The City Council on Thursday overrode a bevy of mayoral vetoes, including measures that set new restrictions on what types of housing the city finances.
The Council reversed 17 of former Mayor Eric Adams’ vetoes, most of which he made on his last day in office. That’s more than the number of vetoes voided by the Council over the last decade, according to Speaker Julie Menin.
Two of those measures set minimum percentages for homeownership and low-income units financed by the city, which housing groups argued would interfere with the new mayor’s housing agenda. The Council overrode vetoes on several other real estate-related measures, including one that sets minimum wages for building security officers.
The Council, however, didn’t override Adams’ veto of the industry-derided Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, or COPA.
New unit requirements
One of the bills revived by the Council requires that over a five-year period, at least 4 percent of new housing units financed by the city must be homeownership units. That requirement goes into effect on July 1, 2026.
Another measure mandates that at least 50 percent of new units funded by the city be affordable for extremely low-income households (those earning no more than 30 percent of the area median income) and very low-income households (those earning no more than 50 percent AMI). At least 30 percent must be affordable to extremely low-income households. Those thresholds apply over a five-year period and kick in July 1, 2027.
The Adams administration estimated that those bills would cost $110 million each year to maintain the city’s current level of housing production and preservation. Though the administration argued against the cost of these and other bills, the mayor didn’t veto a measure that sets minimum construction wages on city-funded housing projects, which his administration estimated would cost more than $400 million annually.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani had voiced concerns about the bills that set minimum thresholds for city-financed housing and their potential effect on his goal to build 200,000 affordable housing units over the next decade.
A representative for the mayor didn’t immediately comment on the two measures being revived by the City Council on Thursday.
Some bills remain vetoed
Some of Adams’ housing-related vetoes, however, weren’t revived. The Council didn’t override the mayor’s veto of another housing regulation bill that would set a minimum percentage of city-financed units with two- and three-bedrooms.
It also became clear early this week that COPA didn’t garner enough votes to overrule Adams’ veto. Still, progressive Council members, the speaker and the mayor appear determined to revive the measure.
During Thursday’s meeting, Menin acknowledged that bills vetoed by Adams that were not resuscitated by the Council still have a path forward “where we can get a supermajority support and address legal issues.”
The city’s Law Department flagged constitutional issues around COPA, which would have given city-approved non-profits, as well as joint ventures between for- and not-for-profit firms, the first opportunity to bid on certain distressed multifamily buildings when their owners decide to sell.
Council member Sandy Nurse, the bill’s sponsor, has made clear that she plans to reintroduce the measure.
“The bottom line is this: if we do not have stronger protections to keep working class New Yorkers here, they will continue to leave,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Speaker Menin on re-introducing the bill and passing it this year.”
Additional overrides
The Council overrode Adams’ veto of a bill that sets minimum wages for office security guards, a change proposed after the fatal shootings at Rudin Management’s 345 Park Avenue last year. The Real Estate Board of New York has raised concerns about the bill, arguing that it undermines labor negotiations and is barred by state law.
The body additionally revived a measure aimed at increasing transparency around the co-op application process. Under the measure, co-op boards must notify prospective residents that they have received an application to live at a building within 15 days. The board then has 45 days to accept or reject the application.
The Council reversed the former mayor’s vetoes of bills that would create a city-run land bank (as long as the state approves it) and allow the city to sell tax liens to the land bank, rather than a private trust.
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