BILL NUMBER: S5932
SPONSOR: MATTERA
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act in relation to authorizing the town of Huntington to alienate and
discontinue the use of certain parklands to the Huntington African Amer-
ican Museum
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Town of Huntington to
alienate and discontinue the use of certain parklands in order to
construct the Huntington African American Museum.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill authorizes the Town of Huntington, County of
Suffolk, acting by and through its governing body, and upon such terms
and conditions as determined by such governing body, to discontinue the
use as parkland and alienate the lands described in section three of
this act, to the Huntington African American Museum for the purpose of
constructing a museum to preserve historic artifacts, display exhibits
and hold events. Section two of this bill states that the authorization
contained in section one of this act shall only be effective on the
condition that the Town of Huntington dedicate an amount equal to or
greater than the fair market value of the parklands being alienated
pursuant to section one of this act towards the acquisition of new park-
land and/or capital improvements to existing park and recreational
facilities. Section three of this bill describes the parkland author-
ized by section one of this act to be discontinued as parkland. Section
four of this bill states that in the event that the Town of Huntington
received any funding support or assistance from the federal government
for the purchase, maintenance, or improvement of the parklands set forth
in section three of this act, the discontinuance and alienation of such
parklands authorized by the provisions of this act shall not occur until
the Town of Huntington has complied with any federal requirements
pertaining to the alienation or conversion of parklands, including
satisfying the secretary of the interior that the alienation or conver-
sion complies with all conditions which the secretary of the interior
deems necessary to assure the substitution of other lands shall be
equivalent in fair market value and usefulness to the lands being alien-
ated or converted. Section five of this bill establishes the effective
date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The alienation of this parkland and the subsequent development of the
Huntington African American Museum will have a positive effect of the
Huntington Community. The Museum's mission is to highlight local and
national history through the lens of African Americans in the Huntington
community. The Museum will provide local union construction jobs and,
once constructed, will be a learning center for school-age children, as
well as a local tourist attraction. The importance of this cultural
institution cannot be understated as there are very limited number of
African American history museums in the State of New York. The parkland
was chosen because of its location, accessibility and other pertinent
attributes that make it ideal for the development of a cultural institu-
tion. This portion of Mill Dam Park west of New York Avenue and south of
Mill Dam Road has not been used by the community for recreational or
other purposes for over fifty years. The majority of unaffected
portions of the parkland, known as Mill Dam Park, will continue to be
available to the public for recreational purposes. This bill shall
allow the portion of land that not feasible for parkland use to be
licensed by the Town of Huntington to the Huntington African American
Museum, so that they may construct a building where an unsung portion of
American history may be showcased for all New Yorkers..
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.