Bill Text: NY S01462 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to establishing ground rent rebates for eligible homeowners and renters in the Battery Park project area; provides for a rebate program; provides for a process for application and certification.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-10 - REFERRED TO CORPORATIONS, AUTHORITIES AND COMMISSIONS [S01462 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S01462-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1462 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 10, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to establishing ground rent rebates for eligible homeowners and renters in the Battery Park project area The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 1974-b of the public authorities law is amended by 2 adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows: 3 3. (a) For purposes of this subdivision: (i) "eligible homeowner" 4 shall mean an owner of a residence located in the Battery Park project 5 area who occupies such residence as the homeowner's primary residence 6 and whose annual household income does not exceed one hundred fifty 7 percent of the area median income defined and calculated by the United 8 States department of housing and urban development for the New York city 9 region, adjusted for household size; (ii) "eligible renter" shall mean a 10 person whose primary residence is located in the Battery Park project 11 area and is designated a quasi-rent stabilized unit or has restrictions 12 on annual rent increases pursuant to a regulatory agreement between the 13 authority and the landlord, and whose annual household income does not 14 exceed one hundred fifty percent of the area median income defined and 15 calculated by the United States department of housing and urban develop- 16 ment for the New York city region; (iii) "rebate base year" shall mean 17 the year two thousand twenty-four for any homeowner who is an eligible 18 homeowner or any renter who is an eligible renter based upon their annu- 19 al household income for the year two thousand twenty-five, or the year 20 preceding the year in which a homeowner first becomes an eligible home- 21 owner or a renter first becomes an eligible renter; in the event a 22 previously eligible homeowner or a previously eligible renter becomes 23 ineligible because the homeowner's or renter's household income exceeds EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04155-01-5S. 1462 2 1 one hundred fifty percent of the area median income for two consecutive 2 years, the rebate base year shall be reset to be the year preceding any 3 subsequent year in which the homeowner or renter again becomes eligible; 4 (iv) "homeowner's ground rent" shall mean the portion of a homeowner's 5 building's ground rent attributable to the homeowner's occupancy of the 6 homeowner's primary residence and paid by the homeowner to the authority 7 under the building's residential sublease to the lease between the city 8 of New York and the authority, dated November twenty-four, nineteen 9 hundred sixty-nine and recorded December twenty-six, nineteen hundred 10 sixty-nine on page one of reel one hundred sixty-one, and any subsequent 11 amendments; and (v) "renter's ground rent" shall mean the portion of a 12 renter's rent payment attributable to the ground rent based on the 13 renter's occupancy of their primary residence and paid by the landlord 14 to the authority under the building's residential sublease to the lease 15 between the city of New York and the authority, dated November twenty- 16 four, nineteen hundred sixty-nine and recorded December twenty-six, 17 nineteen hundred sixty-nine on page one of reel one hundred sixty-one, 18 and any subsequent amendments. 19 (b) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the authori- 20 ty shall offer to each eligible homeowner and eligible renter a rebate 21 of the portion of such homeowner's or renter's ground rent equal to the 22 difference between the amount of such homeowner's or renter's ground 23 rent due in the rebate base year and the amount of the homeowner's or 24 renter's ground rent due and paid in the year for which the eligible 25 homeowner or eligible renter applies for the rebate. If the authority 26 determines a homeowner to be an eligible homeowner or a renter to be an 27 eligible renter for a given year, the authority shall permit such eligi- 28 ble homeowner or eligible renter to certify that they expect to meet the 29 eligibility criteria in the next succeeding year; upon reviewing such 30 certification and finding that such homeowner or renter is likely to be 31 an eligible homeowner or eligible renter in such next succeeding year, 32 the authority shall, to the extent practicable, offer a proportional 33 share of the expected annual rebate in the form of a periodic rebate or 34 discount during the year for which the homeowner or renter is expected 35 to be eligible. 36 (c) Within one hundred eighty days of the effective date of this 37 subdivision, the authority shall promulgate procedures for applying for 38 such rebate, and set standards for reviewing applications and certif- 39 ications, assessing the accuracy of any information necessary to deter- 40 mine eligibility, and making payments to applicants found to be eligible 41 and those expected to be eligible in the next succeeding year. 42 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
