STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A bill giving non-profit organizations preference in purchasing certain dilapidated residential properties around the five boroughs has drawn the ire of at least one Staten Island city councilmember.
South Shore Councilmember Frank Morano, a Republican, called on Mayor Eric Adams to veto the City Council’s Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA) following its Thursday passage.
“COPA is being sold as a housing preservation bill,” Morano said. “In reality, it is a sweeping, unprecedented interference with private property rights that will chill investment, delay transactions, and ultimately reduce – not increase – the supply of housing in New York City.”
The legislation creates a system under which qualified entities, defined as non-profit organizations or partnerships involving a non-profit, would receive first opportunity to express interest and to purchase certain properties in poor standing with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development. It would also give those qualified entities a right of first refusal to match a purchase offer presented by a non-qualified entity.
Properties covered under the legislation would include non-owner-occupied multi-dwelling buildings with more than three units, and owner-occupied multi-dwelling buildings with more than five units.
Eligible properties would only qualify for certain reasons under the new program, including if they’re in the city’s “alternative enforcement” system reserved for the most dilapidated developments in the five boroughs, if they’re delinquent on property taxes to the point of the city taking legal action, or if the city has ordered them to correct a condition in violation of the building maintenance code.
A more expansive qualification under the legislation would be if a building has an affordability restriction set to expire within two years.
Similar development purchases by non-profit organizations have taken place for years in the city, most often with privately owned affordable housing developments.
The new system only creates a timeline under which qualified entities receive the preferential treatment — 25 days to express interest and 80 days to submit a purchase offer. No owners would be forced to sell to the qualified entities under the legislation, and those owners able to show an undue financial burden could receive an exemption from the program.
Proponents — including Councilmember Sandy Nurse, a Democrat representing part of Brooklyn and the legislation’s primary sponsor — say the bill would give non-profits a necessary advantage when trying to preserve affordable housing, and point to similar systems in other municipalities including San Francisco.
“Corporate interests and big real estate tried their hardest to block the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act with a misinformation and fear-mongering campaign, and they failed,” Nurse said. “Today marks the beginning of a new social housing era in New York City, one where working New Yorkers advance tools to stop the venture capitalists who are driving up rents and pushing families out of their neighborhoods. COPA levels the playing field and makes it possible to preserve and create thousands of permanently affordable homes across our city.”
Morano’s pursuit of an Adams veto likely won’t face many roadblocks, as the outgoing mayoral administration expressed its opposition to the COPA bill and several other pieces of housing legislation shortly after their passage.
On COPA, the administration pointed to the total number of buildings that the legislation would apply to under the more expansive qualification, and said it hoped to limit the program to just those properties under the “alternative enforcement” program.
“The Council passed a suite of housing bills today that will add red tape, drive up rents, and deplete critical city resources at a time when our housing budget faces significant threats from the federal government,” Deputy Mayor for Communications Fabien Levy said. “These short-sighted bills will not only worsen the affordability crisis, but will also sandbag the incoming mayor and speaker. Irresponsible actions like these demonstrate the importance of Mayor Adams’ efforts to modernize the housing approval process through the ballot measures that passed this November. Fortunately, Mayor Adams is in office until December 31 and we will be reviewing our next steps regarding the bills passed today.”