New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation allowing local governments to offer property-tax exemptions of up to 65% for eligible senior homeowners, raising the previous cap from 50% for the first time in decades. Under the measure, known as S5175A/A3698A, municipalities can set income limits and other criteria to determine who qualifies, with state officials estimating potential savings of about $300 a year for the average senior on a fixed income. The change is aimed at helping roughly 1.8 million older New Yorkers remain in their homes amid rising housing costs and inflation, and comes as part of a broader affordability push that includes middle-class tax cuts, expanded child tax credits, inflation rebate checks and free school meals for all K–12 students.
Governor Hochul Authorizes Real Property Tax Exemptions for New York Seniors
Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that enhanced real property tax exemptions for New York seniors. Legislation S5175A/A3698A allows localities to provide a real property tax exemption for senior citizens who meet the income eligibility limits, among other criteria, up to 65 percent percent of the assessed valuation of their properties. This legislation builds on the Governor’s affordability agenda, which included tax cuts for middle-class New Yorkers.
“No New York senior should lose their home because they can no longer afford their property taxes,” Governor Hochul said. “By signing this legislation, we are working to make New York more affordable for our seniors on fixed incomes and empowering them to age in place, at home, in the communities they know and love.”
The bill will give localities the option to offer real property tax exemptions of up to 65 percent to seniors living below the maximum income eligibility level set by the locality. Prior to, the maximum percentage of exemption local governments have been able to offer senior citizens was set at 50 percent and has not been raised in decades. Increasing the exemption from 50 percent to 65 percent could translate into savings of up to $300 annually for the average senior.
New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) Acting Director Greg Olsen said, “Governor Hochul is coming through yet again on making New York more affordable for individuals and their families. Property taxes, especially for those on fixed incomes, can often be difficult to afford. With more than 1.8 million older adults who own their own homes, this important law will continue to help older adults remain in the homes and communities of their choice and keeping their vast contributions within New York State.”
State Senator Leroy Comrie said, “Seniors have faced rising housing costs and inflation— oftentimes living on fixed income. Signing S5175A into law is an important step toward restoring real affordability for older adults across New York. This law allows localities to offer up to a 65 percent discount to eligible seniors so long-time homeowners can remain in their communities with dignity and security. I thank Governor Hochul, my colleagues and especially Assemblymember David Weprin for partnering to deliver meaningful support for the New Yorkers who helped build this state.”
Assemblymember David Weprin said, “I’m grateful for Governor Kathy Hochul’s commitment to improving affordability for all New Yorkers, including our senior citizen homeowners. By advancing this bill into law, we will provide relief from the burden of increasing real property taxes and ensure stability for elderly homeowners on low fixed incomes. I look forward to continued partnership with Governor Hochul and my fellow elected leaders to advance this critical affordability agenda.”
This legislation builds on Governor Hochul’s affordability agenda, which includes:
Middle-Class Tax Cut: Approximately 8.3 million New Yorkers will benefit from decreased tax rates, bringing middle-class taxes to their lowest levels in 70 years.
Child Tax Credit Expansion: The Child Tax Credit is increasing to up to $1,000 per child under the age of four and up to $500 for school-aged children, starting in 2026.
Inflation Refund Checks: Eligible New Yorkers have received up to $200 per person or $400 per family, reaching 8.2 million people.
Free School Meals: All K-12 students now have access to free breakfast and lunch, saving families up to $1,600 per child annually.
New York’s subway system logged fresh post-pandemic ridership highs, carrying 4.61 million riders on Dec. 3 and 4.63 million on Dec. 4, surpassing an October record and coming in roughly 6% above year-earlier levels, Gov. Kathy Hochul said. November on-time performance reached 84.4%, the strongest for that month since the pandemic, extending a run of improved reliability tied to service increases, new equipment and upgraded signals. At the same time, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is accelerating the shift to its OMNY tap-and-ride payment system, with 94% of subway and bus trips now paid contactlessly and MetroCard sales scheduled to end Dec. 31, 2025, ahead of full phaseout in 2026. The MTA, which has rolled out OMNY card giveaways, 2,700 retail locations and 980 station vending machines, projects at least $20 million in annual savings from retiring MetroCard and moving to a single, fully contactless fare system.
Governor Hochul Announces Record Subway Ridership of 4.6 Million Riders and Best November for Subway Performance
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced that the New York City Subway surpassed 4.6 million riders, setting a post-pandemic ridership record, while also achieving an on-time performance record for November of 84.4 percent — the best November since the pandemic. On Wednesday, December 3, 4.61 million customers rode the subway, and on Thursday, December 4, 4.63 million customers rode the subway. Both days eclipsed the previous record set on October 29, 2025 of 4.6 million subway customers and were up 6 percent from the same dates in 2024. These milestones come as 94 percent of subway and bus trips are now paid with the MTA’s new contactless tap and ride system.
“The subway is the lifeblood of New York City, and thanks to our investments in safety and reliability, ridership continues to come roaring back,” Governor Hochul said. “We know our work is far from finished, and that’s why we’re investing in new subway cars, upgraded signals and tools like cameras and law enforcement to keep riders safe. The subway is already the best way to get around, and thanks to these investments, we are making it better than ever.”
The November OTP record extends the trend of historically strong subway performance in 2025. Subway on-time performance reached 85 percent in September — the best September in modern history — maintaining August’s 85.1 percent, which was the best August in a decade, and building on May’s record-setting 85.2 percent, the highest non-pandemic OTP on record. These gains coincide with service increases on the A and L lines, reducing wait times for more than 100,000 weekday riders. Beginning Monday, December 8, rush hour service will also increase on the M line.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “No secret: transit is the best way to get around New York. When our subways are safe, frequent and reliable, people will use them more and more. That’s what’s happened and the records are going to keep coming.”
NYC Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said, “Hitting 4.6 million subway riders as we achieve another on-time performance milestone shows once again that when you deliver safe and reliable service riders will take it. We’re determined to carry this momentum into 2026, as we continue to tout all the opportunities available to riders to seamlessly switch to tap and ride.”
MTA Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara said, “New Yorkers have embraced tap and ride and we’re proud to see that as more and more people return to the city, they are choosing mass transit. As the end of MetroCard sales nears, we are focusing on reaching the remaining 6 percent to make the switch and unlock the benefits and convenience of tap and ride technology.”
In an effort to facilitate the transition to Tap and Ride, the MTA recently launched an OMNY Card Giveaway on November 18, where the first 400 customers at every Customer Service Center could transfer their MetroCard balance to fee-waived OMNY cards. These fee-waived OMNY cards are currently available at the following nine Customer Service Centers while supplies last:
125 St 4 5 6
161 St-Yankee Stadium B D 4
168 St-Broadway A C 1
E. 177 St-Parkchester 6
Fordham Rd B D
Myrtle Av J M Z
St. George, Staten Island Railway (SIR)
Stillwell Av-Coney Island D F N Q
Sutphin Blvd F
By the end of the year, fourteen new Customer Service Centers will open at locations across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens. The first 400 customers to visit those new Customer Service Centers and transfer their MetroCard balances to OMNY will also be able to receive the promotional fee-waived OMNY cards.
