agency

Ellenville Urban Renewal Agency

Elmira Parking Authority

County of Essex Solid Waste Management Authority

Fallsburg Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Fayetteville Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Fort Edward Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Fredonia Urban Renewal Agency

Fulton Parking Authority

Village of Geneseo Urban Renewal Agency

Gouverneur Urban Renewal Agency

Greater Troy Area Solid Waste Management Authority

Village of Greenport Urban Renewal Agency

Town of Guilderland Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Hamburg Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Hilton Urban Renewal Agency

Hornell Urban Renewal Agency

Hudson Parking Authority

Village of Hudson Falls Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Island Park Urban Renewal Agency

Ilion Urban Renewal Agency

Johnson City Parking Authority

Village of Johnson City Urban Renewal Agency

Lancaster Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Liberty Urban Renewal Agency

Lockport Urban Renewal Agency

City of Long Beach Parking Authority

Long Beach Urban Renewal Agency

Long Island Job Development Authority

Long Island Market Authority

Village of Lynbrook Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Lyons Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Massena Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Medina Urban Renewal Agency

Monroe Parking Authority

Mount Kisco Urban Renewal Agency

Multi-Town Solid Waste Management Authority

Village of New Hartford Urban Renewal AgencyVillage of New Paltz Urban Renewal Agency

City of New Rochelle Parking Authority

New Rochelle Urban Renewal Agency

Newark Urban Renewal Agency

Newburgh Community Development Agency

City of North Tonawanda Parking Authority

Norwich Urban Renewal Agency

Nyack Urban Renewal Agency

Ogdensburg Urban Renewal Agency

Oneonta Urban Renewal Agency

Town of Orangetown Urban Renewal Agency

Oswego Urban Renewal Agency

Owego Parking Authority

Palmyra Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Pawling Urban Renewal Agency

City of Peekskill Civic Center Authority

Peekskill Community Development Agency

Peekskill Parking Authority

Village of Penn Yan Urban Renewal Agency

Plattsburgh Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Port Jervis Parking Authority

Potsdam Urban Renewal Agency

City of Poughkeepsie Parking Authority

Rensselaer Urban Renewal Agency

Historic Rome Development Authority

Rome Parking AuthoritySalamanca Hospital District Authority

Salamanca Indian Lease Authority

Salamanca Urban Renewal Agency

Saranac Lake Urban Renewal Agency

Sloatsburg Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Spring Valley Parking Authority

Village of East Syracuse Urban Renewal Agency

Village of North Syracuse Urban Renewal Agency

Tarrytown Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Thomaston Urban Renewal Agency

Tuckahoe Urban Renewal Agency

Utica Parking Authority

Utica Transit Authority

Town of Walkill Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Walden Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Warwick Urban Renewal Agency

Washingtonville Urban Renewal Agency

Watertown Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Waverly Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Webster Urban Renewal Agency

Village of Whitehall Urban Renewal Agency

Woodridge Urban Renewal Agency

Yorktown Urban Renewal Agency