Key facts
- The law requires owners of covered buildings to notify the city and qualified nonprofits before selling, with a right to match later offers.
- Spatial Equity failed to close on the 38-building Emerald portfolio before an East Harlem auction began on November 10, 2026.
- Lenders rejected Spatial Equity's $68 million bid, per a City Limits report, and a $110 million offer, tenant leader Cara Polte said.
- A trust managed by several banks and Sabal Investment Holdings controls about $250 million in loans on the buildings, partly insured by Freddie Mac.
- About 1,600 rent-stabilized buildings face financial distress, according to Rent Guidelines Board data.
- A Brooklyn appellate panel ruled on November 4, 2026 that the city can resume collecting its pied-à-terre tax on high-end second homes.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act on November 10, 2026, giving vetted nonprofits a first chance to buy troubled city apartment buildings. The law requires owners of covered buildings to notify the city and qualified nonprofits before selling, and gives those groups time to make an offer and a right to match a later one. It takes effect one year after enactment, after the Department of Housing Preservation and Development writes rules.
"This law will give New Yorkers a tool to keep their homes out of the hands of predatory investors seeking to make a quick and easy buck," Mamdani said at a signing event.
The measure arrived too late to spare hundreds of rent-stabilized units from foreclosure. Spatial Equity, an affordable housing developer backed by City Hall, failed to close a deal for a 38-building portfolio before an auction in East Harlem began on the afternoon of November 10. The buildings, with 850 mostly rent-stabilized apartments, belonged to bankrupt Emerald Equities Group. Banks and other institutions controlling about $250 million in mortgage loans will foreclose on each building over three auction days.
Lenders rejected Spatial Equity's initial $68 million bid, according to a City Limits report, and also turned down a $110 million offer last month, tenant leader Cara Polte told Gothamist. A trust managed by several banks and by Sabal Investment Holdings controls the loans, and Freddie Mac partially insured them. Sabal had yet to respond to media requests. Cea Weaver, director of the Mayor's Office to Protect Tenants, said the sale does not end the city's effort to force owners to improve conditions.