As announced in March, the last day to purchase or reload a MetroCard will be December 31, 2025, with the acceptance of MetroCards ending in mid-2026. While the Tap and Ride payment system doesn’t require an OMNY card and allows riders to pay fares directly with digital wallets and contactless bank cards, customers will find it twice as easy to purchase or reload an OMNY card with a robust OMNY retail network currently at 2,700 locations — more than double the MetroCard partnering locations.
The MTA has also installed 980 OMNY card vending machines across all 472 subway stations. And, most recently, shared a list of 102 opportunities for members of the public who live in bus-reliant areas to transfer MetroCard balances to the OMNY cards for those who opt to use the physical card.
By eliminating the sale of MetroCard and fully transitioning to one fare collection method, the MTA expects to save at least $20 million annually in costs related to MetroCard production and distribution; vending machine repairs; and cash collection and handling. Moving to a contactless payment also unlocks potential for new customer-friendly promotions and fare discounts.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is marking the first anniversary of his “City of Yes for Housing Opportunity” zoning overhaul by touting a 22.8% rise in permitted housing units in 2025 compared with the year before the policy was approved, as well as a growing pipeline of affordable units and office-to-residential conversions. The package, billed as the most pro-housing legislation in city history, relaxes parking mandates, legalizes accessory dwelling units, creates new high-density districts and offers an affordability bonus that has attracted more than 100 projects expected to yield some 5,400 homes, including roughly 900 income-restricted units. New R11 and R12 zones in Midtown South and other locations could add nearly 11,000 homes, while conversions of underused office buildings are projected to produce more than 12,000 apartments, 3,000 of them permanently affordable. Combined with five neighborhood rezonings slated to deliver about 50,000 homes and what City Hall describes as record production of nearly 86,000 affordable units since Adams took office, the administration is seeking to cement its legacy as aggressively pro-development amid a long-running housing shortage.
“One year ago today, our city said ‘yes’ to more housing and a more affordable future for working-class New Yorkers. We turned the page on decades of half-measures and proved that government can still meet the challenges of our time with energy, ambition, and resolve,” said Mayor Adams. “One year later, we are already seeing the results, with thousands of new affordable homes in the pipeline across our city. Whether it’s passing the first citywide rezoning in six decades, investing historic amounts of money into new homes, or creating record amounts of affordable housing, we are proud to be the most pro-housing administration in city history.
“With the adoption of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, we have begun to turn the tide on the housing crisis in New York City. The full impact of these changes will take time to be felt, but twelve months in, we’re already seeing success delivering a little more housing in every neighborhood,” said DCP Director Garodnick. “New York City’s housing crisis has been growing for so long that it is easy to take it for granted. But with City of Yes and other policy changes, we are changing course and creating a more affordable city for generations to come.”
The initiative — which was approved by the New York City Council on December 5, 2024 — aims to deliver “a little more housing in every neighborhood” through carefully-crafted zoning changes, including creating a new affordable housing bonus; legalizing accessory dwelling units (ADU) for homeowners; re-legalizing three-, four-, or five-story apartment buildings near transit and along commercial corridors; reducing costly parking mandates for new construction; and allowing underused office buildings to become housing; among other reforms.
Already, many of these new tools are being used to create new housing across the city:
Universal Affordability Preference: Over 100 housing developments across the five boroughs have already applied to use the Universal Affordability Preference, which allows buildings in medium- and high-density parts of the city to add at least 20 percent more housing if the additional homes are permanently affordable. These projects are expected to deliver 5,400 new homes, of which approximately 900 would be affordable to households at an average 60 percent Area Median Income.
High-density zoning districts: New, higher-density R11 and R12 zoning districts created through City of Yes have been mapped in Mayor Adams’ Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan that the City Council approved in August, where they will deliver 9,500 new homes, including 2,800 permanently income-restricted affordable homes. These new zoning districts are also being proposed at the site of the future 125th Street Second Avenue Subway station and at 395 Flatbush Avenue Extension in Downtown Brooklyn, which are currently in public review, where they could deliver another 1,800 new homes.
Reduced parking mandates: Rolled-back requirements for off-street parking are also helping to deliver more housing near transit. For example:
At 2060 Walton Avenue in the Bronx, an underused lot close to the 4, B, and D trains is being transformed into 94 new homes — without the 25 parking spots that had previously been required, a change that meaningfully lowers building costs.
At 21 Freeman Street in Brooklyn, a vacant lot close to the G train is set to become over 500 new homes without the 140 parking spaces that would have been required prior to City of Yes.
Meanwhile, as envisioned, new housing in less transit-accessible areas continues to include parking.
Office-to-residential conversions: Together with the 467-M tax incentive — which the Adams administration successfully advocated for in Albany — City of Yes has supported a boom of office-to-residential conversion projects. There are more than 12,000 homes in the pipeline from office conversions, including more than 3,000 permanently affordable units.
Landmark Transferable Development Rights: In the last year, five landmarked buildings have begun seeking approval to transfer their development rights to nearby housing projects through a process that was streamlined and expanded by City of Yes. These transfers will enable over 400,000 square feet of new development, while bringing in additional revenue to support maintenance of landmarked buildings. Those five applications in less than one year compare to a total of 15 applications over more than 50 years before City of Yes.
Accessory Dwelling Units: So far this year, the New York City Department of Buildings has received 98 filings from homeowners in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island, seeking to construct ADUs on their properties. Half of these filings have come in just the past two months, since the city finalized rules for safe, code-compliant ADUs and launched the “ADU for You” homeowner assistance program. ADUs like backyard cottages, garage conversions, and basement apartments are a proven tool to support homeowners and expand housing choice in lower-density areas without a changing neighborhood’s look-and-feel.
As these City of Yes tools are deployed, new data shows that New York City permitted 22.8 percent more new homes in 2025 than the same time period in 2024 (through October 23), when the Adams administration was already shattering several housing records for the second year in a row. This permitting increase includes a boom in homes from alterations — more than double the number of permitted units from 2024, many of which are from office conversions — and an increase in units from new construction over the previous year.
The Adams administration has continued working to deliver the full benefits of City of Yes, including successfully defending the policy in court, where a judge recently dismissed a challenge. HPD also recently released the Shared Housing Roadmap, which — building on the City of Yes zoning reforms and in concert with new legislation — clears the way for reintroducing shared homes as a safe, affordable housing option for single New Yorkers.
Since entering office, Mayor Adams has made historic investments to create more affordable housing and ensure more New Yorkers have a place to call home. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, the Adams administration created the most affordable rental units in city history and celebrated back-to-back-to-back record-breaking years for producing permanently-affordable homes for formerly-homeless New Yorkers, placing homeless New Yorkers into housing, and connecting New Yorkers to housing through the city’s housing lottery. HPD has now produced nearly 86,000 affordable homes since the start of the Adams administration, with the last three fiscal years representing the most new affordable homes ever created in a three fiscal-year stretch (FY 2023 to FY 2025).
