M
ayor Eric Adams, on his last day in office, used his veto power to block a series of housing‑related measures that had been championed by the City Council and the incoming administration. The most high‑profile action was the rejection of the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (COPA), a bill that would have granted city‑approved nonprofits and joint ventures the first chance to buy certain distressed multifamily buildings. Landlord groups, who argue that COPA would slow sales and deter investment, welcomed the veto, while real‑estate leaders praised the move as a safeguard against a worsening housing‑supply crisis.
In addition to COPA, Adams vetoed 18 other pieces of legislation, including three bills that would have introduced new rules for city‑financed housing. These rules set minimum percentages for two‑ and three‑bedroom units, for units affordable to the city’s poorest residents, and for home‑ownership units. The mayor also struck down a bill that would have imposed a minimum wage for construction workers on large city‑financed projects, a measure that would have required $40 an hour for workers on projects with 150 or more units and costs exceeding $3 million. That construction‑wage bill was the only one Adams chose not to veto, despite the administration’s own cost estimates of an additional $600 million in annual budget needs—$425 million of which would have come from the wage provision.
Other vetoed items included a proposal to set minimum wages for building security guards, a plan to allow the city to sell tax liens to a land bank instead of a private trust, and a bill that would have limited the time co‑op boards could take to respond to prospective residents’ applications. All of these measures had passed the Council with a supermajority, and COPA itself had been approved by 30 votes, with Speaker Julie Menin among eight members who abstained.
The vetoes come at a time when the incoming mayor, Zohran Mamdani, is poised to pursue an aggressive agenda against bad landlords and to build 200,000 new affordable units over the next decade. COPA, in particular, was a key component of Mamdani’s strategy to give nonprofits the first right to purchase distressed properties. Without an override, the next Council could attempt to re‑introduce a revised version of the bill with the new administration’s backing.
The mayor’s decision to veto the housing bills was framed as a defense against “reckless” legislation that would impose unfunded mandates and bureaucratic hurdles on the affordable‑housing sector. In a statement, Adams criticized the Council for sidelining the legislative process, citing a lack of data from agencies, missed hearings, and last‑minute negotiations. He also accused the Council of undermining the city’s ability to streamline housing approvals, a point he said voters had rejected in November’s ballot measures.
Speaker Adrienne Adams, who had a contentious relationship with Mayor Adams over the past two years, condemned the vetoes as evidence that the mayor was prioritizing special interests over working‑class New Yorkers. She argued that the measures would have advanced affordability and opportunity for the city’s residents.
The City Council now faces the decision of whether to attempt an override of the mayor’s vetoes. While the Council had passed most of the housing bills by supermajority, the political calculus remains uncertain. The vetoes underscore the deep divide between the mayor’s administration and the Council, as well as the broader debate over how best to address New York City’s affordable‑housing crisis.
