New York Councilwoman Warns of “Maniacal” Shift Toward Community Property Over Private Ownership

By Nicole Weatherholtz
Tuesday, 30 December 2025

New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino declared Tuesday that the City Council passed the controversial Community Opportunity to Purchase Act with insufficient notice, calling the process a deliberate effort to undermine private property rights.

During an interview, the Queens Republican stated council members “did not even know this was going to be on the agenda until the night before” the final scheduled meeting of the year on Dec. 18. Paladino emphasized that while lawmakers understood the bill’s significance, the last-minute scheduling made meaningful review impractical.

When questioned about whether council members could realistically read a lengthy proposal in time, Paladino dismissed claims of ignorance, asserting, “No, they read it, and they knew exactly what they were doing.”

The bill, approved by the New York City Council, grants nonprofit and community-based groups a preferred pathway to purchase eligible properties when owners decide to sell. Paladino criticized the measure as a guise for “community” empowerment that excludes individual New Yorkers, stating, “Community — that doesn’t mean you, the individual.”

She characterized COPA as part of a broader campaign against private homeownership and linked it directly to the agenda of democratic socialist Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani. Paladino said: “This is exactly what they want. He wants community-owned property. He does not want single-family, two-family, three-family, four-family … anybody to own private homes.”

The councilwoman warned that the measure’s impact would extend beyond Manhattan, with outer borough neighborhoods likely most affected. “Everybody needs to know this is happening in every borough,” she said. “The least affected will probably be Manhattan.”

Paladino described COPA as an infringement on basic rights, calling it “maniacal” and a violation of citizens’ property rights. She also alleged that the bill’s passage came at the expense of veterans’ legislation, stating that eleven veteran bills were “knocked off” after passing committee but vanished before floor votes.

“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Paladino said, urging New York City residents to pay attention to the bill’s consequences and the city’s accelerating shift toward community-owned property over private ownership.