Building on the success of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, Mayor Adams unveiled his “City of Yes for Families” strategy in his State of the City address earlier this year to build more homes and create more family-friendly neighborhoods across New York City. Under City of Yes for Families, the Adams administration is advancing more housing on city-owned sites, creating new tools to support homeownership, and building more housing alongside schools, playgrounds, grocery stores, accessible transit stations, and libraries.
Further, the Adams administration is actively working to strengthen tenant protections and support homeowners. The “Partners in Preservation” program was expanded citywide in 2024 through a $24-million investment in local organizations to support tenant organizing and combat harassment in rent-regulated housing. The Homeowner Help Desk, a trusted one-stop shop for low-income homeowners to receive financial and legal counseling from local organizations, was also expanded citywide in 2024 with a $13 million funding commitment.
“A mayoral administration rarely advances a policy that can fundamentally change the future health of a city for generations to come. The City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, coupled with the City Council led “City For All” initiative, is such a policy,” said Marc Greenberg, executive director, Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing. “With City of Yes, the Adams administration has changed the momentum of a city that has been losing ground on affordable housing for decades and has begun again to lift Lady Liberty’s Lamp beside New York City’s golden door.”
“One year after the passage of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, the results speak for themselves. Across all five boroughs, thousands of new homes are being constructed thanks to modernized zoning that promotes transit-oriented development, the elimination of outdated parking mandates, new tools like the Universal Affordability Preference, expanded opportunities for office-to-residential conversions, and more,” said Carlo A. Scissura, Esq., president and CEO, New York Building Congress. “Among the most significant wins are more than 12,000 homes, including 3,000 permanently affordable units, already in the pipeline from office-to-residential conversions, breathing new life into underused buildings and neighborhoods. This is the smart, forward-thinking development New York has needed for decades, and it’s exactly why the Building Congress worked so closely with the Adams administration to get it across the finish line.”
“City of Yes is already proving to be a major step toward achievement of our housing goals,” said Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO, Partnership for New York City. “This carefully crafted initiative is encouraging development that is consistent with neighborhood standards by lowering costs and accelerating or eliminating the need for multiple public approvals.”
“As we mark one year since the launch of the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, we’re already seeing real progress on housing growth in New York City,” said Rachel Fee, executive director, New York Housing Conference. “Housing continues to be one of New Yorkers’ most urgent needs, and City of Yes shows what a common-sense approach can deliver. By modernizing outdated rules and unlocking new housing in every community, City of Yes is giving New Yorkers the tools to spur affordable housing production. This initiative is clearing the path for meaningful housing victories, including the passage of ballot Proposals 2 – 5, and laying the groundwork for even more progress in the year ahead. We commend the administration for advancing these critical reforms to reduce delays and promote a fairer, more equitable distribution of housing across the city.”
“One year after the passage of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, we’re seeing what happens when New York City chooses vision over fear,” said Emma Pfohman, CEO, Association for a Better New York (ABNY). “ABNY applauds the herculean work of the Adams administration, in partnership with Governor Hochul and the City Council, to pass the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity and approve the creation of thousands of units through the successful rezonings championed by the Department of City Planning over the last year. Together, these efforts ensure New York remains a city where every resident has the chance to live, thrive, and build their future.”
“In just its first year, City of Yes has opened the door to more homes in every borough,” said Andrew Fine, chief of staff and policy director, Open New York. “In the Bronx, longtime proposals are finally moving forward with deeper levels of affordability. Homeowners from Staten Island to Queens are excited to add ADUs, and in Brooklyn, new apartment buildings near the subway are being built without costly parking requirements. In Manhattan, the Midtown South rezoning was the first to use new higher-density districts, creating room for more homes through office conversions and new construction. All of this shows what is possible when City leaders work together to break down barriers to housing. And since then, the need for homes and the public’s support for building them have only grown. With November’s historic pro-housing ballot proposals behind us, we are ready to keep working toward a more affordable future for New York.”
“A year on from the most expansive citywide zoning changes for housing that New York City has seen, it’s a great moment to reflect on this achievement, and redouble our commitment to its implementation,” said Howard Slatkin, executive director, Citizens Housing and Planning Council. “City of Yes has opened the door for a generation of new housing achievements, which with sustained effort can stand as a legacy to what we can do when we agree that no challenge is too large for New Yorkers to tackle.”
“One year ago marked a turning point in the fight against New York City’s housing crisis with the enactment of the City of Yes zoning text amendments,” said Baaba Halm, senior vice president for programs, Enterprise Community Partners. “By allowing more housing types, increased density, and more flexible zoning options in a wider swath of New York, we collectively took a major step toward significantly increasing needed housing supply and reducing development barriers which add costs. Importantly, the amendments also specifically increased affordable housing, and came alongside robust new capital and programmatic resources. The results are already evident through more projects in the pipeline, and we look forward to seeing them come to fruition.”
“Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester is driven by a simple goal, to create permanent, affordable homeownership opportunities for New Yorkers who need them most,” said Sabrina Lippman, CEO, Habitat for Humanity NYC and Westchester. “One year after the approval of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, we’re already expanding our pipeline by nearly 50 percent as a direct result of zoning reforms that remove barriers and make it easier to build. City of Yes is perfectly aligned with Habitat’s work to build stable, inclusive communities and ensure more families can call New York City home.”
“One year in and we are already seeing the tremendous impact of City of Yes for Housing Opportunity. This landmark rezoning has already begun to unlock meaningful opportunities to deliver high quality, affordable homes in neighborhoods across the city. By removing outdated barriers and enabling smarter, more flexible design, we are creating the conditions for a more equitable and resilient city,” said Jesse Lazar, executive director, American Institute of Architects New York Chapter. “Building on the momentum generated by City of Yes, we must continue to explore how we capture the future value of our city today, creating thriving communities and building housing that serves all New Yorkers.”
“The rising cost of housing is chipping away at hard-earned wages and pushing too many New Yorkers out of the city. Last year’s passage of the landmark City of Yes legislation represented a monumental step forward toward addressing the urgent housing affordability crisis,” said Manny Pastreich, President of 32BJ SEIU. “We’re seeing progress and look forward to continuing this momentum alongside stakeholders, to deliver the housing essential workers and their communities need, while creating thousands of good jobs.”
“City of Yes is a landmark achievement and a testament to the hard work of everyone who helped make these vital zoning reforms a reality,” said Basha Gerhards, executive vice president of public policy, Real Estate Board of New York. “With growing momentum behind adaptive reuse, New York City has the best conversion rules in the country, positioning us to unlock much needed homes across all five boroughs.”
“After one year, City of Yes is delivering on the promise of more affordable housing and giving hope to the over 2 million New Yorkers struggling to keep a roof over their head,” said Rich Buery, CEO, Robin Hood. “By taking an all-of-the-above approach, the city is unleashing the pent-up potential we knew existed. When paired with the recent pro-housing City Charter amendments, overwhelmingly approved by voters, our city is making progress toward being a place where people of all incomes can live, raise children, and flourish.”
