A 8070: Directs the state university trustees, without any public bidding, to lease and otherwise contract to make a portion of the lands of SUNY Stony Brook on its campus to the Stony Brook Housing Development Corp. for the purpose of building undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty and staff housing; limits such lease to a period not exceeding 100 years.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8070 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY April 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. KASSAY -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT in relation to authorizing the lease of certain lands for the purpose of building undergraduate student, graduate student, faculty and staff housing The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature finds and declares 2 that the state university of New York at Stony Brook ("Stony Brook") is 3 one of the State's flagship universities with hundreds of millions of 4 dollars in federal research, is the region's largest on-site employer, 5 and, through Stony Brook Medicine, is Suffolk County's safety-net 6 provider. Stony Brook consists of two academic campuses, four hospitals, 7 over two hundred clinical outpatient facilities, and the Long Island 8 State Veterans Home. Stony Brook is poised to grow both its student 9 enrollment and its workforce but is limited due to a lack of housing 10 opportunities. In fact, the single greatest issue Stony Brook has across 11 its system in recruiting and retaining students, faculty and staff is 12 the lack of student and workforce housing. 13 The legislature finds that Stony Brook seeks to use approximately 17 14 acres of underutilized land on its Stony Brook campus to build multi- 15 purpose facilities to support housing needs and supporting amenities 16 (including but not limited to food and dining options, parking and 17 fitness centers) for the university's undergraduate and graduate 18 students, as well as junior faculty and certain university employees. 19 It is expected that up to 1,900 beds would be made available for Stony 20 Brook students and employees. By providing more housing options for the 21 Stony Brook community, it will provide greater options for students and 22 faculty with young families to move into the area, and help us retain 23 those students and employees already here but commuting long distances 24 to school and work. The legislature further finds that granting the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11675-01-5 
 A. 8070 2 1 trustees of the state university of New York ("Trustees") the authority 2 and power to lease and otherwise contract to make available grounds and 3 facilities on Stony Brook's campus will ensure land is utilized for the 4 benefit of Stony Brook, and the surrounding community. 5 § 2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the state univer- 6 sity trustees are hereby authorized and empowered, without any public 7 bidding, to lease and otherwise contract to make available to the Stony 8 Brook Housing Development Corp. (the "ground lessee"), a portion of the 9 lands of the university on its campus, generally described in this act 10 for the purpose of building undergraduate student, graduate student, 11 faculty and staff housing. Such lease or contract shall be for a period 12 not exceeding 100 years without any fee simple conveyance and otherwise 13 upon terms and conditions determined by such trustees, subject to the 14 approval of the director of the division of the budget, the attorney 15 general and the state comptroller. If the real property that is the 16 subject of such lease or contract shall cease to be used for the purpose 17 described in this act, such lease or contract shall immediately termi- 18 nate, and the real property and any improvements thereon shall revert to 19 the state university of New York. Any lease or contract entered into 20 pursuant to this act shall provide that the real property that is the 21 subject of such lease or contract and any improvements thereon shall 22 revert to the state university of New York on the expiration of such 23 contract or lease. 24 § 3. Any contract or lease entered into pursuant to this act shall be 25 deemed to be a state contract for purposes of article 15-A of the execu- 26 tive law, and any contractor, subcontractor, lessee or sublessee enter- 27 ing into such contract or lease for the construction, demolition, recon- 28 struction, excavation, rehabilitation, repair, renovation, alteration or 29 improvement authorized pursuant to this act shall be deemed a state 30 agency for the purposes of article 15-A of the executive law and subject 31 to the provisions of such article. 