Advocates on Bronx Talk urge council to override veto on COPPA to preserve housing through community land trusts

Elena Rodriguez, a staff attorney with the New Economy Project, and Edward Garcia, development director at the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition, told Bronx Talk listeners that the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPPA) would give mission‑driven nonprofits and community land trusts a pathway to acquire at‑risk multifamily buildings and keep them permanently affordable.

Rodriguez said the measure was approved by the City Council last session "by a vote of 38 to 8" but was later vetoed by former Mayor Eric Adams; she urged the new council and administration to move quickly. "COPPA is really a tool to preserve affordable housing," Rodriguez said, adding that San Francisco’s similar program "has stabilized over 1,000 tenants" since it was adopted in 2019.

The Nut Graf: Advocates presented COPPA as a preservation rather than development restriction—designed to level the playing field between deep‑pocket investors and community organizations by enabling vetted community land trusts (CLTs) to make bona fide offers when eligible buildings are put up for sale. Rodriguez and Garcia described how CLTs would steward buildings for long‑term affordability and called on tenants to organize now so CLTs are prepared when sale opportunities arise.

How COPPA would work and who it covers
Rodriguez said the bill targets multifamily buildings when owners decide to sell and when they face either physical distress or an expiring affordability restriction. She summarized the eligibility thresholds used in the draft: multifamily buildings with four or more units qualify (six or more units when the owner lives in the building). "When those buildings go up for sale, CLTs will be primed to state their interest and then make these bona fide offers and acquire the building," Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez also noted a timing detail listeners should know: if passed, COPPA would take about a year to go into effect, making tenant organizing ahead of time important. She told tenants they do not have to wait to organize: "You can be organizing today...you don't have to wait until COPPA is in effect."

Examples, limits and partnerships
Rodriguez pointed to San Francisco as a case study, saying its program preserved units without halting market activity: "They've already stabilized over 1,000 tenants," she said. Garcia described the Bronx Community Land Trust’s pipeline: the CLT incorporated in 2020 and has three projects in development, including one new‑construction homeownership project and a preservation project in Tremont.

The hosts and guests also clarified limits: Rodriguez said "transfers that are happening through bankruptcy will be excluded from COPPA," noting that while a bankrupt portfolio such as the Pinnacle Group’s could be a logical target for community acquisition, the current COPPA text would not capture bankruptcy transfers unless the law or implementing policy were changed.

Organizing and next steps
Both guests emphasized tenant organizing as a precondition for COPPA’s effectiveness. "This will only work, effectively if tenants are organized," Garcia said, describing NWBCCC’s tenant association work and monthly community meetings. Rodriguez encouraged tenants to form associations now and to partner with CLTs so the community side is ready to act when an eligible building is listed.

Conclusion
Advocates said they hope the new City Council will act promptly to override the earlier veto and move COPPA toward implementation; until then they urged Bronx tenants to organize and reach out to groups such as the New Economy Project and the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition for support.