New York City’s far-left City Council is steering the Big Apple toward a ‘communist dystopia’ with draconian rules dictating how private property can be sold — and slapping owners with a $30,000 fine if they refuse.
The "Community Opportunity to Purchase Act" (COPA) forces sellers to give "community land trusts" and other affordable-housing nonprofits the first shot at buying residential buildings with three or more units — and then match any competing private offers.
Sponsored by Brooklyn Councilwoman Sandy Nurse, the bill was introduced in May 2024 and has picked up momentum in recent months, especially after Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani won the June Democratic primary and sailed to victory on November 4.
As of Friday, 32 of the 51 City Council members had signed on as sponsors — enough to pass the bill with 26 votes, and just short of the 34 needed to override a mayoral veto.
Critics warn that the City Council’s far-left majority is hurtling toward a "communist dystopia" by fast-tracking Stalinesque legislation sponsored by Sandy Nurse (D-Brooklyn) — a bill that could crush private property owners in favor of socialist "community land trusts." Michael Nagle
“COPA is yet another attack on private real-estate ownership in this city,” said Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens).
“We’re sliding headfirst into a communist dystopia where the government and their apparatchik developers own all the property, and the rest of us get forced into perpetual rentorship, and this legislation is helping to get us there even quicker.”
Nurse told FaqInsurances she has “high hopes” the bill will get to the floor for a vote before the legislative session expires at year’s end “given the growing support” for it “with the rising cost of rent and the dream of homeownership further out of reach.”
“COPA is another tool to grow affordable housing and keep families here,” she said.
The bill would pile on new bureaucratic hurdles for property owners already under pressure. It’s modeled on similar programs already running in left-leaning cities like Washington, D.C., and San Francisco.
“We’re sliding headfirst into a communist dystopia where the government and their apparatchik developers own all the property and the rest of us get forced into perpetual rentorship, and this legislation is helping to get us there even quicker,” said Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola (R-Queens) .Ron Sachs – CNP
Owners of residential buildings would have to notify the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development — as well as a still-to-be-determined list of "qualified" nonprofits — before putting their properties up for sale on the open market.
Interested nonprofits would have 60 days to notify both the owner and HPD of their intent to buy, and an additional 120 days to submit a "competitive" offer. If a nonprofit passes or their offer is rejected, the owner is free to sell the building on the open market.
Property owners who break the law could face civil fines of up to $30,000.
This week, Nurse’s staff emailed other City Council offices saying an "amended version" of the bill would be released soon and discussed during a web briefing on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Nurse declined to comment on the planned changes to FaqInsurances.
Ann Korchak, president of the Small Property Owners of New York, warned that the bill, in its current form, would spell a "slow and painful demise" for small building owners — while politically connected nonprofits stand to profit from the chaos and property devaluation it would unleash.
“It is government-engineered interference in free-market transactions that eliminates negotiations, private sales, and potential buyers in favor of approved non-profits,” said Korchak, whose group represents more than 5,700 landlords.
Nurse told FaqInsurances she has “high hopes” the bill will get to the floor for a vote before the legislative session expires at year’s end “given the growing support” for it “with the rising cost of rent and the dream of homeownership further out of reach.” Christopher Sadowski
The New York State Association of Realtors, representing more than 61,000 agents, slammed the bill as "an unwarranted government intrusion into private real estate transactions that would likely establish unreasonable delays in the sale residential buildings, negatively impacting buyers, sellers, real estate professionals, and state and city coffers."
“The opportunity to purchase a building at list price would lead property owners to lose income when multiple offers are likely to be placed on a building,” it added.
“This lost income would cost city government tax revenues, as New York City currently receives more than $1 billion in revenue from real property transfer taxes."
“Many building owners are not wealthy, corporate entities. Small landlords would be hurt by the delay in the transaction process, which would cost them income in the form of reduced sales prices.”
A City Council spokesperson confirmed the bill is "going through the legislative process," but would not reveal whether Speaker Adrienne Adams intends to put it up for a vote.
The Mayor’s Office confirmed it is reviewing the legislation, with any decision still pending.
