{"id":193,"date":"2026-09-09T11:04:49","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T15:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/sandy-nurse\/?p=193"},"modified":"2026-09-09T11:04:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T15:04:49","slug":"tenants-community-groups-electeds-rally-at-city-hall-for-the-community-opportunity-to-purchase-act-copa-as-council-holds-key-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/council.nyc.gov\/sandy-nurse\/2026\/09\/09\/tenants-community-groups-electeds-rally-at-city-hall-for-the-community-opportunity-to-purchase-act-copa-as-council-holds-key-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Tenants, Community Groups, Electeds Rally at City Hall for the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) as Council Holds Key Hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amid deepening housing crisis, advocates demand passage of COPA to bring land and housing into permanently affordable community control\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

New York, NY<\/strong> \u2013 More than 100 tenants, community groups and electeds rallied on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday morning, calling on the City Council to pass the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA (Intro 905)<\/a>, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse.  The action preceded a key City Council hearing on the bill, at which dozens of community groups, tenants, homeowners, and affordable housing developers testified about the urgent need to pass COPA amid an unprecedented affordability crisis that is displacing lower-income and Black and Brown New Yorkers.<\/p>\n

COPA will give vetted, mission-driven affordable housing developers, including community land trusts and other nonprofits working with organized tenants, a first opportunity to purchase certain at-risk multifamily buildings when owners sell. These include buildings in severe physical distress and those where affordability restrictions are set to expire \u2014 threatening to displace longtime and lower income tenants. COPA, modeled on legislation successfully implemented in San Francisco and other cities, is designed to stabilize and expand the supply of permanently affordable, community-controlled homes, including deeply affordable rentals and affordable homeownership opportunities.<\/p>\n

Int. 905 will give qualified affordable housing providers an urgently needed tool to acquire, rehab, and preserve at-risk affordable housing for thousands of New Yorkers, as modeled<\/a> in San Francisco. Additional details about the bill can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

COPA is supported by a coalition of over 200 community, tenant, and affordable housing organizations.  A majority of City Council members have co-sponsored the bill, and Mayor Mamdani has named COPA as a top legislative priority in his 2026 Housing Plan.  <\/p>\n