32 § 4. Notwithstanding any general, special or local law or judicial 33 decision to the contrary, all work performed on a project authorized by 34 this act where all or any portion thereof involves a lease or agreement 35 for construction, demolition, reconstruction, excavation, rehabili- 36 tation, repair, renovation, alteration or improvement shall be deemed 37 public work and shall be subject to and performed in accordance with the 38 provisions of article 8 of the labor law to the same extent and in the 39 same manner as a contract of the state, and compliance with all the 40 provisions of article 8 of the labor law shall be required of any 41 lessee, sublessee, contractor or subcontractor on the project, including 42 the enforcement of prevailing wage requirements by the fiscal officer as 43 defined in paragraph e of subdivision 5 of section 220 of the labor law 44 to the same extent as a contract of the state. 45 § 5. Notwithstanding any law, rule or regulation to the contrary, the 46 state university of New York shall not contract out to the ground lessee 47 or any subsidiary for the instruction or any pedagogical functions or 48 services, or any administrative services, and similar professional 49 services currently being performed by state employees. All such func- 50 tions and services shall be performed by state employees. Nothing in 51 this act shall result in the displacement of any currently employed 52 state worker or the loss of position (including partial displacement 53 such as reduction in the hours of non-overtime, wages or employment 54 benefits), or result in the impairment of existing contracts for 55 services or collective bargaining rights pursuant to existing agreements 56 as provided under article 14 of the civil service law. All positions 
 A. 8070 3 1 currently at the state university of New York in the unclassified 2 service and classified service of the civil service law shall not be 3 reclassified as a result of this Act. No pedagogical or other services 4 or work on the property described in this act currently performed by 5 public employees or future work that is similar in scope and nature to 6 the work being currently performed by public employees shall be 7 contracted out or privatized by the state university of New York or by 8 an affiliated entity or associated entity of the state university of New 9 York. All such future work shall be performed by public employees. 10 § 6. For the purposes of this act: 11 (a) "project" shall mean work at the property authorized by this act 12 to be leased to the ground lessee as described in section twelve of this 13 act that involves the design, construction, reconstruction, demolition, 14 excavating, rehabilitation, repair, renovation, alteration or improve- 15 ment of such property. 16 (b) "project labor agreement" shall mean a pre-hire collective 17 bargaining agreement between a contractor and a labor organization, 18 establishing the labor organization as the collective bargaining repre- 19 sentative for all persons who will perform work on the project, and 20 which provides that only contractors and subcontractors who sign a pre- 21 negotiated agreement with the labor organization can perform project 22 work. 23 § 7. Nothing in this act shall be deemed to waive or impair any rights 24 or benefits of employees of the state university of New York that other- 25 wise would be available to them pursuant to the terms of agreements 26 between the certified representatives of such employees and the state of 27 New York pursuant to article 14 of the civil service law; all work 28 performed on such property that ordinarily would be performed by employ- 29 ees subject to article 14 of the civil service law shall continue to be 30 performed by such employees. 31 § 8. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general, special, or local 32 law or judicial decision to the contrary, the ground lessee shall 33 require the use of a project labor agreement, as defined in subdivision 34 1 of section 222 of the labor law, for all contractors and subcontrac- 35 tors on the project, consistent with paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of 36 section 222 of the labor law. 37 § 9. Without limiting the determination of the terms and conditions of 38 such contracts or leases, such terms and conditions may provide for 39 leasing, subleasing, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, 40 improvement, operation and management of and provision of services and 41 assistance and the granting of licenses, easements and other arrange- 42 ments with regard to such grounds and facilities by the ground lessee, 43 and parties contracting with the ground lessee, and in connection with 44 such activities, the obtaining of funding or financing, whether public 45 or private, unsecured or secured, including, but not limited to, secured 46 by leasehold mortgages and assignments of rents and leases, by the 47 ground lessee and parties contracting with the ground lessee for the 48 purposes of completing the project described in this act. 49 § 10. Such lease shall include an indemnity provision whereby the 50 lessee or sublessee promises to indemnify, hold harmless and defend the 51 lessor against all claims, suits, actions, and liability to all persons 52 on the leased premises, including tenant, tenant's agents, contractors, 53 subcontractors, employees, customers, guests, licensees, invitees and 54 members of the public, for damage to any such person's property, whether 55 real or personal, or for personal injuries arising out of tenant's use 56 or occupation of the demised premises. 
