Directs the Department of Transportation to grant a permanent access and construction easement to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  8349--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 4, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. PALUMBO, MATTERA -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules --  commit-
   tee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom-
   mitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT in relation to directing  the  Department  of  Transportation  to
   grant a permanent access and construction easement to the Metropolitan
   Transportation Authority
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
 the "Furthering Rail Transit in Suffolk County Act".
   § 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this act:
   (a) "DOT" means the New York State Department of Transportation.
   (b)  "Greenway"  means  the  real  property in Port Jefferson Station,
 Suffolk County, New York owned by  the  New  York  State  Department  of
 Transportation  identified as State Route 5232-A a/k/a the Setauket-Port
 Jefferson Station Greenway Multi-Use Path, which is bound on  the  north
 by   real   property  identified  on  the  Suffolk  County  Tax  Map  as
 0200-159.00-02.00-020.000 and bound on the south by real property  iden-
 tified on the Suffolk County Tax Map as 0200-180.00-04.00-002.000.
   (c) "MTA" means the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
   § 3. Easement to MTA. (a) The DOT is hereby authorized and directed to
 grant  a  permanent easement to the MTA permitting the MTA to access in,
 over, through and above, utilize, construct upon and operate, as needed,
 a portion of DOT-owned Greenway  to  accommodate  the  potential  future
 development of a railyard use traversing the Greenway in order to expand
 and  improve  public rail transit in Suffolk County, with an appropriate
 reversion interest to preserve the DOT's ability to construct  New  York
 State Route 25A, at its discretion.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD13007-03-5
 S. 8349--A                          2
 
   (b)  Not  withstanding any other provision of law, the Commissioner of
 Transportation is authorized to transfer and convey said easement to the
 MTA, without appraisal, in consideration of one dollar.
   (c)  The DOT's grant of an easement over that portion of the Greenway,
 shall include language:
   (1) reserving to the DOT such rights as may be required in  the  event
 DOT  elects  to  have  a  bridge  constructed  over the current Greenway
 location in order to carry out the intended purpose for which the Green-
 way was initially acquired by DOT, namely the straightening of New  York
 State Route 25A;
   (2)  acknowledging  that  the  MTA  shall construct said bridge to DOT
 specifications;
   (3) acknowledging that the MTA's potential  future  development  of  a
 railyard  use  and  the DOT's potential future election to have a bridge
 constructed over the  current  Greenway  location  can  coexist  at  the
 current  Greenway  location  and requiring both parties to work coopera-
 tively in the planning and construction phases so that in the event both
 projects are undertaken, they will coexist harmoniously; and
   (4) acknowledging that the MTA shall reroute the  Greenway,  which  is
 presently being utilized as a pedestrian and bicycle path, to the parcel
 south of the current Greenway location.
   (d) The DOT is authorized and directed to work with the MTA to negoti-
 ate and execute the above-described easement within six months after the
 effective date of this act.
   §  4.  The  DOT may consult with any state or local office, agency, or
 department and request or receive information from any such entity  that
 is relevant and material to the completion of this directive to grant an
 easement to the MTA to accommodate the potential future development of a
 railyard  use  in  order  to  expand  and improve public rail transit in
 Suffolk County and preserving the DOT's ability to  construct  New  York
 State Route 25A at its discretion.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.