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A years-long campaign to give qualified nonprofit and community partnerships a chance to buy distressed buildings broke through in the City Council Thursday. Supporters expect the mayor to sign the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) into law.
It was so close and yet, so far. But now the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) appears to have broken through for good.
The bill passed the City Council for the second time in less than a year Thursday, and will head next to the mayor’s desk.
After lawmakers passed it for the first time in December 2025, former Mayor Eric Adams’ eleventh-hour veto prevented the bill from becoming law.
COPA failed to gain the requisite support for an override when the Council resumed in January, but new Council Speaker Julie Menin promised to keep working on the bill, which gives pre-qualified nonprofits, including those working with community or tenant-led groups, an early shot at bidding on certain distressed apartment buildings.
Supporters say it would ensure troubled buildings are sold to trusted entities that could preserve affordability. But real estate groups complained that it would slow down transactions, and disadvantage other buyers.
Now, all the ducks seem to be in a row. Speaker Menin, after abstaining from voting on COPA last year, called the reintroduced bill for a vote and the City Council voted 38 to nine to send it to the mayor (two lawmakers abstained).
Mamdani, who included the measure in his housing plan, is expected to sign it into law.
“Today we are going to end the six-year saga of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Action in the Council,” said sponsor and Councilmember Sandy Nurse. “Preserving some of the housing we already have is the most immediate way to stop displacement.”
Nurse and fellow lawmakers made several changes to the bill compared to previous versions, including narrowing the breadth of property sales the law would apply to. Even the Real Estate Board Of New York (REBNY), once staunchly opposed to COPA, seemed to stand down.
“REBNY appreciates the constructive engagement and thoughtful leadership of Speaker Menin and Council Member Nurse, which has resulted in a more targeted and practical bill,” said President James Whelan in a statement last week. “We value their commitment to refining the proposal and look forward to continuing to work with the Council to preserve affordable housing, protect tenants and support the creation of more homes for New Yorkers.”
New York City faces a persistent housing crisis, with vacancy rates under 1 percent and rapidly rising rents. Supporters of the bill hope that it will help some living in affordable housing stay in their homes, instead of getting priced out, by giving preservation-minded buyers a stronger shot to buy their buildings.
The original legislation was first introduced in 2020 and took years to build momentum. The modified bill approved Thursday exempts some smaller properties and instead targets those that are “distressed” as measured by a certain number of housing code violations.
The bill would allow qualified buyers, like community land trusts or other owners with track records in preservation, first dibs on certain buildings when they go up for sale.
Owners would not be compelled to sell to those mission-oriented buyers, but would need to give them a heads up, and a chance to put together a competing offer or match one from the private market.
“Too many of the homes we already have are deteriorating under cycles of speculation, disinvestment, and neglect. [COPA] gives us a powerful new tool to interrupt those cycles at the point of sale,” said Housing and Buildings Committee Chair Pierina Sanchez, who voted yes.
Speaker Menin said she changed her mind on COPA this year after the universe of eligible properties was narrowed from about 10,000 units to about 2,000 after conversations with industry groups and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD).
“I believe the version that we are voting on today is the strongest, most strategic, and most operationally sound version of COPA yet,” said Nurse.
Not everyone is convinced.
“Any version of COPA is a disaster for affordable housing, renters, and owners,” Ann Korchak, CEO of Small Property Owners of New York, a group representing landlords, said in a statement Thursday.
“When a privately owned property is faced with economic distress, the owner should not be forced to give right of first refusal to city-sanctioned nonprofit housing providers,” she added. “It also gives an unfair advantage to the city and nonprofits, which would be free to make purchase offers without the burdensome restrictions faced by conventional buyers.”
Some landlords expressed concerns about the health of the city’s rent stabilized housing stock, which they argue threatens both private and nonprofit-owned housing burdened by high costs.
“The Council has been responsive to stakeholders, but we’re still missing the forest for the trees,” said Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association.
Burgos argues that rent increases have not kept up with costs in rent stabilized buildings, contributing to disrepair, particularly in buildings with mostly rent stabilized units.
But the bill could help the mayor in his efforts to steward distressed affordable housing to responsible buyers.
The Mayor’s Office to Protect Tenants and its leader Cea Weaver have championed deals to give tenants more of a say in the future of their buildings, intervening to try and stop the sale of a portfolio belonging to Pinnacle Real Estate and backing a bid from a nonprofit developer in the foreclosure auction of more buildings in East Harlem.
Elizabeth Eligio, a tenant at 108 Field Place in the Bronx, said that tenants in her building dealt with mold and leaks that threatened their health and never got fixed.
“Two months ago it was sold,” Eligio said in Spanish. “I hope my building will no longer be part of this cycle while tenants wait for safe and decent housing.”
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