City Council Passes Legislation to Protect and Expand Affordable Housing in New York City
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 19, 2025
Contact: Chris Dobens, 718-679-8542, chris@weact.org
NEW YORK – The New York City Council today passed Intro 196, the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), which will help protect and expand the supply of affordable housing in New York City.
“As Harlem and other communities in Northern Manhattan struggle with the disproportionate impacts of pollution and climate change, they are also facing a housing affordability crisis,” said Caleb Smith, New York City Policy Manager at WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “COPA is a tool that will not only help us protect the affordable housing we have and stave off gentrification, but it will help expand the truly affordable housing that is available in our communities – empowering tenants groups and other community-based organizations to bid on multifamily properties while giving them the right to make the first offer.”
WE ACT for Environmental Justice has been working with a coalition of organizations to advance legislation supporting community land trusts, nonprofits that own land to ensure that it remains affordable and serves the greater community. COPA creates a process for community land trusts and other nonprofit entities to make competitive bids to landlords looking to sell before they can list a multifamily residential building with four or more units on the open market. These entities will have 60 days to notify the building owner and the New York City Department of Housing and Urban Development of their intent to purchase and 120 days to make a competitive offer.
“We thank New York City Council Member Carlina Rivera for her leadership in sponsoring this legislation, as well as all of our fellow advocates who worked on advancing it,” added Smith.
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WE ACT for Environmental Justice is a Northern Manhattan-based, membership-driven organization whose mission is to build healthy communities by ensuring that people of color and/or low-income residents are meaningfully included in the development of sound and fair environmental health and protection policies and practices. WE ACT has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. Visit us at weact.org and follow us on Facebook, Bluesky, and Instagram.