“City of Yes set a new bar for what pro-housing policy can look like in New York, and the first year has already shown that the old excuses for doing nothing don’t hold up,” said Aaron Carr, founder and executive director, Housing Rights Initiative. “It’s given us a real foundation to build upon and proven that smarter zoning and bolder reforms can actually make a dent in our housing crisis. This is just the beginning.”
A shocking attack in the New York City subway has raised new fears about rider safety. Police say 18-year-old Manhattan resident Hiram Carrero allegedly set a sleeping homeless man on fire in a No. 3 train car around 3 a.m. The incident happened near Times Square/Penn Station. The 56-year-old victim suffered serious burns but is expected to survive, according to the NYPD.
The suspect, who was seen in surveillance video, was later perp walked out of the 9th Precinct after his arrest. Carrero has been identified by police and is being charged with attempted murder, three counts of assault, arson, and reckless endangerment. The case has quickly become another example used in the debate over crime and safety in the NYC subway system.
New York Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis called the attack “horrific” and says it proves that the subway is still not truly safe. She notes that the NYPD is thousands of officers below past staffing levels and argues that more police are needed on trains and platforms. In Congress, Malliotakis is pushing a bipartisan transit security bill to increase federal funding for subway safety, including more officers, better lighting, more cameras, and upgraded surveillance systems to protect riders and the city’s most vulnerable residents.
At CAM’s 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism, Mayor Eric Adams gave a powerful speech asking people to stop “outrunning the lion” of hate and instead work together to remove it from our communities. He said that while many groups face hate and injustice, this moment is focused on fighting antisemitism, especially in New York City where Jews are a small part of the population but suffer more than half of all hate crimes. Adams urged everyone—teachers, faith leaders, and community organizations—to “play their position” by pushing back against antisemitism, misinformation, and the radicalization of young people. He announced an executive order against BDS and confirmed that New York City will keep investing pension funds in Israeli companies. Adams also reminded people of the long history of Jewish support for Black civil rights and called on Jewish communities to stand proudly and openly as Jews. He ended by saying he is willing to “leave everything on the ice” in the fight against hate and asked everyone to “lace up their skates” and join him.
Transcript: Mayor Adams Delivers Remarks at CAM’s 2025 North American Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism Closing Gala Dinner
Mayor Eric Adams: Thank you so much, mayor. Throughout this afternoon, you shared something that resonated with me, and I’m hoping people didn’t miss it. A good friend of mine, Rabbi Potasnik, told me a joke about two lions. Two hunters in a jungle, hunting for big game, they came up against a lion. One hunter looked at the other and said, “Let’s run, let’s get out of here.” The other hunter replied, “What’s wrong with you, we can’t outrun a lion.” The hunter replied, “I don’t have to outrun the lion, I have to outrun you.”
And when Rabbi Potasnik told me the story, I laughed, and he had this look on his face. He said, “That’s the problem. We’re trying to outrun each other.” Yes, the lion of foreclosure took your home, but I have my home, I outran that lion. The lion of crime may have taken your child, but I outran that lion. The lion of poverty, the lion of domestic violence, the lion of hatred. As long as I outrun that lion, I’m alright.
But what the hunter did not understand is, that if you don’t take the lion out of the jungle after he devours one hunter, he’s going to devour you. You were so right. The goal is not to outrun each other. The goal is to remove the lion of hatred from our community. That’s the goal.
If you go back to what Lyndon B. Johnson did in 1964 when he signed the Civil Rights Act, there were Jewish brothers and sisters that didn’t say, “Well, that had nothing to do with me.” When you look in 2013 and the Black Lives Matter movement took place after we saw the devastation, murder of a young man in Florida, and people used to say to Black folks who said Black lives matter, they said, well, all lives matter. Well, right now we’re not talking about all lives, we’re talking about Black lives.
And so, when we come to a conference and talk about combating antisemitism, don’t start telling me about other issues. Right now, we’re talking about antisemitism. And talking about a specific incident during a time does not dismiss the other incidents. Yes, we know we have other issues, but right now the focus is on antisemitism. That’s what it’s on.
And we can engage in other conversations. I’m going to continue to lift up my Asian brothers and sisters that are dealing with Asian violence. I’m going to continue to lift up the overproliferation of abuse in young African American males and the incarceration of them. I’m going to continue to lift up what’s happening with men and women of the LGBTQ+ community. We’re going to continue to do that.
But right now we’re in this stadium talking about antisemitism. And we need to be focused on what is happening, particularly in New York City, where you have a numerical minority of the community from the Jewish community and over 50 percent of the victims are Jewish people of hate crimes. That’s a real issue. And what we must focus on is to be laser focused on that. Because when we marry talking about this issue and bridging it with the other issues that we’re facing, we will raise the standard of who we are as human beings.
But how do we do it? That’s why I grabbed the football. This is a team sport, folks. If I’m the quarterback, you should not be the running back standing behind the center. Get your ass out of the way. Each player, play your position. We all got to play our positions.
If you are a teacher, you need to be in our public school system pushing back on the radicalization of our young people who not only hate Israel, they hate America because they were taught to hate America. That’s what we saw on the Columbia campus when the protests took place. We saw flyers that said hatred for Israel and hatred for America. Now, I don’t know who’s in this room, but I think you are Americans, right?
So, my educators must play their role. My faith-based leaders, play your position. You’re not the mayor. Be the rabbi, be the preacher, be the monk, be a Sikh leader. Play your position. And to my organizations, play your positions. Play your roles. And stand outside your comfort zones. Because if all we do all the time is speak to the same people, the choir heard the song, folks. It’s time to sing to those who are singing off-key so they can learn the lyrics and chorus of ending hate in our city and in our country.
And then let’s be honest with ourselves. Folks have been hating Jews for a long time. Our Jewish brothers and sisters have been fleeing and running from the days of Moses to when Columbus left Spain and Jews had to get out because of the edict, to being in Rome and watching the Jewish quarter. You can go over and over and over again to see how Jewish people have fled and ran from particular places.
And I’m saying to my Jewish brothers and sisters, your legacy in this generation is to say we run no more. We stand and fight. We don’t live in fear hoping that it goes away. We don’t allow certain groups to take to the streets and determine that you should be eradicated. And you’re sitting back contemplating what block you take off your yarmulke or what morning you remove your star of David. If you want to win this fight, then you need to stand up, stand firm, and say, “I am Jewish and there’s not a darn thing you can do about it.”
And you need to be strong in your faith and your belief. And people should see it in your presence and in your posture and in your stance. And that’s what we must do as a team. And then you need to lift up those who stand with you and let them know you support them. Because many of these mayors in this room will lose their races because they’re standing tall with you and not with the numerical loud minority that have hijacked the narrative.
They will be targeted, they will be focused, and they will go after them one at a time. That’s the hate that has swept our entire country and globe. You are being targeted. And we have to be as intelligent and as focused, as strategic as possible. That’s why we put the IHRA definition in place in New York City.