Quotes<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Community Opportunity to Purchase Act will make our city more affordable for working class New Yorkers who are being squeezed by the housing affordability crisis,\u201d said Council Member Sandy Nurse.<\/strong> \u201cAfter today\u2019s Housing and Buildings Committee hearing, we are that much closer to passing the bill. COPA is just one tool to preserve our existing affordable housing stock and help stop the brutal cycle of displacement in our neighborhoods. I am excited to see COPA reach this legislative milestone. Now let\u2019s pass it into law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers need bold solutions that address the root causes of our city\u2019s deepening affordability crisis,\u201d said Deyanira Del Rio, Executive Director of New Economy Project<\/strong>. \u201cCOPA does exactly that. Backed by 200+ tenant, community, and affordable housing groups, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn an affordability crisis, New York City must do everything in its power to protect the quality and preserve the affordability of the places New Yorkers call home,\u201dsaid NYC Council Member Pierina Sanchez, Chair of the Committee on Housing and Buildings.<\/strong> \u201cCouncil Member Nurse\u2019s Community Opportunity to Purchase Act would do just that\u2014opening the door to improved long-term outcomes for communities when building owners decide to sell. At today\u2019s hearing, we will hear this bill within a larger conversation about preservation, strengthened code enforcement, empowering tenants, and the numerous proposals in the Mayor\u2019s Block by Block plan. I applaud Council Member Nurse and the broad coalition of advocates who have refined the bill and have brought a thoughtful and targeted proposal to the table for our consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing affordability is a major concern for all UAW members and especially for members who rent in the five boroughs of New York City. Unfortunately, status quo housing policies have failed to address one of the root causes of the affordability crisis\u2014predatory real estate speculation,\u201d said Jane Fox, Chairperson, UAW Region 9A NY Area CAP Council.<\/strong> \u201cIf we want a city that working-class New Yorkers can call home, we must bring more housing into community and tenant control. UAW Region 9A calls on City Council to pass COPA immediately.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor too long, profit-seeking corporations have displaced Black and brown New Yorkers from their homes,\u201d said Council Member Tiffany Cab\u00e1n<\/strong>. \u201cCOPA will give people the opportunity to turn their buildings into permanently affordable community-controlled homes. We must pass COPA now to mitigate the cycle of displacement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we continue to face a housing, homelessness, and affordability crisis, we must commit to preserving affordable housing for those who need it most,\u201d said Will Depoo, Senior Campaign Organizer at the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development (ANHD).<\/strong> \u201cCOPA provides our communities with a key tool to fight speculation, move distressed buildings into the hands of responsible community stewards, and ensure that public resources go where they\u2019re most needed.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cReal estate speculators are targeting our most vulnerable neighbors and fueling gentrification at high-speed across our city. COPA is a targeted way to protect some of our tenants from that exploitative industry. NYC is in a housing crisis. We need deeply affordable homes maintained and preserved as a critical part of the strategy. What we don\u2019t need is increased eviction rates and people living in deplorable conditions. That\u2019s why I\u2019m strongly urging my colleagues to join me in supporting the passage of COPA,\u201d said Council Member Alexa Avil\u00e9s. <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNew Yorkers cannot afford for the City to wait while more buildings are sold into a speculative market that too often turns homes into investment vehicles and pushes working-class families out of the neighborhoods they built. COPA gives us a practical tool to act before displacement happens by giving mission-driven nonprofits, community land trusts, and responsible partners a fair chance to preserve housing for long-term affordability and community stewardship,\u201d said Sandra Lobo, Executive Director of Our Bronx<\/strong>. \u201cAt Our Bronx, we believe the affordability crisis will only be solved by pairing production with preservation. We must protect the homes that already exist, keep people rooted, and build the infrastructure for communities to co-own and co-govern their future. As COPA moves forward again, the City has a real opportunity to act with urgency and pass this legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n

“New Yorkers are struggling to stay in their homes, and the city currently has some of the lowest vacancy rates in decades. We need bold preservation tools that center tenants and community needs so they can remain housed,\u201d said Council Member Jennifer Guti\u00e9rrez<\/strong>. \u201cCOPA creates a pathway for permanently affordable, community-controlled housing while helping prevent the continuous cycle of eviction, flipping, and displacement. I\u2019m proud that Council Member Nurse has remained steady on this legislation and I am proud to support COPA once again.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cFor decades, the Fifth Avenue Committee has worked to ensure that low- and moderate-income New Yorkers can remain in the communities they helped build. We are seeing more and more tenants facing the uncertainty that comes when the properties they have called home are under threat due to foreclosure, bankruptcy or other challenges,\u201d said Michelle de la Uz, Executive Director of the Fifth Avenue Committee<\/strong>. \u201cThe Community Opportunity to Purchase Act is a vital tool to combat displacement and preserve affordability in our neighborhoods. COPA empowers mission-driven affordable housing developers like ours to compete with speculative buyers and ensure housing remains affordable for community residents for generations to come. We urge the City Council to pass this legislation and give communities a fighting chance to stay rooted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHousing affordability is the number one issue I hear about from my constituents,\u201d said Council Member Shahana Hanif<\/strong>. \u201cTrusted community organizations like the Fifth Avenue Committee are ready to create and preserve deeply affordable homes, yet too often they\u2019re pushed aside while profit-driven developers take over, driving displacement. COPA gives these organizations a fair opportunity to protect affordable housing and put people before profit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCOPA is a vital tool that would help Western Queens Community Land Trust address the affordable housing crisis impacting our neighborhoods. We have been approached multiple times by tenants who seek our help buying their building from negligent landlords, only to have it sold out from under us in the open market before we could make an offer,\u201d said Jenny Dubnau, Board Co-Chair at Western Queens CLT.<\/strong> \u201cThe passage of COPA will help us to guarantee tenants\u2019 rights, end ongoing negligence, and secure stable, decommodified housing for our communities. And to make COPA even more effective, it should come with a major capital fund for building purchases.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need much stronger regulations to deter predatory real estate investors and prioritize community-based organizations that are invested in our neighborhoods,\u201d said Council Member Lincoln Restler<\/strong>. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act is a critical tool to protect vulnerable tenants from eviction and prevent at-risk multi-family buildings from being bought up and flipped by speculators. Instead, qualified non-profits will be able to expand the supply of much-needed permanently affordable housing and keep residents in their homes. I\u2019m proud to support Council Member Nurse\u2019s urgent legislation that is smartly modeled after successful programs in other U.S. cities.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City is in the midst of an acute affordability crisis. Our member neighborhood houses
report housing insecurity is one of the most pressing challenges facing their communities,\u201d said Anita Kwok, Policy Analyst at United Neighborhood Houses<\/strong>. \u201cOur current policies are simply insufficient to address the current demand for truly affordable housing. The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act puts the organizations with the deepest roots in these communities in a position to preserve affordability, prevent displacement, and build housing that is truly affordable for the neighborhood populations they serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCOPA gives tenants and mission-driven affordable housing developers the first opportunity to buy certain buildings when they go up for sale, helping preserve affordability and prevent displacement. It is time to stand with tenants fighting to stay in our communities,\u201d said Council Member Harvey Epstein<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City must pass COPA as soon as possible. We know from first hand experience how transformative this legislation could be,\u201d said Brianna Soleyn, a board member of the East New York Community Land Trust<\/strong>. \u201cThe ENY CLT put in the work to organize residents and donors to directly purchase our first 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\u2019 lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

