N.Y. PBG Law § 2

§ 2. Policy of state and purpose of chapter. It is hereby declared\nthat in certain areas of cities, towns and villages of the state there\nexist insanitary and substandard housing conditions owing to\novercrowding and concentration of the population, improper planning,\nexcessive land coverage, lack of proper light, air and space, insanitary\ndesign and arrangement, or lack of proper sanitary facilities; that\nthese conditions are chiefly in areas where low rent dwellings prevail\nand that such conditions and dwellings are a menace to the health,\nsafety, morals, welfare and reasonable comfort of the citizens of this\nstate; that there is not an adequate supply of adequate, safe, and\nsanitary dwelling accommodations for persons of low income; that these\nconditions cause an increase and spread of disease and crime and\nconstitute a menace to the health, safety, morals, welfare, and comfort\nof the citizens of the state; that these conditions inflict blight upon\nthe economic value of large areas, impair private investments and the\nsource of public revenues; that these conditions cannot be remedied by\nthe ordinary operation of private enterprise; that these conditions\nrequire that provision be made for the investment of public and private\nfunds at low interest rates in low rent housing and the acquisition at\nfair prices of adequate parcels of property, the gradual demolition of\nexisting insanitary and unsafe housing and the construction of new\nhousing facilities, under public supervision in accord with proper\nstandards of sanitation and safety and at a cost which will permit\nmonthly rentals which persons of low income can afford to pay; that\nloans and subsidies by the state and its subdivisions are necessary for\nsuch purposes; that the clearance, replanning, reconstruction and\nrehabilitation of substandard and insanitary areas or the providing of\nadequate, safe and sanitary low rent housing accommodations in these\nareas and elsewhere for persons and families of low income, or both of\nthese, are public uses and purposes for which public money may be spent\nand private property acquired; that these conditions require the\ncreation of the agencies and instrumentalities hereinafter prescribed,\nwhich are declared to be agencies and instrumentalities of the state for\nthe purpose of attaining the ends herein recited; and the necessity in\nthe public interest for the provisions hereinafter enacted is hereby\ndeclared as a matter of legislative determination.\n