Authorizes the town of Greenburgh, county of Westchester to lease certain park lands for tennis uses.

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S7651-2011 Actions

• Jun 21, 2012: SUBSTITUTED BY A10454
• Jun 21, 2012: ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1490
• Jun 11, 2012: REFERRED TO RULES

S7651-2011 Meetings

Rules: Jun 21, 2012

S7651-2011 Calendars

Floor Calendar: Jun 21, 2012

S7651-2011 Votes

S7651-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S7651

TITLE OF BILL:
An act to authorize the town of Greenburgh, county of Westchester to
lease certain park lands for tennis uses

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To authorize the town of Greenburgh to lease a portion of its town park
for commercial seasonal public tennis facilities for up to 30 years.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 authorizes the town board to lease certain park lands and
improvements at fair market value and other terms as they determine, for
up to 30 years for the operation of seasonal tennis facilities.

Section 2 requires that town residents who reside outside of the towns
six incorporated villages continue to pay all costs and expenses of the
specified town park lands and recreational facilities and that the
proceeds of the lease be dedicated to capital improvement of the exist-
ing town park and recreational facilities and/or for the acquisition of
additional town park and recreational facilities for their use.

Section 3 specifies the legal description of the subject tennis facili-
ties and the other facilities related to their use at the Anthony F.
Veteran Park in the town of Greenburgh.

Section 4 requires that if the lease for the facilities terminates then
the leased park lands revert to the town of Greenburgh to be used as
they are presently used.

Section 5 requires that the subject lease provide that such leased park
lands and improvements be made available to the general public on an
equitable basis. Where the availability of such public facilities is
limited, the use of the facilities is to be determined by a written
policy developed, posted and administered by the lessee and the town of
Greenburgh.

Section 6 specifies that this act shall not affect any rights or
restrictions in the deed conveying the subject park land to the town of
Greenburgh.

Section 7 is the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
The proposed law is designed to give the town of Greenburgh the opportu-
nity to raise revenue by leasing a portion of its under utilized recre-
ational facilities. It authorizes the town to lease its tennis facili-
ties in its main town park on a seasonal basis. It is anticipated that
the town will gain revenue and the private lessees will improve the
facilities at no cost to the town including erecting a tennis bubble.

For the project to be economically viable the leased facilities must be
available to the general public.

The proposed law is necessary because:

1. New York courts have ruled that local park land and recreational
facilities may be leased to a private entity only with the New York
State Legislature's approval.

2. A special act of this legislature in 1982 restricted the use of all
parks and recreational facilities located in the unincorporated section
of the town of Greenburgh (outside of its six villages) to the residents
of the unincorporated area and required that those residents fund the
facilities.

This law is not intended to disturb the provisions of the special act
except to authorize the town to enter into a lease that permits people
who live outside of the unincorporated section of the town to use the
specified facilities while being operated under lease.

Current economic conditions and the newly enacted tax levy cap make it
difficult for local governments to raise the revenue necessary to main-
tain their facilities. Greenburgh has indicated that these lease
proceeds are necessary for capital expenditures at its main town park
and/or other facilities for the residents of the unincorporated section
of town-including refurbishing of roads and buildings and performing
major renovations that extend their useful life.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill- 2012

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S7651-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    7651

                              I N  SENATE

                                June 11, 2012
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
    and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

  AN ACT to authorize the town of Greenburgh,  county  of  Westchester  to
    lease certain park lands for tennis uses

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. The town of Greenburgh acting by and through its town board
  is hereby authorized and empowered to lease at  fair  market  value  and
  upon  such  other  terms  and  conditions  as  determined  by such board
  consistent with sections four  and  five  of  this  act  the  lands  and
  improvements  described  in section three of this act for up to 30 years
  for the operation of seasonal tennis facilities.
    S 2. The authorization provided in section one of this  act  shall  be
  effective  only  upon  the  condition  that the residents of the town of
  Greenburgh who reside outside of any incorporated village in  such  town
  continue to pay all costs and expenses for the town park and recreation-
  al  facilities  described in section three of this act and that the town
  of Greenburgh dedicate all  proceeds  of  such  lease  for  the  capital
  improvement of existing town park and recreational facilities and/or for
  the  acquisition of additional town park and recreational facilities for
  the residents of the town of Greenburgh who reside outside of any incor-
  porated village in such town.
    S 3. The lands and improvements referred to in section one of this act
  which may be leased consist of tennis facilities and other appurtenances
  related to the use of such tennis facilities located in the  Anthony  F.
  Veteran  Park in the town of Greenburgh, county of Westchester, state of
  New York, the park being more particularly described as follows:

    ALL that certain plot, piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and
  improvements thereon erected, situate, lying and being in  the  Town  of
  Greenburgh,  County of Westchester and State of New York, and being more
  particularly bounded and described as follows:

    BEGINNING at a point on the northerly line of the Sprain  Brook  Park-
  way, where the same is intersected by the northeasterly boundary line of
  land  now  or  formerly  of Robert Stephen Anthony as acquired by a deed

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD15742-10-2

 S. 7651                             2

  from John Canning, Jr., dated September 9th, 1952, recorded in Office of
  the County Clerk of Westchester County, Division  of  Land  Records,  on
  September 10th, 1952, in Liber 5134 of conveyances, page 115, said point
  of  BEGINNING  being  distant  North 43� 57' 40" East 272.43 feet from a
  monument at the intersection of the southeasterly corner of  said  lands
  so  conveyed  by  the aforementioned deed with the northeasterly side of
  Heatherdell Road; thence running along the last mentioned  northeasterly
  boundary line of Anthony, North 46� 02' 20" West 344.66 feet to a point;
  thence  running North 49� 20' 10" East 551.65 feet and North 17� 14' 40"
  East 1005.00 feet to a corner in said land; thence running South 80� 25'
  50" East 899.49 feet to the northerly  line  of  Sprain  Brook  Parkway;
  thence  running  along  said  lands the following courses and distances:

  South 16� 58' 39" East 49.00 feet, South 43� 57' 57" West  734.75  feet,
  South  61�  17'  40" West 135.00 feet and South 43� 57' 40" West 1067.57
  feet to the point or place of BEGINNING, containing 20.46 acres more  or
  less.
    TOGETHER  with  and  subject to an easement in common with others over
  the existing driveway running from Heatherdell Road through premises and
  premises adjoining as set forth in Liber 3929 of conveyances, page  165,
  and  utility  easements  as recorded in the Book of Conveyances in Liber
  5389, Page 204, and in Liber 5950, page 320.
    ALSO known on the Official Tax Map of the Town of Greenburgh as Volume
  8, Sheet 4, Parcel 4B, and of the Village of Ardsley as Sheet 1,  Parcel
  37B.
    S  4. Should the leased park lands described in sections one and three
  of this act cease to be used for the  purposes  described  therein,  the
  lease shall terminate and those lands shall revert to the town of Green-
  burgh consistent with its prior public park and recreational purposes.
    S 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 891 of the laws of 1982
  to  the contrary, such lease shall provide that the leased park land and
  improvements described in sections one and three of this  act  shall  be
  made available to the general public on an equitable basis. Where avail-
  ability of such public facilities is limited, the use of such facilities
  must  be  determined by a written policy, developed, posted and adminis-
  tered by the lessee in conjunction with the town of Greenburgh.
    S 6. The provisions of this act shall not affect any  rights  or  deed
  restrictions  pursuant  to  the terms, conditions, and provisions of the
  deed conveying interest in the park land described in this  act  to  the
  town of Greenburgh.
    S 7. This act shall take effect immediately.