NYC Lawmakers Gear Up for New COPA Vote

COPA is coming, with the bulk of supporting lawmakers already celebrating the community buyout bill as it nears another chance at passing in City Council.

The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, which would give nonprofits or joint ventures designated by the city a first go at purchasing distressed multifamily buildings when they are up for sale, is back from the dead after ex-Mayor Eric Adams’ veto halted a bid to pass it last year. 

Now that the bill has secured a critical mass among lawmakers spearheaded by Council member Sandy Nurse, plus a co-sign from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, it is all but a sure thing to pass when it heads to a vote. Before then, the Council will hold a hearing on COPA and other signature Mamdani-backed housing policies on Sept. 9. 

The revised bill truncated the timeline for potential COPA buyers down from 25 to 20 days to express interest and 70 days, down from 80, to submit offers, capping previously open-ended extensions at five days. It would apply to buildings with four or more units that meet at least one of multiple distress criteria, including an average of three or more violations per unit. The recently codified Certification of No Harassment program is another avenue that can qualify a given building as distressed, along with foreclosure or involvement in the city’s Alternative Enforcement Program.

That hearing will offer a place for any skeptical lawmakers to raise questions about the knock-on impact that COPA could have upon implementation. If other cities that have introduced their own Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act legislation are any indication, giving certain nonprofits, joint ventures or tenant groups the right of first refusal could have unintended consequences for the process of listing and selling a distressed multifamily building across the five boroughs.

Tenant purchaser preference laws have expanded recently in Chicago, while Washington, D.C. and San Francisco have had their own iterations of TOPA on the books for years, each facing backlash from landlords complaining that it kills their deals to sell, refinance or secure title insurance on their buildings. Both proponents and critics of the program have argued that first dibs must also come with adequate funding and resources in order to function properly.

In New York City, it’s clear the proponents are winning out.

I caught up with Council member Shekar Krishnan, a longtime supporter of the bill and former tenants’ rights lawyer, at a “COPA Cabana” rally held outside City Hall last week to get a sense of where the legislation currently stands. Demonstrators were in a festive mood, mixing piña coladas and raising awareness for a piece of legislation that has already garnered sufficient backing from Council members including Shahana Hanif, Amanda Farias and Chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings Pierina Sánchez, who stopped by to signal their support.

“Momentum is growing, you can see that clearly,” Krishnan said. “Many of the tenants here are my former clients, we’ve fought together, and I’ve seen firsthand the difference it can make when legislation like COPA and other measures to preserve affordable housing, how they can achieve the numbers that we need. If we build more housing and don’t preserve the existing ones that we have, it’s a zero-sum game.”

What we’re thinking about: With a COPA hearing on the calendar, what questions do you think lawmakers should ask? How do other markets differ from New York City when it comes to financing that nonprofits and joint ventures can tap into when purchasing distressed buildings? Let me know at ben.miller@therealdeal.com. 

A thing we’ve learned: New Yorkers can register their bikes with the New York Police Department to combat bike theft. The cops will engrave a serial number on a discreet part of the bike and stick a decal on it that says the bike has been registered with the NYPD. If a thief tries to remove the sticker, it will leave behind the word “void,” indicating to police that the bike has been stolen.

— Spencer Davis

Elsewhere…

— City & State profiled Randy Mastro, former Mayor Eric Adams’ first deputy mayor and the lawyer representing three homeowners who sued the Mamdani administration over New York’s new pied-à-terre tax. “I’m not a politician,” Mastro told the publication. “I’m just a lawyer who believes in the rule of law and holding the government accountable when it breaks it.”

— The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority will begin to sell carbon credits Wednesday to generate almost $1.8 million for the Champlain Hudson Power Express transmission line bringing hydropower from Quebec to New York City, Gothamist reports. The credits allow New Yorkers to avoid the costs associated with Local Law 97, which penalizes property owners for not reducing emissions from buildings they own. The credits were introduced by former Mayor Eric Adams, who pitched the program in 2023 as a way to fund clean energy projects while protecting building owners from crippling costs. Mayor Zohran Mamdani pledged on the campaign trail to close loopholes allowing property owners to avoid the building emission laws, but he has seemingly abandoned the promise. 

— Congestion pricing has had only minor effects on air quality and pollution, according to a new study by the New York City Health Department reported by Gothamist. Congestion pricing, which charges New Yorkers a toll to drive south of 60th Street, was expected to increase pollution in neighborhoods along the Cross Bronx Expressway that truck drivers might use to avoid the toll, but the study found that there was no increase in air pollution near major highway corridors outside of the tolling zone. The study contrasts with a Columbia University study which found that air pollution rose in the South Bronx following the implementation of congestion pricing.

Closing time

Residential: The most expensive residential sale recorded Monday was $11.5 million for 520 Fifth Avenue, PH75. The new construction condo unit in Midtown Central is 3,000 square feet. Corcoran Sunshine Marketing Group had the listing.

Commercial: The most expensive commercial transaction was $65 million for 110 East 55th Street. Gary Barnett’s Extell bought the 73,000-square-foot office building after reports that an entity tied to JT Magen filed for foreclosure on the property.

New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $12.5 million for 410 West 47th Street. The Hell’s Kitchen townhome is 13,000 square feet. Sotheby’s International Realty’s Kristi Ambrosetti has the listing.

Breaking Ground: The largest new building permit filed was for a proposed 110,192-square-foot, 27-story, mixed-use building at 149 Lawrence Street in Downtown Brooklyn. Kao-Hwa Lee Architects is the applicant of record.

— Joseph Jungermann