§ 28-03 — Selection of Community Groups

§ 28-03 Selection of Community Groups.

(a) General. This 28 RCNY § 28-03 sets forth standards for the selection of community groups to receive syndication funds for projects. Such determinations shall be made by the agency, in accordance with the standards set forth herein, for the purposes of (i) ascertaining whether a community group meets the requirements of the program and has the ability to perform the project, and (ii) furthering the best interests of the city. The agency may select a community group to receive syndication funds by any method permitted by law which it determines will best meet the program's objectives, including, but not limited to, sole source, application, RFP, selection by a process mandated by an entity other than the agency, and selection by an entity other than the agency. (b) Grandfathered selection. Notwithstanding any provision of these rules to the contrary, the agency may select: (1) Any community group which was the co-sponsor of a development; or (2) Any community group with which it began to negotiate before the date upon which the guidelines ceased to be effective; or (3) Any community group which was selected by a developer in accordance with an agreement prior to the agency's use of EDA's as if, and to the same extent as if, such community group had been selected by the agency pursuant to these rules. (c) Sole source. Where the agency deems it to be necessary or desirable, a community group may be selected to receive syndication funds without any competitive process. In such event, the agency shall, prior to taking any action with respect to disbursement of such syndication funds, prepare a written statement signed by the commissioner setting forth the reasons why a more competitive process was not appropriate or desirable. Such statement shall thereafter be placed with the records concerning the project which are retained by the agency and shall be kept on file in accordance with the agency's usual record retention procedures. (d) Application. Where and at such time as the agency deems it to be necessary or desirable, a community group may be selected via an application process. (1) Distribution. (i) Notice. At such time as the agency commences an application process for selection of one or more community groups, the agency shall place advertisements in The City Record and such other publications as the agency shall deem appropriate. The advertisement shall include, at a minimum, a short description of the program, the availability of syndication funds, any required or suggested project, the place where application forms can be obtained and the deadline for submission of applications. (ii) Application forms. The agency or its designee shall prepare or cause to be prepared the forms upon which application are to be submitted, which forms may require such information as the agency deems to be necessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes of the program. Application forms shall be made available by the agency to all potential applicants. (iii) Amendments. The agency may change any aspect of the information set forth in the advertisement at any time. The agency shall amend the advertisement accordingly and shall place such amended advertisement in The City Record, the publications in which the original advertisement appeared, and such other publications as the agency shall deem appropriate. If it is infeasible for the agency to publish the amended advertisement in the publications in which the original advertisement appeared, the agency shall endeavor to provide substantially the same type of notice as was provided with respect to the original advertisement. The agency may also mail copies of such amended advertisement to potential applicants who have done prior business with the agency or who have requested to be on a mailing list for such purpose. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an application process may be terminated by the agency at any time without advertisement. (2) Submissions. (i) Time period. The agency may impose a deadline for submission of applications, which shall be a reasonable period of time after the advertisement first appears. The agency may, in the alternative, impose no deadline, in which case the agency shall receive, review, and approve or reject applications on a rolling basis as and when such applications are received. (ii) Completeness. The agency shall require applications to be submitted on the required forms and to be completed and executed in the manner set forth therein. (3) Selection. (i) Completeness. The application must include all required forms, and such forms must be fully and properly completed and executed, at the time of submission. The agency may reject an application if it determines that such requirements are not met. (ii) Selection. The agency may review and judge applications and select community groups by any method and upon any criteria permitted by law or these rules. (4) Limitations. (i) No obligation. The publication of an advertisement and the provision and acceptance of application forms shall not represent any obligation or agreement whatsoever on the part of the city or the agency, which may only be incurred or entered into by an EDA approved by the law department and duly executed by both parties. The city and the agency shall not be obligated to pay, nor shall they in fact pay, any costs or losses incurred by any applicant at any time, including, but not limited to, the cost of preparing an application. (ii) No warranty. The agency shall make no warranties, express or implied, with respect to any factual information contained in any advertisement. (5) Rights retained by agency. Where it is deemed by the agency to be in the best interests of the city: (i) The agency may terminate any application process in whole or in part at any time. (ii) The agency may reject any and all applications. (iii) The agency may at any time allow applicants to make modifications or additions to their applications. (iv) The agency may negotiate with applicants and may negotiate with parties which have not submitted applications. (v) The agency may negotiate on terms other than those set forth in the advertisement. (e) RFP. Where the agency deems it to be feasible and desirable, a community group may be selected to receive syndication funds via an RFP. The RFP shall state that it is the type of selection process which the agency deems appropriate and shall describe the program, the availability of syndication funds, any required or suggested project(s), the selection process, and such other matters as the agency deems to be relevant. Where a potential community group has previously submitted a proposal and the agency has issued an RFP soliciting additional proposals to compete with such proposal, such RFP shall contain a copy or summary of such proposal and shall set forth in detail the standards by which the competition shall be judged. (1) Issuance. The agency may issue RFP's at any time it deems appropriate and desirable. (2) Distribution. (i) Notice. At