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The legislation would give pre-qualified nonprofits an early shot at bidding on certain distressed apartment buildings, what supporters say would ensure those units stay affordable.
Another opportunity for COPA?
Progressive lawmakers on Thursday introduced a revamped version of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA—long-sought legislation that would give pre-qualified nonprofits an early shot at bidding on certain distressed apartment buildings.
The City Council passed a version of the bill last year, though it was later vetoed by then-Mayor Eric Adams. Real estate groups have furiously opposed COPA, saying it unfairly favors nonprofit developers in building sales and would slow down and complicate already complex transactions.
But supporters say the bill targets a small subset of residential buildings with significant maintenance issues or where affordability provisions are expiring. Letting mission-driven groups bid on those properties early would help preserve those units and ensure they stay affordable, they argue, while expanding opportunities for tenant-ownership models like Community Land Trusts.
Brooklyn Councilmember Sandy Nurse, the bill’s sponsor, says the version introduced Tuesday includes a number of revisions to address concerns raised about earlier versions, and involved “months of negotiating.”
That includes shortening the window of time that pre-qualified nonprofits would have to signal their interest and bid on a building before it hits the wider market, as well as narrowing the types of properties they could bid early on (the new version, for example, excludes buildings with expiring 421a tax abatements).
“Instead of leaving these buildings to the whims of the private market, COPA will help even the playing field for qualified nonprofits to stabilize our neighborhoods, keep people in their homes, and keep housing affordable,” Nurse said in a statement.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he supports the bill, saying it’s “about putting power back in the hands of the people.”
“Tenants and community organizations across New York have spent years watching their neighborhoods be priced out from under them while speculators reap the rewards,” the mayor said in a statement.
A spokesperson for City Council Speaker Julie Menin, who abstained from voting on COPA last year, told NY1 that a hearing will be scheduled on the new version of the bill at some point in the future.
Here’s what else happened in housing this week—
ICYMI, from City Limits:
- In its executive budget unveiled this week, the Mamdani administration said it wants to move away from the use of hotels as emergency shelters to save on costs. Still, the city is opening two new shelter hotels in Brooklyn to replace capacity from the planned closure of the longtime Bellevue facility in Midtown.
- An increasing number of family homes in the outer boroughs are sold within two years of being bought—at huge markups, a practice known as “house flipping.” As New York City’s housing market continues to tighten, some lawmakers say the tactics can be predatory, targeting neighborhoods with Black homeowners.
- The mayor’s office will host three upcoming forums for public housing residents—some of whom felt left out by Mamdani’s earlier “Rental Ripoff” hearings—to provide direct feedback and share concerns with city leaders.
- Does New York City need rent stabilization for its small businesses?
ICYMI, from other local newsrooms:
- Single survivors are often denied beds in the city’s domestic violence shelters, which caters more to families with children, according to Gothamist.
- Owners of the Inwood building where three people died last week in a fire ignited by a flicked a cigarette were slapped with violations for having padlocked or blocked fire exits, THE CITY reports.
- The mayor proposed a number of reforms intended to speed up the affordable housing lottery process, according to amNY.
- The Times has the details on which New Yorkers’ upscale second homes will be subject to the state’s new pied-à-terre tax.
- The state is also looking to tax all-cash purchases of homes over $1 million, Bloomberg reports (story is behind a paywall).
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