That was the term a City Hall spokesperson used to describe the bill, along with several housing bills passed by the City Council on Thursday.
“Fortunately, Mayor Adams is in office until December 31 and we will consider our next steps regarding the bills passed today,” the spokesperson, Fabien Levy, said in a statement.
For landlords and real estate agents, this offers a glimmer of hope that the mayor can veto COPA, a measure they say is an unfair intrusion on private deals that could deter investment, delay closings and make it harder to secure financing.
The measure gives city-approved nonprofits, as well as nonprofits that form a joint venture with nonprofit companies, the first opportunity to bid on certain multifamily buildings with four or more units.
In the run-up to the approval of the bill, groups of landlords protested against the measure. Some gathered outside City Hall on Thursday and showed up at council committee meetings to voice their concerns about the law. After the Housing and Buildings Committee voted in favor of the measure on Thursday, some shouted “Shame!” and “Thieves, they are thieves!”
“COPA will turn New York City into an affordable housing wasteland and trigger the extinction of small property owners,” Ann Korchak, board chair of the Small Property Owners of New York, said in a statement after the measure passed the full Council. “COPA is a dangerous blueprint that makes every other free enterprise and small private business a target.”
If the mayor vetoes the measure, it will be up to the next city council to override it, if it chooses.
The chance of that happening seems slim at the moment.
The bill received 30 yes votes, while ten members rejected it and eight abstained. At least 34 Council members must vote to override a veto.
Three of those “yes” votes came from Council members Justin Brannan, Diana Ayala and Adrienne Adams, all of whom are leaving office. Three abstentions were from outgoing council members Francisco Moya, Rafael Salamanca and Keith Powers, and two no’s were from outgoing council members Bob Holden and Kristy Marmorato.
Given these exits, members would need to turn around a combination of seven “no” votes or abstentions to reach the two-thirds majority needed to override a veto.
Even then, the decision to try to override the law would likely be up to Councilwoman Julie Menin, the presumptive next City Council president. It is striking that Menen abstained from voting on COPA. A spokesperson did not immediately comment on Menin’s decision.
COPA’s sponsor, Council Member Sandy Nurse, declined to comment Friday.
Meanwhile, Menen voted in favor of bills that would impose new restrictions on the types of housing the city finances and set minimum construction wages and benefits for certain projects. The administration estimates that these bills would add $600 million to the annual budget needs of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
The mayor is also reviewing these measures, which were adopted with an overwhelming majority of support.
First introduced in 2020, COPA was the subject of multiple City Council hearings but only gained traction in the past month.
The measure underwent several changes that narrowed the pool of eligible buildings, focusing on distressed properties and buildings with soon-to-expire affordability requirements, and shortened the period in which nonprofits and eligible joint ventures can compete exclusively for properties.
When owners of certain multifamily buildings with four or more units wish to sell their buildings, they must first notify the city and its approved prospective buyers. These city-approved entities then have 25 days to notify an owner that they are interested in making an offer on a property. Once that time has passed, interested qualified entities will have 80 days to submit a bid. Qualifying entities also have 15 days after a competing bid is received to match this.
The government wanted COPA to apply only to buildings involved in an enforcement program. Under the measure, buildings included in the city’s alternative enforcement program for at least one year are subject to COPA. However, the bill sets out different criteria for need and also applies to buildings subject to affordability requirements that expire in the next two years.
Supporters of the measure believe it will help steer problematic multifamily buildings to new owners focused on affordability. Deyanira Del Rio, executive director of the New Economy Project, said COPA will help community land trusts “take land and housing off the speculative market and place them under permanently affordable community control.”
Before Thursday’s vote, Nurse noted that the city is already “putting a lot of money” into helping these distressed buildings and that COPA creates a “slim chance” that these properties will be purchased by nonprofits the city trusts. She also expressed frustration with misinformation surrounding COPA, including that it applies to homeowners. Owners living in their buildings are exempt if the property has five or fewer units.
“I ask all my colleagues to read before they come to vote on bills,” she said. “Make sure you know what you’re talking about.”
Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov called the measure a “stunning example of government overreach” and called it part of a “communist agenda” under the guise of helping the poor and disadvantaged.
If COPA ultimately becomes law, Eliad Shapiro, a partner at Herrick, believes the measure could face a legal challenge.
“The right to bargain, to dispose of your property as you wish, and to sell it to whomever you wish, is seen by the courts as a fundamental property right,” he said.
Read more
Housing crisis: City council approves COPA, other law revisions
COPA panic: real estate agents and owners sound the alarm about the city council’s bill
How tenant purchasing policies could hinder multifamily markets
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