That’s why I am signing an executive order today to deal with BDS so we can stop the madness that we should not invest in Israel. That is why we’re going to sign an executive order stating that our pension funds will invest in Israeli companies because we’re getting a high return on our investment because they’re doing the right thing.
But Israel and Jews must tell their story. When I talk about ending antisemitism, you know what I talk about to that young African American man that’s in Brownsville? I tell him about the device that was discovered in Israel that helped his mother deal with a medical condition that she’s facing.
When I talk about ending hatred, you go look at who has the highest number of Nobel Peace Prize winners. Go look at the technology that’s coming out of Israel today because of the partnership that we have with New York City and Israel that is saving the lives of people from communities across the globe.
So, when you eradicate Israel and when you put them on an island and don’t allow their companies to go to trade shows and don’t allow their companies to participate in innovation, it is impacting us directly because it impacts us every day and the health and welfare of our communities. That’s what we have to do today. Don’t just talk about stopping antisemitism because it stops attacks on Jewish people. Stop antisemitism because we are all connected together and we’re all involved in this together.
I was sitting in a restaurant, as I conclude. It must have been October 10th. I’m sitting down at the table having a meal and a young African American woman walked in with a Howard University shirt on. She looked at me and said, “You’re one of those Zionist lovers. We know what you’re about. I just came from the march. We know what you are about.”
And while she’s saying that, I’m on my phone. I’m Googling Howard University. And I handed her my phone. And she looked at the founder of Howard University, Julius Rosenwald. And I told her, “Read on.” And she read on and she looked at the fact that almost 40 percent of the children in the Deep South were educated in schools that he opened, a Jewish philanthropist.
When segregation was the norm in the Deep South, he was opening schools so Black and Brown children could go to school and become teachers and educators to go into the Black and Brown communities and deal with segregation. And I said, “Read on.” And she saw how he was one of the original co-founders of the NAACP.
And I said, let’s go talk about the two Jewish young men who were down in Mississippi and lost their lives. But let’s not stop there. Let’s talk about when young white students went to the Deep South, 51 percent of them were Jewish, putting their lives on the line. And so yes, call me a Zionist. But what you can’t call me is mis-educated. And if you are going to denounce what gave birth to the college that you’re in right now, then they’re not educating you.
So, the next time you go in the street to celebrate October 7th, buy a plane ticket and go see what happened there. The next time you believe that you should eradicate from the river to the sea, first know where on the map you’re talking about. The next time you want to align yourself with groups who are proliferating hatred and talking about genocide, go look at what’s happening in Sudan and the thousands of lives that are being lost.
Lift up your educational understanding so you can properly fight a fight on the right side of the issue. That’s where we are missing this. They have indoctrinated and radicalized our children in the social media generation that is taking them down the road of devastation, of not knowing who their allies and brothers and sisters have historically been.
And you’re right, mayor. You are our cousins. You marched with us for Dr. King. You committed and volunteered your lives throughout the generations to stand side by side. But now your story can no longer be a tree that falls in a forest where no one hears a sound. It’s time for you to tell your story. Because if you don’t tell your story, people will distort your story.
So, I’m going to play my position. I may not be the best at it, but I’m going to do everything possible. We had a hockey player called Wayne Gretzky. They called him the ‘Great One.’ I loved his story. Wayne lost his first Stanley Cup. That’s a championship for hockey players. And he went into his locker room and all his teammates were pointing the finger at each other. “Who missed the puck? Who didn’t do their job?”
And then Wayne, being the gentleman that he is, walked down the hall to the opposing team’s locker room. It was quiet. He thought they went home. He peeked his head inside. They were laid out on the benches, bloody and bruised. They left everything they had on the ice. He knew then, that’s how you win.
And I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. But I’m going to fight hate. And I’m going to be battered, I’m going to be bruised. I’m going to leave everything I have on the ice. And all I’m asking all of you, lace up your skates and get on this ice with me. And let’s win.
Gen Z is driving a major shift away from traditional ownership and toward a rental-first lifestyle, according to a Fox Business discussion on the growing “rental boom.” Young consumers are now renting everything from clothes and kids’ strollers to glassware, treating access as more important than possession. What older generations might see as a financial red flag, many Gen Zers now see as a smart, flexible way to live—one that allows them to enjoy variety and convenience without long-term commitment or big upfront costs.
The panel highlighted that this rental trend has both lifestyle and environmental benefits. Renting fashion and children’s toys, for example, keeps items in circulation longer and reduces waste compared to fast fashion that ends up in landfills after just a few wears. At the same time, there’s still tension between the pride and responsibility that comes with owning assets and the ease of simply renting what you need, when you need it. The guests cautioned against calling things like clothes or shoes “assets,” noting that most people don’t recoup much value when they try to resell them.
Technology is the backbone of this new rental economy. Subscription platforms and apps now make it easy to rent clothes, accessories, and even household items on demand, in much the same way services like Uber and Airbnb reshaped transportation and travel. Companies such as Nuuly, FashionPass, and rental programs by major brands leverage cloud-based technology to manage inventory, logistics, and customer preferences at scale. The result is a fast-growing business model where Gen Z can constantly refresh their lifestyle—wardrobes, baby gear, and more—without needing to own it all.
In this segment, President Trump reaffirms his support for U.S. strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats and pointedly leaves the door open for potential land operations in Venezuela. He highlights that, in his view, more than 90% of narcotics arriving by sea have been stopped and frames the maritime campaign as a series of “pinpoint attacks” that are “saving hundreds of thousands of lives.” The messaging clearly positions these actions as part of a broader strategy to increase pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s regime and to treat the narcotics flow as a direct national security threat.
The report then focuses on the controversy surrounding a two-strike incident on a suspected drug vessel in September. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth states he watched only the first strike live before leaving the room, after which operational control rested with Admiral Frank Bradley. According to U.S. officials cited by Fox News, Bradley authorized the second strike to fully sink the vessel, arguing it could have posed a threat to other ships or allowed survivors to call for armed backup. Hegseth references the “fog of war,” noting that fire, explosions, and smoke made it impossible to clearly see survivors in real time.
Finally, the piece highlights the growing political and legal scrutiny in Washington. Both Democrats and some Republicans are questioning whether the second strike could qualify as a war crime under international law and U.S. rules of engagement. Lawmakers on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees are expected to press Admiral Bradley for detailed explanations in upcoming briefings. As a result, the Venezuela pressure campaign and anti-drug operations in the Caribbean are becoming not only a foreign and security policy issue, but also a test case for how far U.S. military force can be used in counter-narcotics missions without crossing legal and ethical red lines.
New York, December 3–4, 2025 – As the world struggles to navigate geopolitical fracture, AI upheaval, and a fragile economy, Reuters NEXT returns to New York this week, assembling a heavyweight roster of policymakers, CEOs and creators to ask a simple but urgent question: what kind of future are we building?
Over two days in the global financial hub, more than 700 leaders from business, government and civil society will take the stage across multiple tracks, tackling themes that range from war and peace to streaming wars, central bank policy to luxury retail.
