New York City Council Unable to Override Mayoral Veto for “COPA”
February 2, 2026On January 28th, the New York City Council failed to override former Mayor Adams’ December veto of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA). This effectively destroys COPA for the current legislative term, as COPA did not pass with a supermajority of support in December, and still does not have the supermajority required to override the veto.
COPA would have required owners of certain multifamily buildings in the City with four or more dwelling units to allow “qualified” non-profit entities or joint ventures a first opportunity to purchase and right of first refusal to purchase the property before a sale to a third party may proceed. If the veto was overridden and COPA was enacted, the law would have directly impacted sellers and purchasers of covered multifamily buildings and would have indirectly impacted lenders who make mortgage loans secured by such properties.
For now, this is not a concern for NYC’s Real Estate community, but it is possible that COPA may be reintroduced in perhaps an amended form and proposed by the current Council or Mayor Mamdani.
For more information on this issue or other land use & zoning matters, please contact:
Mitchell A. Korbey at +1 212 592 1483 or [email protected]
Robert Huberman at +1 212 592 1592 or [email protected]
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