§ 958. Criteria for empire zone designation. (a) To be eligible for\ndesignation as an empire zone, an area must be characterized by\npervasive poverty, high unemployment and general economic distress, must\ncorrespond to traditional neighborhood or community boundaries, and\nwhere appropriate, be bounded by major natural or man-made physical\nboundaries, such as bodies of water, railroad lines, or limited access\nhighways; and must meet the following requirements:\n (i) the area shall include a United States census tract or tracts or\nblock numbering area or areas, or portions thereof, each full census\ntract or portion of a block numbering area of which, according to the\nmost recent census data available, has:\n (A) a poverty rate of at least twenty percent for the year to which\nthe data relate;\n (B) an unemployment rate of at least 1.25 times the statewide\nunemployment rate for the year to which the data relate; and\n (C) a population of at least two thousand.\n (ii) lands nearby or contiguous to census tracts or block numbering\nareas described in paragraph (i) of this subdivision may be eligible to\nbe included within an empire zone if, upon the request of the applicant,\nthe commissioner finds, in accordance with regulations promulgated\npursuant to this article, that such additional lands have significant\npotential for business development and job creation, which will enhance\neconomic revitalization of the zone and benefit zone residents;\nprovided, however, that lands nearby shall not be included in a zone\nuntil the commissioner, in consultation with the director of the budget,\npromulgates regulations governing the inclusion of such lands;\n (iii) the area proposed as an empire zone shall not exceed:\n two square miles for any zone, such area shall be defined by one or\nmore borders, which borders shall be determined by the applicant and\nneed not be entirely coterminous with the borders of census tracts or\nblock numbering areas provided, however, that such zone shall be located\nentirely within traditional neighborhood or community boundaries, and\nwhere appropriate, be bounded by major natural or man-made physical\nboundaries, such as bodies of water, railroad lines, or limited access\nhighways, and the zones created pursuant to paragraph (viii) of\nsubdivision (b) of section nine hundred sixty of this article should be\nlimited to one square mile; provided however, empire zones designated\nunder subdivision (b) of section nine hundred sixty of this article may\napply to increase their distinct and separate contiguous areas to two\nsquare miles; provided further, regionally significant projects are not\nincluded within such two square mile limitation;\n (iv) if such area is governed by zoning laws or other laws or\nregulations governing land use, such laws or regulations must allow at\nleast twenty-five percent of such area to be used for commercial or\nindustrial activity;\n (v) at least twenty-five percent of the total land within such area\nmust be vacant, abandoned or otherwise available for industrial or\ncommercial development or redevelopment; and\n (vi) such other requirements as may be established in regulations\npromulgated by the commissioner with the approval of the director of the\nbudget and after consultation with the commissioner of labor, including\nbut not limited to:\n (A) a comprehensive demonstration of chronic and severe economic\ndistress and the reasons therefor as evidenced by population and\nemployment decline, increase in unemployment and public assistance\nrecipients, decline in real property values, relative decline in per\ncapita income, the extent of abandoned property and deteriorated\nindustrial, commercial and residential properties, a decline in the\nnumber of business establishments, obsolescence in plant capacity, loss\nof markets to foreign competition, the unavailability of expansion\nfinancing, poor access to markets, the retirement of local owners of\ncompa
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