Provides for the powers and duties of the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Queens county, New York; reestablishes the powers and duties of the board of directors.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7946--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 2, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions -- recommitted to the
Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions 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 chapter 188 of the laws of 1978, relating to incorporat-
ing the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Queens
county, New York, in relation to providing for the powers and duties
of such society
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Chapter 188 of the laws of 1978, relating to incorporating
2 the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Queens county,
3 New York, section 6 as amended by chapter 18 of the laws of 1981, is
4 amended to read as follows:
5 Section 1. Incorporation; membership. A not-for-corporation by the
6 name of "Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose, Inc." is
7 hereby created. [It shall be composed of such persons eligible to
8 membership therein as hereinafter provided as shall (a) notify the
9 membership secretary of the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of
10 Bellerose, an educational organization, in writing prior to the organ-
11 ization meeting hereinafter provided for the corporation created by this
12 act of their desire to become members, or (b) shall attend such meeting
13 or an adjournment thereof, and also such persons so eligible as may
14 thereafter become members of such corporation pursuant to its by-laws.
15 § 2. Persons eligible to membership. Anyone, regardless of place of
16 residency, shall be eligible for membership in the corporation created
17 by this act, except they shall not be eligible to hold office unless at
18 least eighteen years of age and bona fide residents of Queens or Nassau
19 Counties, nor eligible to vote unless at least eighteen years old.] The
20 corporation shall not have any members. Any person who was a member of
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11714-02-2
A. 7946--A 2
1 the corporation prior to the year two thousand twenty-two shall no long-
2 er be a member.
3 § [3] 2. Purposes. The purposes of such corporation shall be to
4 preserve and restore the Colonial vintage farmhouse on the grounds of
5 what formerly constituted the hospital farm of Creedmoor Psychiatric
6 Center, together with the surrounding grounds and outbuildings[; and the
7 Society shall endeavor to recreate and demonstrate in an educational
8 format, the lifestyle of agrarian civilization as it existed in the
9 eighteenth century in eastern Queens County for current and future
10 generations; and it shall foster educational programs in horticulture,
11 agriculture, conservation, ecology, and other disciplines that would
12 lead to an increase in the public's appreciation and awareness of the
13 unique qualities of the site and building of the Creedmoor Farm.]
14 representing one of the longest continually farmed sites in New York
15 State dating back to 1697; and the corporation shall endeavor to (a)
16 recreate and demonstrate in an educational format, the lifestyle of
17 agrarian civilization as it existed in Queens County and in New York
18 City for current and future generations, including showcasing the
19 300-year history and future of agriculture as a way of life in New York
20 City; (b) preserve, restore, and interpret its farmland, including its
21 history and owner's lifestyles; (c) provide and host educational
22 programs, public events, and museum services to its visitors and the
23 general public, including with respect to the significance of Queens'
24 agricultural and horticultural past as New York City grew around it; and
25 (d) serve as a resource connecting people to agriculture and the envi-
26 ronment, creating learning opportunities about biodiversity, health and
27 wellness, climate change and preserving local history.
28 § [4] 3. Powers and duties. Such corporation shall have all the powers
29 of a not-for-profit charitable corporation, and the provisions of law
30 relating to not-for-profit charitable corporations shall apply to such
31 corporation except where they conflict with the provisions of this act.
32 § [5] 4. [Organization meeting; by-laws. The general secretary of the
33 Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of Bellerose shall call a meeting
34 for the organization of such corporation to be held not later than three
35 months after this act takes effect, notice of which shall be given by
36 him by publication in the Colonial Farmhouse Restoration Society of
37 Bellerose membership newsletter and also by publication of notice there-
38 of in one or more newspapers having a general circulation in Queens
39 county, and such publication shall be effected at least ten days prior
40 to the date of such meeting. At such meeting or any adjournment thereof
41 the members of such corporation present shall adopt by-laws and elect
42 officers and directors to serve until the first annual meeting which
43 shall be held on a date to be fixed by the by-laws. Any member failing
44 to comply with the by-laws, rules or regulations duly adopted by such
45 corporation shall be subject to suspension and expulsion in such manner
46 as may be provided for in such by-laws. Any member who ceases to be
47 such, voluntarily or otherwise, shall forfeit all interest in the prop-
48 erty of such corporation.] By-laws. The members of the board of direc-
49 tors shall be responsible for adopting and maintaining the by-laws of
50 the corporation.
51 § [6] 5. Control and disposal of funds and property. The control and
52 disposal of the funds and property of the said corporation, the exercise
53 of its powers, and the management and control of its affairs shall be
54 vested in and exercised by a board of directors which shall consist of
55 [seventeen members of such corporation, to wit: the president, the vice
56 president, the general secretary, the financial secretary, the member-
A. 7946--A 3
1 ship secretary, the treasurer, the archivist, the sergeant-at-arms and
2 nine other members having the title of director.] not less than nine and
3 not more than twenty-one members of such corporation, to wit: the presi-
4 dent, the vice president, the secretary, the treasurer, and not less
5 than five and not more than seventeen other members having the title of
6 director. Such officers and directors shall be elected at the annual
7 meeting of such corporation in the manner prescribed by its by-laws. No
8 part of the net earnings of the corporation shall inure to the benefit
9 of any member, trustee, director, officer of the corporation, or any
10 private individual, except that reasonable compensation may be paid for
11 services rendered to or for the corporation, and no member, trustee,
12 officer of the corporation or any private individual shall be entitled
13 to share in the distribution of any of the corporate assets on dissol-
14 ution of the corporation.
15 No substantial part of the activities of the organization shall be
16 carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legis-
17 lation, except as otherwise provided by Internal Revenue Code section
18 501(h), or participating in, or intervening in, including the publica-
19 tion or distribution of statements, any political campaign on behalf of
20 any candidate for public office.
21 In the event of dissolution, all of the remaining assets and property
22 of the corporation shall, after necessary expenses thereof, be distrib-
23 uted to such organizations as shall qualify under section 501(c)(3) of
24 the Internal Revenue Code of nineteen hundred fifty-four, as amended or,
25 to another organization to be used in such manner as in the judgment of
26 a justice of the supreme court of the state of New York will best accom-
27 plish the general purposes for which this corporation was formed.
28 § [7] 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
29 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, the
30 amendments to chapter 188 of the laws of 1978, made by section one of
31 this act, shall not interfere with any right, liability, or obligation
32 of the corporation as created by such chapter.
