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A07479 Summary:

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A07479 Floor Votes:

A07479 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7479--A
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                       May 6, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. COOK, ROBERTS, CAMARA, REILLY, HOOPER, P. RIVERA,
          SCARBOROUGH, JAFFEE, MILLMAN, GOTTFRIED -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of
          A.  BRENNAN, GLICK, LUPARDO, MAGEE, McENENY, PEOPLES-STOKES, TITONE --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Agriculture --  recommitted
          to  the  Committee  on Agriculture in accordance with Assembly Rule 3,

          sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN  ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to expand-
          ing the powers and duties of the office of community gardens
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1.  Article 2-C of the agriculture and markets law is amended
     2  by adding a new section 31-f to read as follows:
     3    § 31-f. Legislative  findings.    The  legislature  hereby  finds  and
     4  declares  that community gardens provide significant health, educational
     5  and social benefits to the general  public,  especially  for  those  who
     6  reside in urban and suburban areas of this state. Furthermore, it is the

     7  articulated  public policy of this state to promote and foster growth in
     8  the number of community gardens and the acreage  of  such  gardens.  The
     9  community  garden  movement  continues  to provide low cost food that is
    10  fresh and nutritious for those who may be unable to readily afford fresh
    11  fruits and vegetables for themselves or their families, promotes  public
    12  health  and healthier individual lifestyles by encouraging better eating
    13  habits and increased  physical  activity  by  growing  their  own  food,
    14  fosters  the  retention  and  expansion  of open spaces, particularly in
    15  urban environments, enhances urban and  suburban  environmental  quality
    16  and  community  beautification,  provides inexpensive community building

    17  activities, recreation and physical exercise for all age groups,  estab-
    18  lishes  a  safe  place for community involvement and helps to reduce the
    19  incidence of crime, engenders a closer relationship between urban  resi-
    20  dents,  nature and their local environment, and fosters green job train-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11073-04-2
        A. 7479--A                          2
 
     1  ing and ecological education at all levels. It is therefore  the  intent
     2  of  the  legislature and the purpose of this article to foster growth in

     3  the number, size and scope of community gardens in this state by encour-
     4  aging  state  agencies,  municipalities  and  private  parties  in their
     5  efforts to promote community gardens.
     6    § 2. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of  section  31-g  of  the  agriculture  and
     7  markets  law,  as  added by chapter 862 of the laws of 1986, are amended
     8  and a new subdivision 4-a is added to read as follows:
     9    2. "Garden" shall mean a piece or parcel of land appropriate  for  the
    10  cultivation  of  herbs,  fruits,  flowers,  nuts, honey, poultry for egg
    11  production,  maple  syrup,  ornamental  or  vegetable  plants,   nursery
    12  products, or vegetables.
    13    3.  "Municipality"  shall mean any county, town, village, city, school

    14  district [or], board of cooperative educational services, other  special
    15  district, or any office or agency thereof.
    16    4-a.    "State  agency" shall mean any department, bureau, commission,
    17  board, public authority or other agency  of  the  state,  including  any
    18  public  benefit  corporation  of  which  any  member  of  whose board is
    19  appointed by the governor.
    20    § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 31-h of the agriculture and markets law,
    21  as added by chapter 862 of the laws of  1986,  is  amended  to  read  as
    22  follows:
    23    2. The duties of the office shall include:
    24    a.  Upon  request,  the  office  shall assist in the identification of
    25  vacant public land within a  given  geographical  location  and  provide
    26  information  regarding  agency jurisdiction and the relative suitability

    27  of such lands for community gardening purposes;
    28    b. Serve as a coordinator on behalf of interested community groups and
    29  the appropriate state or local agencies to facilitate the use of  vacant
    30  public  lands  for  community  garden  use for not less than one growing
    31  season by receiving and forwarding with recommendation completed  appli-
    32  cations to the appropriate state or municipal agency. Provided, further,
    33  that  the office may develop a single recommended application form to be
    34  used by community groups when applying  to  state  agencies  or  munici-
    35  palities for use of vacant public land for community garden purposes;
    36    c.  Support  and  encourage  contact between community garden programs
    37  already in existence and those programs in the initial stages of  devel-
    38  opment; [and]

