Critics: Real Estate Law Would Turn New York City Into a 'Communist Dystopia'

A proposed law that would dictate nonprofit organizations have the first opportunity to buy residential buildings in New York City is being blasted as “Stalinesque legislation” that would push the Big Apple into a “communist dystopia.”

Critics are saying New York City Council’s “far left majority” is trying to control how private property is sold — and is including a penalty of $30,000 if building owners resist, according to a report by the New York Post on Saturday.

Called the Community Opportunity for Purchase Act (COPA), the bill dictates that sellers let “community land trusts” and other not-for-profit organizations make first offers on buildings with at least three units when they hit the real estate market and then match any private-sector offers, the Post reported.

Though the bill has languished since it was sponsored by Brooklyn Councilwoman Sandy Nurse back in the Spring of 2024, it has suddenly gained support in recent months after Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani first won the Democratic primary and then was elected mayor on November 4.

As of Friday, according to the Post, 32 of 51 council members are sponsoring the bill, more than enough to pass it.

“COPA is yet another attack on private real-estate ownership in this city,” Council Minority Leader Joann Ariola, a Queens Republican, told the New York tabloid.

She continued, “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.”

Councilwoman Nurse, however, told the Post she has “high hopes” the bill passes before the end of the year, saying  “COPA is another tool to grow affordable housing and keep families here.”

Others say the law would create yet more delays for property owners already dealing with the city’s bureaucracy.

According to the Post:

Residential building owners would be required to notify the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development and a yet-to-be-determined list of “qualified” nonprofits before offering the properties up for sale on the open market. Nonprofits interested would have 60 days to notify the owner and HPD of their intent to purchase and other 120 days to make a “competitive” offer. If a nonprofit doesn’t show interest, or the offer is rejected, the owner can sell the building on the open market.

Those who don’t comply could face civil fines of up to $30,000.

Ann Korchak, board president of the Small Property Owners of New York, told the Post that the bill would cause a “slow and painful demise” for small building owners while rewarding politically connected non-profits.

“It is government-engineered interference in free-market transactions that eliminates negotiations, private sales, and potential buyers in favor of approved non-profits,” she said.

The New York State Association of Realtors, which represents more than 61,000 real estate agents, also blasted the bill in a statement, calling it “an unwarranted government intrusion into private real estate transactions” that would cause delays and “negatively impact” both buyers and sellers.

The association added, “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.”

Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.