 A. 8070 4 1 § 11. Any contracts entered into pursuant to this act between the 2 ground lessee and parties contracting with the ground lessee shall be 3 awarded by a competitive process. 4 § 12. The property authorized by this act to be leased to the ground 5 lessee is generally described as that parcel of real property with 6 improvements thereon consisting of a total of approximately 16.7217 7 acres of land situated on the campus of the state university of New York 8 at Stony Brook within the town of Brookhaven, county of Suffolk, state 9 of New York more particularly described as follows: 10 Beginning at a point within lot 2 of section 199, block 1 and being on 11 the southerly side of Circle Road, a private road of undesignated width, 12 having New York state plane (LI Zone) 1983 coordinate values of North 13 275669.8546 and East 1225232.3830. The said point being distant 295.88 14 feet on a bearing of North 42 degrees 47 minutes 36 seconds East from 15 the Northeast corner of section 198, block 7, lot 3 now or formerly 16 belonging to the town of Brookhaven as per liber 11011 at page 576, and 17 running from the said point of beginning; thence 18 Running the following nineteen (19) courses through said lot 2.6: 19 1) Following along the said Southerly side of said Circle Road, North 20 30 degrees, 13 minutes, 30 seconds East, a distance of 339.00 feet to a 21 point of curvature; thence 22 2) Following along the same, on a curve to the right having a radius 23 of 3148.50 feet, a central angle of 05 degrees 04 minutes 00 seconds and 24 an arc length of 278.42 feet to a point of non-tangency; thence 25 3) Leaving the said side of Circle Road, South 63 degrees 07 minutes 26 11 seconds East, a distance of 110.00 feet, thence 27 4) south 61 degrees 36 minutes 00 seconds east, a distance of 193.00 28 feet; thence 29 5) south 65 degrees 28 minutes 00 seconds east, a distance of 135.00 30 feet ; thence 31 6) South 61 degrees 17 minutes 00 seconds East a distance of 371.50 32 feet ; thence 33 7) South 28 degrees 43 minutes 00 seconds West a distance of 199.50 34 feet ; thence 35 8) south 07 degrees 38 minutes 00 seconds west, a distance of 25.00 36 feet to a point of non-tangent curvature; thence 37 9) on a curve to the left having a radius of 160.00 feet, a central 38 angle of 64 degrees 09 minutes 42 seconds and an arc length of 179.17 39 feet, the chord of which bears south 40 degrees 33 minutes 51 seconds 40 West for a distance of 169.66 feet to a point of tangency; thence 41 10) south 08 degrees 29 minutes 00 seconds west, a distance of 384.000 42 feet; thence 43 11) North 82 degrees 34 minutes 00 seconds west, a distance of 35.50 44 feet to a point of curvature; thence 45 12) on a curve to the left having a radius of 75.00 feet, a central 46 angle of 90 degrees 07 minutes 00 seconds, and an arc length of 117.96 47 feet to a point of tangency; thence 48 13) south 07 degrees 19 minutes 00 seconds west, a distance of 113.15 49 feet; thence 50 14) North 79 degrees 46 minutes 00 seconds West, a distance of 255.50 51 feet ; thence 52 15) North 37 degrees 39 minutes 00 seconds west, a distance of 42.50 53 feet; thence 54 16) North 06 degrees 38 minutes 00 seconds west, a distance of 104.50 55 feet to a point of curvature; thence 
 A. 8070 5 1 17) on a curve to the left having a radius of 230.00 feet, a central 2 angle of 30 degrees 52 minutes 00 seconds, and an arc length of 123.91 3 feet to a point of tangency; thence 4 18) north 37 degrees 30 minutes 00 seconds west, a distance of 412.80 5 feet; thence 6 19) North 25 degrees 35 minutes 00 seconds West, a distance of 118.00 7 feet to the point and place of Beginning. 8 The above-described lease area contains 728,396 square feet or 16.7217 9 acres of land. 10 The above-described development area was written in accordance with a 11 map entitled, "Boundary & Location Survey, District 200, section 199, 12 block 1, Part of Lot 2.6, at, Stony Brook University, Hamlet of Stony- 13 brook, town of Brookhaven, Suffolk county, state of New York" prepared 14 by Gallas Surveying Group. 15 § 13. The state university of New York shall not lease lands described 16 in this act unless any such lease shall be executed within 5 years of 17 the effective date of this act. 18 § 14. Insofar as the provisions of this act are inconsistent with the 19 provisions of any law, general, special or local, the provisions of this 20 act shall be controlling. 21 § 15. This act shall take effect immediately.