    39    d. Seek and provide such assistance, to the extent funds or grants may
    40  become available, for the purposes identified in this article[.];
    41    e.  Assist, support and encourage contact and cooperation between, and
    42  the cooperative sharing of resources between  community  garden  groups,
    43  school  garden  programs  and  local voluntary food assistance programs,
    44  such as community food pantries, soup kitchens, and other community  and
    45  not-for-profit organizations that provide or distribute food to the poor
    46  and  disadvantaged.  Such  support  can include the provision of surplus
    47  community garden food or  other  agricultural  products  to  such  local
    48  voluntary food assistance programs; and

    49    f.  Assist,  support  and  encourage communication, and the sharing of
    50  resources between  community  garden  organizations  and  the  New  York
    51  Harvest  For  New  York  Kids Week program established by the department
    52  pursuant to subdivision five-b of section sixteen of this  chapter,  and
    53  individual farm-to-school and school garden programs.
    54    §  4.  Section  31-i  of  the agriculture and markets law, as added by
    55  chapter 862 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as follows:
        A. 7479--A                          3
 
     1    § 31-i. Use of state or municipally owned land for community  gardens.
     2  1.  Any  state  agency[,  department, board, public benefit corporation,

     3  public authority] or [commission] municipality with title in fee or of a
     4  lesser interest to vacant public land may permit community organizations
     5  to  use  such lands for community gardening purposes. Such use of vacant
     6  public land may be conditioned on the community organization  possessing
     7  liability insurance and accepting liability for injury or damage result-
     8  ing from use of the vacant public land for community gardening purposes.
     9    2.  State  agencies and municipalities which have received an applica-
    10  tion for use of public lands for community garden purposes shall respond
    11  to the applicant within thirty days and make a final determination with-
    12  in one hundred eighty days.
    13    § 5. The agriculture and markets  law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    14  section 31-j to read as follows:

    15    §  31-j. Community gardens task force. 1. The commissioner may convene
    16  a community gardens task force to identify and develop ways to encourage
    17  state agencies, municipalities and  private  parties  to  establish  and
    18  expand community gardens and the activities conducted by such gardens.
    19    2.  The  task  force  shall be chaired by the commissioner, or by such
    20  officer or employee of the department as  shall  be  designated  by  the
    21  commissioner.  The  membership  of  the task force may include represen-
    22  tation from appropriate state agencies and members that represent exist-
    23  ing  community  gardens,  counties,  cities,  towns,  villages,   school
    24  districts,  other  special use districts, public authorities and cooper-

    25  ative extension services.
    26    3. The commissioner, may request the assistance of state  agencies  to
    27  carry out the work of the task force.
    28    4.  (a)  The  goals of the task force may include, but are not limited
    29  to, the study, evaluation and development  of  recommendations:  (i)  to
    30  encourage  the establishment and expansion of community gardens by state
    31  agencies, municipal governments and private parties, (ii)  to  encourage
    32  cooperation  between  the activities and operations of community gardens
    33  and provision  of  donated  food  to  local  voluntary  food  assistance
    34  programs for the poor and disadvantaged, and (iii) to increase the bene-
    35  fits  that community gardens may provide to the local community in which

    36  they are located.
    37    (b) In achieving the goals of the  task  force,  the  task  force  may
    38  consider  recommendations that: (i) encourage the execution of conserva-
    39  tion easements by state agencies, municipalities or private  parties  to
    40  establish  or  protect community gardens, (ii) encourage the creation of
    41  mechanisms to transfer development rights to protect  community  gardens
    42  or encourage the donation or lease of lands for community gardens, (iii)
    43  development  of model zoning codes, local land use laws or other munici-
    44  pal policies that could encourage  the  establishment  or  retention  of
    45  community  gardens,  and  (iv)  any  other activity to achieve the goals
    46  deemed appropriate by the task force according to the provisions of this

    47  article.
    48    § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    49  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.