N.Y. Economic Development Law § 432 – Eligibility criteria for universities and colleges

1. State university campuses, community colleges and city university campuses. (a) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the following will constitute the eligible land of a state university campus, community college, or city university campus:
1. (i) any vacant space in any building located on a campus of a state university campus, community college or city university campus;
2. (ii) any vacant land on a campus of a state university campus, community college or city university campus;
3. (iii) for a state university campus or community college, a total of two hundred thousand square feet of vacant land or vacant building space that, except as provided under paragraph (b) of this subdivision, is located within one mile of a campus of the state university campus or community college; provided that this subparagraph shall not apply to a state university campus or community college located in Nassau county, Suffolk county or Westchester county; and
4. (iv) a New York state incubator as the term is used in subdivision four of section four hundred thirty-three of this article with a bona fide affiliation to the state university campus, community college or city university campus, with approval of the commissioner. In order for there to be a bona fide affiliation of a New York state incubator with a state university campus, community college or city university campus, the incubator and the state university campus, community college or city university campus must have a partnership to provide assistance and physical space to eligible businesses, as the term is used in section sixteen-v of the urban development corporation act; the incubator and the state university campus, community college or city university campus must directly work towards the goals of jointly creating jobs and incubating new startup businesses; and the mission and activities of the incubator must align with or further the academic mission of the state university campus, community college or city university campus.
5. (b) A state university campus or community college which qualifies under subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision may apply to the commissioner for a determination that identified vacant land or identified vacant space in a building that is located more than one mile from its campus, and is not located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city, is eligible land for purposes of this program. The commissioner shall give consideration to factors including rural, suburban and urban geographic considerations and may qualify the identified land or space in a building as eligible land if the commissioner, in consultation with the chancellor or his or her designee, determines that the state university campus or community college has shown that the use of the land or space will be consistent with the requirements of this program and the plan submitted by the state university campus or community college pursuant to section four hundred thirty-five of this article. In addition, two hundred thousand square feet of vacant land or vacant building space affiliated with or in partnership with Maritime College shall be eligible under this paragraph. The aggregate amount of qualified land or space under this paragraph and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (a) of this subdivision may not exceed two hundred thousand square feet for a state university campus or community college.
6. (c) The provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall apply only to:
  1. (i) a state university campus other than the following: (A) any empire state college campus except for the empire state college campus in Saratoga Springs, (B) any property of downstate medical center located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city except for property affiliated with downstate medical center that constitutes a New York state incubator as the term is used in subdivision four of section four hundred thirty-three of this article, and (C) any property of the college of optometry or maritime college located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city.
  2. (ii) a community college, except that for a community college whose main campus is in New York city, paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall not apply to property of such community college in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city.
  3. (iii) a total of five city university campuses, one each in the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, which will be designated by the board of trustees of the city university of New York. The campus designated in each borough must be located in an economically distressed community. The commissioner shall establish a list of economically distressed communities for the purpose of this designation, based on criteria indicative of economic distress, including poverty rates, numbers of persons receiving public assistance, unemployment rates, and such other indicators as the commissioner deems appropriate to be in need of economic assistance. In addition, paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision shall apply to property of the city university located outside of Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county and New York city.
7. (d) The eligible land of a state university campus, community college, or city university campus will also include eligible land designated under paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section.
2. Private colleges and universities and certain other campuses. (a) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, the following will constitute the eligible land of a private college or university:
1. (i) any vacant space in any building located on a campus of a private university or college other than a campus which is located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city;
2. (ii) any vacant land on a campus of a private university or college other than a campus which is located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city;
3. (iii) any vacant land or vacant space in a building which is not located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city; and
4. (iv) a New York state incubator as the term is used in subdivision four of section four hundred thirty-three of this article with a bona fide affiliation to the private university or college, with approval of the commissioner. In order for there to be a bona fide affiliation of a New York state incubator with a private university or college, the incubator and the private university or college must have a partnership to provide assistance and physical space to eligible businesses as the term is used in section sixteen-v of the urban development corporation act; the incubator and the private university or college must directly work towards the goals of jointly creating jobs and incubating new startup businesses; and the mission and activities of the incubator must align with or further the academic mission of the private university or college.
5. (b) Subject to the limitations in paragraph (c) of this subdivision, three million square feet is the maximum aggregate amount of tax-free NY areas of private universities and colleges that may be utilized for this program, which shall be designated in a manner that ensures regional balance and balance among eligible rural, urban and suburban areas in the state. The commissioner shall maintain an accounting of the vacant land and space of private universities and colleges that have been approved as tax-free NY areas and shall stop accepting applications for approval of tax-free NY areas when that maximum amount has been reached.
6. (c) Of the maximum aggregate amount in paragraph (b) of this subdivision, an initial amount of seventy-five thousand square feet shall be designated as tax-free NY areas in each of the following: Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county and the boroughs of Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island. The board may approve the designation of up to an additional seventy-five thousand square feet for any county or borough that reaches the initial seventy-five thousand square foot limit, provided that such additional seventy-five thousand square feet shall not count against the square footage limitations in paragraph (b) of this subdivision. Vacant land and vacant space in a building on the campus of the following shall be eligible for designation under this paragraph:
  1. (i) a private university or college which campus is located in Nassau county, Suffolk county, Westchester county or New York city.
  2. (ii) a state university campus that meets the criteria of clause (B) or (C) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section.
  3. (iii) a community college whose main campus is in New York city.
  4. (iv) a city university campus that is not designated under subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision one of this section.
7. (d) In addition, the board may approve: (i) one application that includes eligible land owned or leased by a city university campus that is directly adjacent to such campus; (ii) one application that includes eligible land owned or leased by a state university campus, community college, or private university or college in Nassau county or Suffolk county that is directly adjacent to such campus, university or college; and (iii) one application that includes eligible land owned or leased by a state university campus, community college, or private university or college in Westchester county that is directly adjacent to such campus, university or college. The board may approve an additional application, for a state university campus, community college, or private university or college in the county not previously approved under subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph, in which case it shall also approve a second application under subparagraph (i) of this paragraph.
3. Prohibition. A state university campus, community college or city university campus is prohibited from relocating or eliminating any academic programs, any administrative programs, offices, housing facilities, dining facilities, athletic facilities, or any other facility, space or program that actively serves students, faculty or staff in order to create vacant land or space to be utilized for the program authorized by this article. In addition, nothing in this article shall be deemed to waive or impair any rights or benefits of employees of the state university of New York, a community college or the city university of New York that otherwise would be available to them pursuant to the terms of agreements between the certified representatives of such employees and their employers pursuant to article fourteen of the civil service law. No services or work currently performed by public employees of the state university of New York, a community college, or the city university of New York or future work that is similar in scope and nature to the work being currently performed by public employees shall be contracted out or privatized by the state university of New York, a community college or the city university of New York or by an affiliated entity or associated entity of the state university of New York, a community college or the city university of New York. For the purpose of this section, an affiliated entity or associated entity shall not include a business that is participating in the START-UP NY program.