The City Council packed a long, busy evening into a marathon vote before the transition to Mayor‑elect Zohran Mamdani. During that session, council members pushed through 51 pieces of legislation—an impressive haul that will put the city on a collision course with the new administration.
Outgoing Mayor Eric Adams was out of town in Mexico when the votes were cast. In a statement from his spokesman Fabien Levy, Adams said he’d “be reviewing our next steps regarding the bills passed today.”
The mayor’s comments suggest he may weigh a veto on some contentious measures, especially those dealing with housing, which could ignite further legislative battles in Mamdani’s term.
Here are the key moments and the most noteworthy last‑minute laws the council enacted as the year ended.
Public safety
A hot‑ticket bill was passed that allows the Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) to obtain NYPD body‑camera footage directly, bypassing police officers. Despite the powerful police union’s protests, the measure won 34–9 with five abstentions—just shy of a veto‑proof split.
Adams, a former police captain, said he was still “reviewing details of the legislation” before deciding whether to sign it. He has until December 31 to exercise a veto, a move that could trigger a high‑stakes override battle with the next council.
Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, unrelated to the mayor, touted the body‑camera law as part of her “legacy.” She argued that giving the CCRB direct access would bolster its ability to assess misconduct allegations. The council also approved, by a wide margin (41–7), a law requiring the NYPD to unencrypt police radio communications.
Housing
Housing legislation became the most contentious of the night. A “socialist‑friendly” bill, the Community Opportunity for Purchase Act (COPA), passed 30–10, giving nonprofit organizations the first right to buy affordable housing units. The measure drew sharp criticism from real estate groups, property owners, and Republicans, who called it an attack on private ownership.
“This government‑engineered, socialist scheme sanctions politically‑connected, nonprofit housing slumlords and predatory developers to snatch private property at depressed values from hard‑working small owners, many of them immigrant multigenerational families, that have invested their blood, sweat, and life‑savings in their buildings,” said Ann Korchak, president of Small Property Owners of New York.
Julie Menin, the city council’s prospective next speaker, may decide whether to take up an override vote next year if Adams vetoes any of the housing bills. The Manhattan councilwoman was among eight lawmakers who abstained on COPA.
The council also passed several other measures tied to new housing developments: a requirement that 4 % of newly constructed units be set aside for home ownership; a rule mandating a certain percentage of two‑ and three‑bedroom units in newly built subsidized rentals; and an ordinance that 80 % of new units must be affordable for low‑income households.
City Hall officials slammed the bills, noting that Mamdani’s team had lobbied against several of them. They claimed the laws would “worsen the affordability crisis” and put the incoming administration under pressure, saying “irresponsible actions like these demonstrate the importance of Mayor Adams’ efforts to modernize the housing approval process through the ballot measures that passed this November.”
Worker protection
The council also moved against rideshare companies by passing a worker‑protection bill that requires Uber and Lyft to give drivers at least 14 days’ notice before deactivating them in the system. The new measure preserves an exemption for cases of serious misconduct, such as physical abuse or sexual assault.
Additionally, the council expanded street‑vendor permits, awarding 10,500 new general vending licenses in 2027. The city also approved a construction‑sector wage set at a net $40 per hour, which includes essential benefits for workers on city‑funded projects.
Sanctuary city
A sanctuary‑city measure backed by the Democratic Socialists of America also found support, passing 39–9. The Safer Sanctuary Act, championed by councilwoman Tiffany Cabán, bars ICE from opening offices on Rikers Island and clarifies that sanctuary protections apply to all federal immigration enforcement agencies.
The DSA’s New York City chapter proudly announced the bill as “a much needed update to NY sanctuary city laws, and the first major piece of immigration legislation to be passed by the NYC Council during the second Trump administration.”
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