Contact: Andy Morrison, andy@neweconomyproject.org
Momentum for COPA continues to build as New Yorkers demand real solutions to the city’s affordability crisis
New York, NY – On Thursday, the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) secured majority support in the New York City Council only one week after its reintroduction, reaching 26 sponsors—enough support to pass the legislation.
Sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse, COPA (Intro. 905) would give community land trusts (CLTs) and other qualified mission-driven affordable housing organizations, including joint ventures, the first opportunity to purchase certain at-risk multifamily buildings when landlords decide to sell, keeping housing permanently affordable and rooted in community control.
COPA is backed by more than 200 organizations, including CLTs, tenant associations, affordable housing developers, labor unions, and housing experts. The bill is also supported by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who said in a statement last week that COPA “is about putting power back in the hands of the people.” He added, “I look forward to working with the City Council to pass this important bill and protect the affordability and future of our neighborhoods.”
The Council previously passed COPA in December before it was vetoed by former Mayor Eric Adams on his final day in office. Since then, Council Member Nurse has worked with fellow Council Members, HPD, tenants and housing groups, property owners, affordable housing developers, and other stakeholders to strengthen the legislation.
“Now with 26 co-sponsors—a majority of the City Council—COPA is poised to swiftly move through the legislative process to passage,” said NYC Council Member Sandy Nurse. “I am grateful for my colleagues who have rallied behind this bill, which will help preserve at-risk affordable housing, prevent displacement of working-class families, and stop the destructive speculative cycles destabilizing our communities. I look forward to working with the Speaker, Housing and Buildings Committee Chair Pierina Sanchez, and the Mamdani Administration to continue moving this bill forward.”
“We are thrilled to see that the Council is listening closely to the 200+ tenant, community, and affordable housing groups urging the passage of this critical bill,” said Deyanira Del Rio, Executive Director of New Economy Project, which coordinates the New York City Community Land Initiative (NYCCLI), the coalition that has led the campaign for COPA. “COPA gives communities and the city a powerful new tool to stabilize buildings, combat displacement of low-income and Black and Brown New Yorkers, and build lasting community wealth. We call on Speaker Menin and the City Council to pass COPA immediately.”
“New York City must pass COPA as soon as possible. We know from firsthand experience how transformative this legislation will be,” said Brianna Soleyn, a board member of the East New York Community Land Trust, a member of NYCCLI. “The ENY CLT put in the work to organize residents and donors to directly purchase our first multifamily building, which was neglected by its former owner. Through COPA, the city can support acquisitions like these, of over-leveraged rent stabilized housing stock, to ensure that these buildings are kept affordable and under tenant control. These acquisitions are proven to work and directly improve New Yorkers’ lives.”