By Olivia Young
Dozens of advocates rallied Aug. 13 near City Hall for “COPA Cabana” — a beach-themed event to urge the passage of a controversial housing bill called the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act — ahead of the New York City Council’s Sept. 9 hearing.
If passed, COPA would give qualified nonprofits and community-based organizations the first chance to buy certain buildings when an owner decides to sell, helping to preserve affordable housing and expand community ownership, advocates say.
There are 18 buildings in Bronx Community District 8 that would qualify for COPA if it were in place today, according to Will Spisak, senior policy strategist at nonprofit New Economy Project, one of COPA Cabana’s organizers.
Twelve of the buildings are in Kingsbridge Heights, two are in Marble Hill, and the other four are scattered around the district, Spisak said.
The buildings qualify based on meeting a level of distress. This includes being in the Alternative Enforcement Program — an initiative run by the city’s housing preservation and development department that aims to improve buildings with a high number of hazardous violations — meeting the daily average violations criteria, or both, Spisak said.
The violations criteria is a daily average of three or more hazardous or immediately hazardous violations per unit. The latter includes mold, pests, lead-based paint or issues with heat and hot water.
Greater Riverdale’s possible COPA sites underscore that the bill “applies to a small but strategic subset of buildings that are most at risk” of losing affordable units or being targeted by “predatory speculators,” Spisak said.
Council members Pierina Sanchez and Carmen De La Rosa, whose districts include Kingsbridge Heights and Marble Hill, respectively, are co-sponsors of the bill.
Another local representative, Council member Eric Dinowitz, however, has not signed on to COPA.
Dinowitz told The Press in a statement he has reservations about the bill, citing the role of the city’s housing preservation and development department. The department would be responsible for submitting reports on the program, certifying nonprofits, notifying property owners if a building meets COPA criteria and processing documents.
COPA hinges on the department’s ability to carry out those responsibilities smoothly, Dinowitz said.
“Government inserting itself into private property transactions is complicated territory,” Dinowitz said. “We don’t want to add red tape that slows the process down for property owners or the nonprofits this bill is meant to help … Before we ask [the department] to take on more responsibility here, we need to know they can handle what’s already on their plate.”
Sanchez, who is also chair of the council’s committee on housing and buildings, told The Press that in the face of a housing crisis, the city needs to utilize every available tool. The goal is to create as much long-term affordable housing as possible, Sanchez said. COPA is an avenue for tenants, nonprofits and mission-driven organizations to preserve housing by acquiring and improving buildings in poor condition, she continued.
Bronx-based nonprofits such as Our Bronx — formerly Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition — South Bronx Unite and Nos Quedamos are among the more than 200 organizations that back COPA, according to the New Economy Project.
Jazmine Kerr, a policy fellow at the New Economy Project who grew up in North Riverdale, told The Press she would love to build her future in the neighborhood, but it is becoming increasingly unrealistic as “unchecked real estate speculation” makes the city unaffordable.
“Riverdale is one of the true gems of the Bronx, and it would be a shame for us to isolate ourselves while housing costs price working-class families out of the city,” Kerr said.
Kerr believes the fear that affordable housing is out of reach resonates across her generation, and urged Dinowitz and others to “stand in solidarity with young New Yorkers against a housing system that doesn’t envision a future with us in it.”
The New York City Council passed an older version of COPA last December, but it was vetoed by former Mayor Eric Adams on his way out of office. Some council members at the time said they opposed the bill for fear it would harm small property owners, stall sales and worsen building conditions.
Now, with the support of Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the bill has gained renewed traction, lawmakers told The Press.
Our Bronx said in a statement eligibility criteria for COPA is still actively being negotiated between the city’s housing preservation and development department, the city council, and the coalition of organizations advocating for COPA.
Feedback is also coming in from stakeholders including the trade association Real Estate Board of New York and Service Employees International Union, Local 32BJ, Our Bronx said. According to the union, 32BJ represents 185,000 cleaners, property maintenance workers and building engineers, among other professions, across the U.S.
Based on preliminary estimates, as many as 700 buildings in the Bronx could be eligible for COPA in the first year, Our Bronx added.