The New York City Council (“City Council”) has failed to override former Mayor Eric Adams’ veto of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (“COPA”), a bill that would have required owners of certain multifamily buildings in New York City to allow “qualified” non-profit entities or joint ventures a first opportunity to purchase the multifamily property before a sale to a third party could proceed. COPA was passed by the New York City Council in December 2025, but the bill was vetoed by Mayor Adams on his final day in office.
The City Council had until January 29th to override the veto, but that deadline has passed. While housing advocates note that a future iteration could be reconsidered by the City Council, the bill passed in December is dead.
COPA 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 a summary of COPA, see our previous advisory here.
Please note this is a general overview of developments in the law and does not constitute legal advice. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between the sender and the recipient.
If you have any questions about COPA, please feel free to contact Daniel Bagatta at (516) 357-3849 or via email at dbagatta@cullenllp.com, Christopher H. Palmer at (516) 296-9127 or via email at cpalmer@cullenllp.com, Joseph D. Simon at (516) 357-3710 or via email at jsimon@cullenllp.com, Elizabeth A. Murphy at (516) 296-9154, or via email at emurphy@cullenllp.com, David Curatolo at (516) 357-3773 or via email at dcuratolo@cullenllp.com, or Gabriela Morales at (516) 357-3850 or via email at gmorales@cullenllp.com.