N.Y. Arts and Cultural Affairs Law § 20.05

§ 20.05. Legislative findings and determinations, and statement of\npurposes. 1. The legislature hereby finds, determines and declares:\n (a) that cultural institutions in the state promote public interest in\nand knowledge of the arts and other cultural activities; attract artists\nand others with creative talents who live in proximity to and perform\nwork related to such institutions; and otherwise vitally contribute to\neducational, recreational and cultural activities and opportunities of\nbenefit to the people of the state; and that such institutions provide a\nwealth of specialized educational and cultural activities designed for,\namong others, students, minority and ethnic populations, senior\ncitizens, the unemployed, consumers and citizens interested in the\nperforming arts; and that it is the sense of the legislature that the\ncontributions of such institutions to the people of New York state have\nbeen exceptional;\n (b) that such institutions are essential to the existence of cultural\ncenters in the state, contribute to the continued existence and growth\nin the state of industries related to the arts and other cultural\nactivities, attract residents of and visitors to the state, including\npatrons of the arts, generate substantial tax and other revenues in and\nfor the state, and otherwise vitally contribute to the economy and tax\nbase of the state;\n (c) that recognizing the importance of and public purpose served by\nsuch institutions, the state has appropriated and expended substantial\nfunds for and has otherwise supported and assisted such institutions;\n (d) that there is a serious shortage of required space and facilities\nfor the continued existence, proper operation and needed growth of such\ninstitutions and that there is a serious shortage of required modern\nequipment, furnishing and installations for the continued existence,\nproper operation and needed growth of such institutions;\n (e) that owing to inflation, increases in the cost of energy and other\neconomic forces, operating expenses of many such institutions exceed\nrevenues from endowments and other sources; sufficient funds to pay\noperating expenses and the costs of needed expansion, improvement and\nrehabilitation of the space and facilities of such institutions are not\navailable from the state, municipalities or counties in the state or\nother past sources of such funds; and unless corrective action is taken,\nthe needed expansion, improvement, equipping, furnishing and\nrehabilitation of the space and facilities of such institutions will not\nbe undertaken and such institutions will be required to invade their\nendowments and other capital assets to pay operating expenses, thereby\nendangering the continued existence and operation of such institutions;\n (f) that a public purpose would be served and the interests of the\npeople of the state would be promoted if the collections, endowments and\nother capital assets of such institutions were preserved and expanded;\nif continued operation in the state and needed expansion, improvement\nand rehabilitation of the space and facilities of such institutions were\nencouraged; and if action were taken to permit such operation and\nexpansion, improvement and rehabilitation without additional funds from\nor adverse effects on the tax base of the state, counties or\nmunicipalities of the state;\n (g) that many such institutions own or plan to acquire valuable real\nproperty or interests in real property which are unused or underuti-\nlized, and such institutions are unable properly to develop or otherwise\nfully to utilize and realize the value of such real property owing in\npart to lack of expertise and in part to risks to their endowment,\ncollections and other capital assets;\n (h) that appropriate development and utilization of such real property\nand interest in real property and the purchase of capital equipment and\nother personal property would foster continued operation in the state\nand needed expansion, improvement and rehabilitation of the space and\nfacilities of such institutions without additional funds from or adverse\neffects on the tax base of the state, counties or municipalities of the\nstate; would help provide suitable housing accommodations, commercial\nuses and related facilities in proximity to such institutions; and would\notherwise promote the interest of the people of the state;\n (i) that development of suitable housing accommodations, commercial\nuses, and related facilities compatible with and complementary to such\ninstitutions would help to maintain, strengthen and revitalize the areas\nin which such institutions are located, that such development would\nencourage such institutions to continue operation in such areas and\npermit needed expansion, improvement and rehabilitation of the space and\nfacilities of such institutions, and that a public purpose would be\nserved and the interests of the people of the state would be promoted by\nthe development of such accommodations, uses and facilities in\ncombination with the facilities of such institutions;\n (j) that many not-for-profit cultural organizations are in need of\ndevelopment and/or rehabilitation of sufficient and appropriate space to\nassure their continued existence and benefit for the people of the\nstate; and that sufficient funds to pay the costs of such needed space\nand facilities of such organizations are not currently available from\nthe state, counties or municipalities; and that a program which would\nutilize current resources and bring to bear other possible additional\nresources for the development and rehabilitation of such space is\nessential to the continued existence and operation of such organizations\nand is therefore found by the legislature to be in the public interest;\nand\n (k) that based on past experience, the private sector alone will\ncontinue to be unable properly to develop such real property and the\nrequirements of such institutions will not be met unless corrective\naction is taken.\n 2. The legislature further finds, determines and declares that a\npublic purpose would be served and the interests of the people of the\nstate would be promoted by appropriate development of unused and\nunderutilized real property and interests in real property of such\ninstitutions; that appropriate development of such real property\nincludes construction of cultural facilities and of combined-use\nfacilities consisting of institutional portions (including the\nexpansion, improvement or rehabilitation of the space and facilities of\nsuch institutions) and non-institutional portions (including suitable\nhousing accommodations, related facilities and other lawful uses\ncompatible with uses of institutional portions of such facilities and\nembodying architectural and design characteristics acceptable to such\ninstitutions); and that construction of cultural facilities and of\ncombined-use facilities often provides the only economically feasible\nmethod for utilizing such real property for needed expansion,\nimprovement and rehabilitation of the space and facilities of such\ninstitutions.\n 3. The legislature further finds, determines and declares that a\npublic purpose would be served and the interests of the people of the\nstate would be promoted by the creation pursuant to this article of\npublic benefit corporations, known as trusts for cultural resources, to\nprovide for the appropriate development of unused and underutilized real\nproperty and interests in real property of such institutions and for the\nconstruction, equipping and furnishing of combined-use facilities, and\nof cultural facilities in accordance with this article; that it is\nnecessary to grant to trusts for cultural resources the powers, rights\nand duties provided by this article which include the delegation of part\nof the sovereign power of the state; that the creation of trusts for\ncultural resources, the exercise of such powers and rights, the\nperformance of such duties, and the carrying out of the purposes of\ntrusts for cultural resources are in all respects for the benefit of the\npeople of the state and are and will serve a public purpose; and that in\nthe exercise of such powers and rights, the performance of such duties\nand the carrying out of such purposes, trusts for cultural resources\ncreated under this article will be performing an essential public and\ngovernmental function.\n