“COPA will take blighted, often abandoned properties and turn them into high quality and deeply affordable units for people across our city. It is the kind of bold solution the housing crisis requires and I am proud to stand in support of it,\u201d said Council Member Kayla Santosuosso<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCOPA would be a game-changer for neighborhoods in the South Bronx that face severe displacement pressures, such as Mott Haven,\u201d said Matthew Shore, Director of Planning & Development at South Bronx Unite.<\/strong> \u201cMott Haven ranks amongst the highest in the city for rent burden, evictions, and housing code violations. At the same time, new housing units produced at or above 80% AMI in our community district were double that of units at or below 80% AMI. We know that CLTs and nonprofit developers have a better track record of affordable housing development than for-profit developers, and COPA is a long-overdue legislation that we need to preserve our working-class communities and address our city\u2019s affordability crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

“For decades, the real estate lobby and its corporate benefactors have worsened the housing crisis, denying working New Yorkers much-needed affordable housing,” said Council Member Chi Oss\u00e9<\/strong>. “The Community Opportunity to Purchase Act brings our city one step closer to ensuring housing remains permanently affordable and represents tenants’ interests rather than real estate profits. Today’s housing crisis demands a whole-of-government approach, and I’m proud to support this legislation so we can gain another tool to confront it.”<\/p>\n

