Requires certain provisions be included in any procurement or agreement prior to disposing of any asset owned, leased or otherwise controlled on or in the immediate vicinity of the Lefferts Boulevard Bridge.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
724
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. D. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT in relation to requiring certain provisions be included in any
procurement or agreement prior to disposing of any asset owned, leased
or otherwise controlled on or in the immediate vicinity of the
Lefferts Boulevard Bridge
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby finds and
2 declares that the Lefferts Boulevard Bridge is an essential almost 100-
3 year-old structure of historical significance in Kew Gardens, Queens
4 that has been owned by the MTA/Long Island Rail Road since 1925. The
5 bridge has been an integral and essential focal point for community life
6 in Kew Gardens for the past century. The bridge has long served critical
7 and multiple purposes in the community-as a hub of business and culture,
8 and as a pristine example of "Ponte Vecchio" style architecture which is
9 rare and brilliant, particularly in New York City. The structure itself
10 has intrinsically historical significance and currently is under review
11 by the office of parks, recreation and historic preservation for desig-
12 nation on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places
13 Programs. In addition, the bridge is home to a series of longstanding
14 local businesses, many of which have served the community, and contrib-
15 uted substantial revenues to the MTA, for multiple generations, while
16 hard at work in their humble storefronts on top of the bridge. In 2018
17 the bridge was saved from demolition by an earnest and professional
18 partnership between the MTA, LIRR, the businesses and the concerned
19 community. Stabilization of the structure was undertaken and now reha-
20 bilitation is contemplated yet the metes and bounds are unclear. This
21 legislation will ensure that the character of the singularly important
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05139-01-1
A. 724 2
1 bridge and its footprint are protected and that the bridge-based busi-
2 nesses are given a fair opportunity to continue, post rehabilitation.
3 § 2. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, prior to disposing of
4 any asset owned, leased or otherwise controlled on or in the immediate
5 vicinity of the Lefferts Boulevard Bridge, the metropolitan transporta-
6 tion authority, long island rail road, or any of their subsidiaries
7 shall comply with subdivisions 1, 2, and 3 and paragraphs a and b of
8 subdivision 6 of section 2897 of the public authorities law and also
9 include the following provisions in any procurement or agreement related
10 to such disposal:
11 (a) Offering a right of first refusal to match the responsible bid
12 considered most advantageous to the state to any current tenants or
13 lessees or sublessees after fair market value is determined or public
14 advertisement for bids has concluded;
15 (b) Limiting potential future uses of the asset being disposed of to
16 preserving the use, height, bulk or floor area ratio, and parking for
17 the term of any lease or sublease entered into pursuant to the disposal.
18 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
