NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7872
SPONSOR: Miller TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend chapter 548 of the laws of 2010,
amending the New York city charter relating to authorizing the city of
New York to sell to abutting property owners real property owned by such
city, consisting of tax lots that cannot be independently developed due
to the size, shape, configuration and topography of such lots and the
zoning regulations applicable thereto, in relation to the effectiveness
thereof
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: This bill amends section 384(b)4-a to extend
for an additional five years, the Mayor's ability to authorize the sale
of certain types of real property owned by the City which directly abut
property owners' lots without an auction or competitive bidding, which
are processes that would otherwise be required by the provisions of
section 384. Direct sales are authorized only in the limited circum-
stances where the property cannot be independently developed due to its
size, shape, configuration, topography or applicable zoning or a combi-
nation of such factors. Authorization for sale by the Mayor would be
restricted to sales of parcels that the Mayor determines are in the best
interests of the City, based upon a certification by the Commissioner of
Citywide Administrative Services that such parcels are economically
impracticable or infeasible to develop independently. Sales of such real
property would remain subject to approval pursuant to the Uniform Land
Use Review Procedure (ULURP), Section 197-c of the New York City Char-
ter. The current authorization for sale by the Mayor is set to expire on
December 31, 2015.
REASONS FOR SUPPORT: The Department of Citywide Administrative
Services (DCAS) of the City of New York has jurisdiction over various
limited market properties, which are properties that are economically
impracticable or infeasible to develop independently due to size, shape,
zoning, configuration and topography. The authorization under City Char-
ter section 384(b)4-a authorizes. DCAS, through its SAIL Away (Slivers,
Accessways and Interior Lots) Program to conduct direct sales to abut-
ting property owners of this type of property. These properties are not
appropriate for sale through the public auction or competitive bidding
processes that would be required under other existing laws, as they have
no independent utility. Future utilization of these lots is dependent on
and linked to the privately-owned adjacent lots. In some cases, portions
of these lots have been used by adjacent property owners for years.
This legislation would continue to provide authority for DCAS, for an
additional five years, to transfer these limited market properties
directly to private ownership without the necessity of a public auction
or sealed bidding process.
Eligibility to purchase such City-owned real property is determined to
be in the best interests of the City, at the discretion of the Mayor,
based on a certification by the Commissioner of Citywide Services that
independent development is economically impracticable or infeasible.
Sales are limited to abutting property owners or an entity comprised of
such owners. DCAS has identified hundreds of lots in all five boroughs,
that are potentially eligible for this program.
Additionally, such sale of said real property is subject to approval
pursuant to the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP), Section 197-c
of the New York City Charter.
Accordingly, the Mayor urges the earliest possible favorable consider-
ation of this proposal by the Legislature.