\u201cTwo years ago, This Land Is Ours CLT participated in a successful bid to develop 500 affordable homes on the site of a shuttered Catholic church. We are currently working with the tenants of 438-440 West 45th Street and 331 East 14th Street and a Preservation Purchaser to acquire homes previously-owned by slumlord Ohebshalom, and we\u2019re at a critical stage in our negotiations with the current owner. With COPA in place, we are confident we\u2019d be able to strike a deal that ensures the permanent affordability of the housing,\u201d said Valerio Orselli, Project Director of This Land Is Ours CLT<\/strong>. \u201cWe are very close to making a deal for these three buildings. And we are very close to passing COPA, after so many attempts in the past.  Let’s make 2026 the year we finally pass this critical bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs locals, we know the future of New York City is not only about infrastructure. It is also about whether the communities that actually built this city, neighborhood by neighborhood, can remain here and have a voice in its future,\u201d said Malik Sanders, Executive Director of ReAL Edgemere Community Land Trust<\/strong>. \u201cAs we struggle through multiple housing crises, COPA would give tenants and mission-driven organizations a real opportunity to keep our families rooted here by bringing homes into long-term community stewardship. Simply put, the City Council should pass COPA because we cannot continue losing our homes, families, and neighborhoods to speculation.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Youth Alliance for Housing is a collective of young organizers fighting for the right to remain in the city we love. The endless cycle of speculation in this city is killing New Yorkers and enriching those who profit from our homes \u2013 and it doesn’t have to be this way. COPA is a tool to keep New Yorkers housed in permanently affordable homes, and if Speaker Menin and City Council care about the affordability crisis, they will pass COPA,\u201d said Kasey McNaughton, Director of Organizing at The Youth Alliance for Housing.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cUnscrupulous landlords, private equity, and venture capitalists have deteriorated the affordable housing market, pushing out New Yorkers and working families. Preserving affordable housing is a crucial part of the solution to the housing crisis that has fueled homelessness and displacement in an increasingly unaffordable city. Trusted non-profit developers have already been at the forefront fighting for tenant rights, and rehabilitating neglected housing, providing tenants with homeownership opportunities \u2013 COPA gives them additional tools to uplift tenants and provide dignified housing for New Yorkers who desperately need it. Today’s hearing brings us one step closer to a solution,\u201d said Council Member Carmen De La Rosa.<\/strong>
<\/strong>
<\/strong>\u201cOffering non-profit Community Development Organizations a right of first offer and right of refusal when privately owned buildings are placed on the market for sale would yield enormous benefits for communities across New York City,\u201d said Yvonne Stennett, Executive Director of Community League of the Heights (CLOTH). <\/strong>\u201cFirst, it will help curb speculation and the ill-desired effect of displacement that often accompanies it\u2014particularly in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. COPA would also expand New York City\u2019s affordable housing inventory. It would enhance the viability of HPD\u2019s Neighborhood Pillars Program, which would in turn help stabilize communities by ensuring that properties are rehabilitated and made affordable, with a focus on long term neighborhood development rather than the short-term profit motive that generally accompanies private developments.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled that COPA has been reintroduced in the City Council, and we strongly urge the body to again pass it,\u201d said Andrew Berman, Executive Director of Village Preservation.<\/strong> \u201cThis bill offers New Yorkers a powerful new tool to stabilize and protect existing affordable housing; its passage would strike a blow on behalf of tenants and all New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n

“COPA will provide one more much-needed tool tenants and their advocates can use to protect our homes, our families, and the communities that we’ve built,” said Ramina Davidson, Executive Director of Communities Resist<\/strong>. “Allowing qualified non-profits and Community Land Trusts the right of first refusal when landlords sell certain buildings will help block predatory developers from buying up those buildings and pricing out New Yorkers. We’ve seen the protective effects of similar legislation in other cities, and we look forward to COPA becoming the first of many such laws here.”<\/p>\n

“The Dukler Tenant Union just took control of their buildings<\/a> from their bad landlord after nearly a decade of fighting. Their win shows tenant associations across the City that there is a path to dignity, stability, and control when tenants organize together for their homes,” said Arielle Hersh, Director of Policy and New Projects at UHAB<\/strong>. “If Council passes the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), tenants could partner with mission-driven purchasers to create a new pipeline of social housing. In a moment where we are seeing record-high rates of multifamily foreclosures and distress from decades of speculation and disinvestment, we need policies like COPA to turn crisis into opportunity\u2014removing properties from the speculative market and stabilizing them as the high-quality, safe, affordable homes New Yorkers deserve.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Amid deepening housing crisis, advocates demand passage of COPA to bring land and housing into permanently affordable community control\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

New York, NY<\/strong> \u2013 More than 100 tenants, community groups and electeds rallied on the steps of City Hall on Wednesday morning, calling on the City Council to pass the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA (Intro 905)<\/a>, sponsored by Council Member Sandy Nurse. <\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

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