A summit of power brokers
This year’s speaker lineup underlines the ambition of the summit. According to Reuters, confirmed speakers include:
António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Christian Klein, CEO of SAP
Naomi Gleit, Head of Product, Meta
Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia
Sarah Jessica Parker, executive producer and entrepreneur
Shari Redstone, Chair of Sipur Studios
Aidan Gomez, Co-Founder & CEO of AI firm Cohere
Stéphane de La Faverie, President & CEO, The Estée Lauder Companies
Pearlena Igbokwe, Chairman, Television Studios & Peacock Scripted, NBCUniversal
Ilario Corna, CIO & CTO, International Olympic Committee
Joanne Crevoiserat, CEO of Tapestry
Rick Wurster, CEO of Charles Schwab
Senior leaders from Google, Cisco, Moderna and others
They are joined by central bank governors, including representatives from Libya and Syria, underscoring how monetary policy and financial stability have become central to discussions about global risk and rebuilding trust in institutions. Reuters Agency
Reuters Editor-in-Chief Alessandra Galloni will lead interviews and discussions, supported by a team of senior journalists, as they press speakers on the decisions they are making now—and the consequences those choices will have for 2026 and beyond.
Six themes, one turbulent world
The official agenda is built around six core themes that reflect the fault lines of 2025:
Geopolitics – Panels will explore an era of “growing geopolitical fragmentation,” as alliances are tested by regional conflicts, resource competition and shifting power centers.
Economy & Markets – With investors nervously eyeing the outlook for 2026, speakers from banks, asset managers and major corporates will debate interest-rate paths, capital flows and the resilience of the global financial system.
Banking & Finance – From regulatory scrutiny to fintech disruption, executives will drill into how financial institutions can stay profitable while financing the energy transition and safeguarding against systemic shocks.
AI & Technology – Having moved from “AI experimentation to accountability,” the program delves into governance, transparency and the real business impact of generative AI, with leaders from Cohere, Google, Cisco and others.
Climate & Sustainability – With pressure mounting after a year of record temperatures, CEOs and policymakers will look at how to fund decarbonization, reform supply chains and meet mounting disclosure demands.
Business Leadership – Sessions will focus on leadership in an “increasingly contested information ecosystem,” where trust, internal communications and public credibility can make or break an organization.
Beyond the headlines: AI, energy and attention
What sets Reuters NEXT apart from many other executive gatherings is its framing as a live journalism experience. Interviews are run with the same rigor as a newsroom grilling: short on platitudes, long on specifics.
Some of the most closely watched conversations are expected to orbit three clusters of issues:
AI disruption and accountability
Tech leaders will be asked how they intend to govern powerful AI models, reduce bias, and protect jobs—while still chasing growth.
Policy-makers and regulators in attendance are expected to push for clearer guardrails and more transparency on training data, safety testing and risk management.
Financing the energy transition
With trillions of dollars in investment needed, financial institutions and corporates will debate which models actually work, from green bonds to blended finance.
Executives in energy, heavy industry and consumer goods will be pressed on supply-chain emissions, reporting standards and how they balance shareholder pressure with long-term climate commitments.
The battle for attention – from streaming to social
Media, entertainment and tech executives—including leaders from NBCUniversal, Meta and the IOC—will explore how audiences are fragmenting across platforms and what that means for business models built on advertising and subscriptions.
Why New York, why now
New York—still one of the world’s dominant hubs for finance, media and diplomacy—offers a symbolic backdrop. The city has been at the center of debates on inequality, climate resilience, and the future of work, making it a fitting stage for conversations about reshaping global systems.
The 2025 edition arrives at a moment when:
Markets are trying to price in a new interest-rate regime and adjust to slower, more uneven growth.
Governments are wrestling with how to regulate fast-moving technologies without stifling innovation.
Public trust in institutions—from banks to newsrooms to international bodies—remains fragile.
In a statement ahead of the summit, Galloni framed the objective as cutting through the noise: Reuters NEXT is meant to “go beyond the headlines” and give decision-makers the “clarity, connections and action plans” they need to navigate the next few years.
What to watch for
While the full speaker page is hosted on the Reuters Events site and may feature additional names and sessions that aren’t publicly detailed elsewhere, a few flashpoints are already emerging from the published lineup and themes:
How blunt will leaders be? Will CEOs and policymakers speak candidly about geopolitical risks, or stick to carefully scripted talking points?
Concrete AI commitments. Will any firms announce new principles, partnerships or oversight mechanisms for AI deployment?
Climate credibility. Expect close attention to what companies say about measurable progress toward net-zero goals rather than generic pledges.
Media and misinformation. With Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales, major broadcasters and platform leaders in the mix, discussions on information integrity and audience trust could become some of the most lively sessions.
A forum under pressure to deliver
Expectations for high-level summits like Reuters NEXT are rising. Critics often accuse elite gatherings of generating lofty rhetoric but little follow-through. Organizers, for their part, are positioning the New York summit as a working forum—where deals are sketched out in side rooms, cross-sector coalitions emerge, and some of the world’s most powerful decision-makers are forced to defend their strategies in public.
Whether the 2025 edition ultimately shapes policy, markets or boardroom agendas will only become clear in the months ahead. For now, the arrival of this year’s speakers in New York signals at least one thing: amid uncertainty and upheaval, the conversation about “what comes next” is very much underway.
Under U.S. law, only Congress can appropriate federal money – set the legal dollar amounts and what they can be used for. This flows from the Appropriations Clause (“No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law…”) and is implemented through appropriations acts.
Congressional Research Service (CRS) – the nonpartisan research arm of Congress – notes that Congress has passed five emergency supplemental funding measures for Ukraine since 2022, plus regular annual appropriations that also contain Ukraine-related money. Congress.gov+1
A CRS brief on “U.S. Direct Financial Support for Ukraine” (IF12305, hosted on Congress.gov) lists those five Ukraine supplemental laws and states that as of January 2025 Congress had appropriated nearly $174.2 billion in Ukraine-related supplemental funding for FY2022–FY2024. Congress.gov
The official UkraineOversight.gov “Funding” page (run by the Special Inspector General for Operation Atlantic Resolve) summarizes the same story in even plainer language:
“Congress appropriated $174.2 billion through the five Ukraine supplemental appropriation acts enacted FY 2022 through FY 2024…” Ukraine Oversight
So in law:
Congress writes and passes the bills that set the amounts and purposes (appropriations).
These include both the five Ukraine emergency supplementals and relevant pieces of annual spending bills.
The President / Administration (now Trump)
Once Congress has made money legally available, the executive branch controls how it’s used within those legal limits.
CRS’s long report “Supplemental Funding for Ukraine” (R47275) walks through how Ukraine laws expanded the President’s authority to transfer or “draw down” defense articles and to reprogram some funds, but always within caps and conditions set by statute. Congress.gov
The UkraineOversight.gov glossary (built from DoD’s Financial Management Regulation) explains the key concepts: Ukraine Oversight
Appropriation – Congress’s law that authorizes agencies to incur obligations and make payments for specified purposes.
