Supporters frame the law as “anti-displacement,” but opponents say it amounts to state-sanctioned interference in the free market, designed to discourage private ownership while accelerating New York’s shift toward government-controlled housing.
Under COPA, landlords who want to sell their buildings must first navigate a new bureaucratic approval process, giving designated nonprofits priority access to properties before buyers on the open market. Critics argue the policy will depress property values, delay sales, and punish small owners – many of them immigrants and multi-generation families – who rely on real estate as their primary asset.
