(The Center Square) — Nonprofits and community groups in New York City will be given first crack at buying distressed multifamily buildings before they hit the private market, under a bill signed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday.

The legislation, called the Community Opportunity to Purchase Act, will give qualified entities — such as community land trusts and local development groups — the early option to bid on certain kinds of multifamily properties before they are put on the open market. Backers of the plan say it will prevent predatory investment groups from buying up properties and overcharging for rent.

Under the new law, which goes into effect next November, bidders will have 20 days to express interest to the owner and the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and another 70 days to make a competitive offer. If that time period expires without a viable offer, the property will go on the market, according to the Mamdani administration.

"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, who campaigned on giving nonprofits the authorization to buy dilapidated buildings, told reporters at a bill signing in Brooklyn.

Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams vetoed the legislation on his final day in office in January amid opposition from real estate industry and landlord groups, who said the changes would increase red tape and contribute to a shortage of affordable housing.

Mamdani, who was sworn into office in January, pushed to bring up Adam's veto for an override vote, but Council Speaker Julie Menin didn't have the two-thirds majority needed to override the veto.

Backers of the plan came back with a new proposal that substantially reduced the number of buildings that would be eligible for early consideration by nonprofit groups. The bill was approved by the City Council in October on a 38-9 vote.

Landlords criticized Mamdani for signing the legislation, saying it fails to address the financial pressures facing property owners of dilapidated multifamily buildings that often fall into bankruptcy.

"We’re missing the forest for the trees," said Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association, which represents landlords. "The problem isn’t who can buy these buildings; it’s the rising expenses, two-year rent freeze, and tens of thousands of annual rent-stabilized vacancies driving properties toward financial collapse.

"We need to address the underlying issues threatening the future of our legacy housing,” he said.

Burgos said it was "tragically ironic" that Mamdani signed the bill into law on the same day that New York City banks and other lenders pushed at least 850 bankrupt rent-stabilized units to auction "rather than accept an offer from a tenant-approved affordable housing developer."