COPA, the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, is back on the City Council's agenda, slimmer and more targeted than its last outing. Tenant organizers and nonprofit preservation groups have been huddling with council staff to rework the bill, which would briefly pause sales of certain troubled apartment buildings so mission-driven buyers can get a shot at them first. That tweak alone has landlords and brokers sounding the alarm.
Where the bill stands
The council passed a broader version in December 2025, but that effort hit a wall when then-mayor Eric Adams vetoed it and the council opted not to override. The new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, has signaled he is open to reviving COPA, and council leaders are weighing a narrower rewrite crafted to ease legal concerns, as reported by City & State.
Backers say they'll target truly distressed buildings
At a New York City Bar Association forum, sponsor Councilmember Sandy Nurse said she is “finalizing the language” and aims to introduce the revised measure within roughly 30 days. UHAB Director of Policy Arielle Hersh told the panel that the draft would limit COPA to buildings with clear signs of distress, such as those already in HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program, properties denied a Certificate of No Harassment, or buildings on the verge of losing subsidies like 421a or LIHTC. Backers also estimate the narrower version would affect fewer than 500 sales a year, as reported by The Real Deal.
How the process would play out
Earlier drafts of COPA laid out a formal notice-and-review process. Owners of covered properties would have to alert HPD and certified preservation buyers before putting a building on the market. Qualified entities would then get defined windows to register interest, sign confidentiality agreements and review underwriting materials. The sequencing and the specific deadlines for statements of interest, offers and match rights are described in a legislative summary by Rosenberg & Estis. The revived push is unfolding as the Mamdani administration recently placed 250 buildings on HPD’s Alternative Enforcement Program list this February, a roster the agency published this year, according to NYC.gov.
Legal and market questions
Even in pared-down form, COPA is expected to draw legal scrutiny because it reshapes the timing of private sales and raises questions about property rights and commercial speech. Legal analysts have been asking whether a city program that delays sales can hold up against constitutional challenges, as explored by Blank Rome. Sellers and brokers also warn that the messy realities of financing and closing multifamily deals may not line up neatly with the preservation timelines that COPA backers have in mind, with industry doubts aired at the same panel, per The Real Deal.
What comes next is a technical, high-stakes rewrite. Sponsors will try to tighten definitions and carve out off-ramps while preservation groups and lenders hash out who can realistically buy and finance these buildings under a COPA regime. Expect weeks of bill drafting, hearings and quiet lender outreach before any new text makes it to a council vote.