such time as the agency issues an RFP for selection of one or more community groups, the agency shall place advertisements in The City Record and such other publications as the agency shall deem appropriate. The advertisement shall include, at a minimum, a short description of the program, the availability of syndication funds, any required or suggested project, the place a copy of the RFP can be obtained and the deadline for submission of proposals. (ii) Availability. A copy of the RFP shall be made available to all potential applicants prior to the submission deadline. The agency shall require all recipients of any RFP to furnish identification and shall cause a list of recipients to be maintained, which list shall in no event be furnished to any non-governmental party prior to the conclusion of the selection process. (iii) Amendments. The agency may issue written amendments to the RFP at any time prior to the submission deadline. The agency shall provide copies of such amendments to all recipients of the RFP. (3) Public Information. (i) Conference. Prior to the submission deadline, the agency may, but shall not be required to, hold an open conference where agency staff answer questions about submission and program requirements. The time and place for such conference, if any, shall be indicated in the RFP solicitation. (ii) Agency contacts. Agency staff shall be available during the submission period by telephone and/or in person to answer general questions about the RFP. The agency may require that contact with agency personnel by prospective applicants with respect to an RFP be limited to one or more person(s) designated in the RFP and/or that such contact be in writing. (4) Submissions. (i) Deadline. The deadline for submissions shall be a reasonable period of time after the advertisement first appears and shall be stated in the RFP. (ii) Completeness. The agency shall require proposals to be submitted in the format and number prescribed in the RFP and to contain all information and forms required therein. (5) Selection. (i) Basic requirements. The agency may reject a proposal if it determines that either of the following basic requirements are not met: (A) Completeness. The proposal must include all required forms, and such forms must be fully and properly completed and executed, at the time of submission. (B) Compliance. The proposal must comply in all respects with all material terms of the RFP. (ii) Threshold criteria. The agency may impose such additional threshold criteria in the RFP as it deems necessary or desirable. Provided that a proposal has passed all basic requirements, the agency shall consider such threshold criteria as are established in the RFP. Such threshold criteria may include, but shall not be limited to, those characteristics of applicants which have a bearing on their ability to successfully complete the project (e.g., organizational capacity, comparable experience, financial capacity, and current and projected workload), those characteristics of the applicant's proposal which have a bearing on the performance of the project, and any other factors which the agency deems appropriate. (iii) Competitive criteria. The agency may impose such additional competitive criteria in the RFP as it deems necessary or desirable. Provided that a proposal has passed all threshold criteria, the agency shall consider such competitive criteria as are established in the RFP. Such criteria may include, but shall not be limited to, those characteristics of applicants which have a bearing on their ability to successfully complete the project (e.g., organizational capacity, comparable experience, and current and expected workload), those characteristics of the applicant's proposal which have a bearing on the performance of the project, and any other factors which the agency deems appropriate. (6) Limitations. (i) No obligation. An RFP shall not represent any obligation or agreement whatsoever on the part of the city or the agency, which may only be incurred or entered into by written EDA approved as to form by the city's law department and duly executed by both parties. The city and the agency shall not be obligated to pay, nor shall they in fact pay, any costs or losses incurred by any applicant at any time, including, but not limited to, the cost of responding to the RFP. (ii) No warranty. The agency shall make no warranties, express or implied, with respect to any factual information contained in any RFP. (7) Rights retained by agency. Where it is deemed by the agency to be in the best interests of the city: (i) The agency may withdraw any RFP in whole or in part prior to conditional designation of a community group. (ii) The agency may reject any and all proposals submitted in response to an RFP. (iii) The agency may at any time waive compliance with an RFP, change any of the terms and conditions of an RFP, or allow certain applicants to make modifications or additions to their respective proposals. (iv) The agency may negotiate with one or more applicants who have submitted proposals pursuant to an RFP, and may negotiate with parties which have not responded to the RFP. (v) The agency may negotiate and execute an EDA on terms other than those set forth in the RFP. (f) Non-agency selection. The agency may select an applicant to be a community group without any agency selection process where such applicant has already been selected or designated by (i) another agency or instrumentality of the city, (ii) any agency or instrumentality of the state or federal government, (iii) any public authority, public benefit corporation, or other quasi-governmental entity, (iv) a developer pursuant to an agreement, or (v) any other entity designated by the agency to perform such selection. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding sentence or elsewhere in these rules, the agency shall only select a community group pursuant to this 28 RCNY § 28-03(f) where the agency deems such method of selection to be necessary or desirable, and the agency shall not be required to select any applicant solely because such applicant has been selected by any other entity. (g) Non-agency process. The agency may select a community group by a process not set forth in these rules where funding for the project is provided by, and/or the alternative selection process is mandated by, either (i) another agency or instrumentality of the city, (ii) any agency or instrumentality of the state or federal government, (iii) any public authority, public benefit corporation, or other quasi-governmental entity, (iv) a developer pursuant to an agreement, or (v) any other entity designated by the agency to perform such selection. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the preceding sentence or elsewhere in these rules, the agency shall only select a community group pursuant to this 28 RCNY § 28-03(g) where the agency deems such method of selection to be necessary or desirable, and the agency shall not be required to utilize any selection process solely because such selection process has been mandated by any other entity.