Apportionment – how the Office of Management and Budget (in the Executive Office of the President) parcels out that appropriated money over time or categories.
Reprogramming / transfers – limited authority to shift money within or between accounts, as allowed by law.
Putting that together, Trump (or any President) can:
Propose budgets and supplemental Ukraine requests (or choose not to request more).
Sign or veto what Congress passes.
Control implementation of already-appropriated funds:
which weapons go in which Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) package,
how quickly funds are obligated and disbursed,
and some reprogramming within the rules Congress set in the Ukraine supplementals and other appropriations. Congress.gov+1
He cannot, on his own, create new Ukraine money that Congress hasn’t appropriated.
Political reality right now (no non-gov sources)
On top of the legal rules, there’s the politics:
A significant share of Members in the current Congress are openly skeptical about further, large Ukraine packages, often citing corruption and oversight concerns.
If Trump demanded a big new Ukraine supplemental that leadership and the base didn’t want, he would risk burning political capital with his own majority.
Legally, he can ask; practically, he’s constrained by what Congress is willing to vote for.
2. What did Congress budget for Ukraine in November 2025?
Short answer using only U.S. government sources:
In November 2025, Congress passed H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026.
It is a continuing resolution (CR) that:
Ends the October–November 2025 government shutdown, and
Extends FY2026 “continuing appropriations” for most federal agencies through January 30, 2026, generally at FY2025 levels. Congress.gov
The official House Appropriations Committee press release describes this as a “clean funding extension” that extends funding “until January 30” and notes the shutdown “lasted 43 days.” House Appropriations GOP
What exactly does H.R. 5371 do?
The Congress.gov CRS summary (for H.R. 5371, now Public Law 119-37) states: Congress.gov
“This bill ends the government shutdown by providing FY2026 continuing appropriations for most federal agencies through January 30, 2026…”
and
“The CR funds most programs and activities at the FY2025 levels with several exceptions…”
Key implications:
It is not a Ukraine-specific law.
It continues existing accounts (including those that can be used for Ukraine) at about FY2025 levels for a short period.
It does not create a new, headline Ukraine supplemental title the way the five earlier Ukraine emergency laws did.
From the House Appropriations Committee’s official November 12, 2025 press release, we see the same points in political language:
Shutdown “lasted 43 days”.
The CR is a “clean and straightforward short-term CR … [that] simply extends funding until January 30.” House Appropriations GOP
Nothing in that official material indicates a brand-new, separate Ukraine aid package passed in November 2025.
So, if someone says, “In November 2025 Trump budgeted $X more for Ukraine,” the government’s own documents show:
November 2025 = general stopgap for the whole government, not a separate Ukraine supplemental.
3. What Ukraine money was already on the books by then?
By the time you reach November 2025, Ukraine funding mostly comes from:
a) The five Ukraine supplemental laws (2022–2024)
CRS’s IF12305 “U.S. Direct Financial Support for Ukraine” (on Congress.gov) lists the five emergency supplemental measures specifically responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: Congress.gov
Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 – P.L. 117-103, Div. N
“As of January 2025, Congress has appropriated a total of nearly $174.2 billion from FY2022 through FY2024 in supplemental appropriations in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.” Congress.gov
The official UkraineOversight.gov Funding page uses essentially the same number and breaks it out: Ukraine Oversight
$174.2 billion from the five Ukraine supplementals (FY2022–FY2024),
plus $22.3 billion from annual agency appropriations,
plus $1.1 billion from other supplemental acts,
for a total of about $187 billion in appropriations related to Operation Atlantic Resolve and the Ukraine response.
That’s all money that Congress has already appropriated before the November 2025 CR.
b) Ongoing defense and security authorities
CRS’s R47275 “Supplemental Funding for Ukraine” details how these laws: Congress.gov
Raised the cap on Presidential Drawdown Authority for defense articles,
Created and funded the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI),
Expanded and adjusted transfer and reprogramming authorities for Ukraine-related support.
Later, the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), in the Senate Armed Services Committee executive summary, notes that it extends USAI through 2028 and increases its authorized funding to $500 million (authorization, not appropriation, but still part of the Ukraine toolkit available once Congress supplies appropriations). Armed Services Committee
Again, that’s not a November-2025 thing; it’s part of the broader FY2026 defense legislation.
4. So how do you answer “Trump just allocated $X for Ukraine in November 2025”?
Using only U.S. government documents, you can say:
Congress, not Trump, legally allocates the money.
Congress has enacted five Ukraine supplemental appropriation acts plus related annual appropriations, totaling about $174.2 billion in Ukraine supplementals and $187 billion overall for the Ukraine response by early 2025. Congress.gov+1
In November 2025, Congress did not pass a new, standalone Ukraine aid law.
It passed H.R. 5371 (P.L. 119-37), a continuing resolution that:
Ended the 43-day shutdown and
Extended most funding at FY2025 levels through January 30, 2026.Congress.gov+1
Nothing in the official CRS summary or House Appropriations release suggests a separate, new Ukraine-only tranche in November 2025.
Trump’s actual role is:
He signs or vetoes what Congress sends him (H.R. 5371 became law on Nov. 12, 2025). Congress.gov
He chooses whether to request more Ukraine money in future supplementals. Congress.gov
Through OMB apportionment and statutory authorities (drawdown, reprogramming, etc.), his administration controls the pace and form in which already-appropriated Ukraine funds are used. Congress.gov+1
New York City is debating a housing bill that sounds technical but could seriously change how multifamily buildings are bought and sold.
It’s called the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA, and it’s City Council bill Intro 902. New York City Council+1
Supporters say it’s a crucial tool to save affordable housing. Critics say it’s a slow-motion takeover of the housing market by City Hall and politically connected nonprofits. Let’s walk through what the bill actually does, how it would work in practice, and what we can realistically expect if it passes.
1. What COPA Would Do in One Sentence
COPA would give qualified nonprofits and community land trusts the first chance to buy most multifamily buildings (3+ units) when an owner decides to sell, plus extra time to match any private buyer’s offer — with fines up to $30,000 if owners don’t follow the rules. New York City Council+1
That’s it in plain English. The entire fight is really about who gets first shot at buying a building, and how much red tape comes with that.
Owner decides to sell a building with 3 or more apartments. This can be a small walk-up, a mid-size rental, or a larger property — as long as it has at least three residential units (with some technical exceptions).
Mandatory notice to the city and nonprofits. Before accepting offers, the owner must send a “notice of sale” to:
the Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), and
a city-maintained list of “qualified entities” (nonprofits, community land trusts, etc.).
Nonprofits get the “first opportunity to purchase.”
They have 60 days to say they’re interested.
Then up to 120 days to submit an offer.
During this window, the owner is not allowed to accept other offers.New York City Council
If a private buyer appears, nonprofits can still match. Suppose a private investor makes a “bona fide” offer later in the process. The owner has to notify HPD and the nonprofits again. Under COPA, the nonprofits get another window (up to 120 days) to come in and match the same price and terms. New York City Council+1
Penalties for skipping the process. If an owner just tries to sell quietly and ignore COPA, the city can seek:
So in practice, COPA doesn’t let nonprofits buy buildings at a discount — they still have to pay market prices — but it reorders the line so they get:
first look,
first offer,
and a last-minute right to match.
3. Where the Idea Comes From: D.C. and San Francisco
Supporters are very open about the fact COPA is modeled on similar laws elsewhere:
Washington, D.C. – TOPA (Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act) TOPA gives tenants (or developers they partner with) the chance to buy their building or assign that right when the landlord sells. Studies funded by D.C. and advocacy groups estimate over 16,000 affordable units were preserved or created between 2006 and 2020 under TOPA. Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania+1
San Francisco – COPA Since 2019, San Francisco has given nonprofits a first right of offer and first refusal to buy most multifamily buildings (3+ units). The goal is to prevent displacement and keep buildings permanently affordable. City and County of San Francisco+2SFMOHCD+2
New York’s bill is explicitly pitched as doing the same thing: letting mission-driven nonprofits buy at-risk buildings before “speculators swoop in.” City & State New York+1
4. Who’s Pushing COPA, and What They Say It Will Do
The main political sponsor is Council Member Sandy Nurse, who introduced Intro 902 in May 2024. New York City Council+1
Key advocacy groups backing COPA include New Economy Project, the NYC Community Land Initiative, and a broader “Community Land Act” coalition:
They argue that as soon as buildings go on the market, private equity funds and large investors often outbid everyone else, then:
By November 2025, New Economy Project said COPA had reached supermajority support in the Council, enough to potentially override a mayoral veto if everyone stayed on board. New Economy NYC
5. Why Critics Are Alarmed
Opposition is coming from small landlord groups, real-estate trade associations, and several law firms that advise owners and lenders. Their concerns fall into a few buckets.
a) Time and uncertainty
Legal memos from firms like Belkin Burden Goldman and Holland & Knight highlight how COPA could stretch a normal sale into a 6–12-month saga of notices, waiting periods, and possible nonprofit match offers. Belkin · Burden · Goldman, LLP+1
Their arguments:
Financing windows can close. Lenders don’t like deals that might sit for half a year without clarity.
1031 exchanges become risky. Owners relying on time-sensitive tax-deferred exchanges may not be able to meet federal deadlines if they’re stuck waiting out COPA timelines. Holland & Knight
Buyers may just give up on NYC. If investors fear their offer will be used as free price discovery for nonprofits that can later match it, they may look to other markets.
b) Impact on values and tax revenue
Some analyses warn that if buildings are harder to sell, their market value will fall — not necessarily because nonprofits pay less, but because:
fewer buyers are willing to deal with the red tape, and
Holland & Knight, for example, argues Intro 902 could “dramatically decrease sales of multifamily buildings” and reduce the billions NYC collects in property and mortgage recording taxes, with little evidence it will create new units. Holland & Knight
c) Tilt toward politically connected nonprofits
Critics also point out that COPA doesn’t give tenants themselves the first right — it gives it to “qualified entities” certified by the city, mostly nonprofits and land trusts. New York City Council+1
That raises questions:
Who gets on the list and who doesn’t?
Will the organizations with better political connections see more deals?
Do these entities have the capacity and funding to close purchases at scale, or will many buildings just sit in limbo?
The New York Post, in a highly charged editorial, goes much further — calling COPA a step toward “communist dystopia” and “Stalinesque” control over private sales. New York Post+1
That’s clearly rhetorical overkill, but it reflects a real anxiety in parts of the landlord and business community: that City Hall is inserting itself directly into who gets to buy what, and when.
6. What We Can Learn from D.C. and San Francisco
The honest answer is that both sides can point to evidence.
Evidence that these laws do preserve housing
In Washington, D.C., research funded by the city and summarized by PolicyLink and others estimates that 16,000+ affordable units were created or preserved through TOPA between 2006 and 2020, plus thousands more units where tenants used TOPA negotiations to secure repairs and affordability guarantees even if they didn’t buy. PolicyLink+2LISC+2
In San Francisco, COPA has helped nonprofits acquire and preserve hundreds of units since 2019, using a similar first-right-of-offer structure for 3+ unit buildings. Shelterforce+2Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania+2
So, if your only question is “Can these laws preserve some buildings as permanently affordable?” the answer is yes — they can.
Evidence that these laws create friction and backlash
At the same time:
D.C. is now scaling back TOPA rights for small properties (2–4 units), after years of complaints from small landlords that the process was too complicated and open to abuse. The Washington Post+2The Washington Post+2
Legal and industry commentary in both cities is full of examples where deals fell apart, financing was delayed, or owners avoided selling because they didn’t want to navigate the process. K&L Gates+2Hanson Bridgett LLP+2
So, the track record suggests something like this:
These laws do help preserve some affordable housing stock — but they also slow and complicate transactions, and over time, politicians feel pressure to tweak or partially roll them back.
NYC is essentially jumping into a policy experiment that has already shown both benefits and costs elsewhere.
7. Likely Real-World Effects in New York
Putting it all together, what’s most likely to happen if COPA passes in roughly its current form?
More power for City Hall–approved nonprofits. They will get a pipeline of potential acquisitions, often with public subsidy behind them. That’s by design.
Slower, more complex deals for multifamily buildings. Sellers and buyers will need lawyers who understand COPA, and timelines will stretch. Some deals that would have happened simply won’t.
Upward pressure on prices for “clean” assets, and discounting on COPA-constrained assets.
Buildings not covered by COPA (or where obligations are waived) could become more attractive, bidding prices up.
Buildings squarely under COPA may trade at a discount to compensate for extra risk and time — or not trade at all.
Uneven impact by size and sophistication of owner.
Large institutional players may treat COPA as just another compliance cost.
Small landlords and families who own one or two buildings are the most likely to feel overwhelmed or pushed out.
Real, but limited, gains in nonprofit-owned affordable housing. If D.C. and San Francisco are any guide, COPA will help nonprofits save some buildings — but not remotely enough to “solve” the housing crisis on its own. Shelterforce+2PolicyLink+2
8. The Bottom Line
COPA is not literally a ban on private property, and it doesn’t let nonprofits seize buildings at cut-rate prices. It’s a procedural power shift:
away from fast, bilateral deals between owner and buyer,
toward a system where city-approved nonprofits get the first and last word on many sales.
Whether you see that as necessary protection in an overheated market or a dangerous politicization of transactions depends on your starting values:
Do you think the housing crisis is mainly a failure of markets, or a failure of public policy and supply?
Do you trust nonprofits, backed by City Hall, to manage a growing chunk of the housing stock better than private owners?
And how much extra bureaucracy are you willing to tolerate in exchange for preserving some buildings as permanently affordable?
What’s clear from the evidence is that COPA-type laws are not cost-free. They can preserve units and empower community buyers — but they also bring delay, compliance costs, and the risk that only those nonprofits and intermediaries with the best political connections will really benefit.
New York City is now deciding if that trade-off is worth it.
