Lucas Tatarski (Cooper Square CLT) on CLT model as alternative to speculation

Thank you, Chair Sanchez, members of the committee, for holding today's hearing.

My name is Lucas Tatarski.

I live in Jackson Heights, grew up in the East Village, where I can no longer afford to live, and now work as program manager of the Cooper Square Community Land Trust.

I previously worked as a tenant organizer at Asian Americans for Equality, or AFI.

At AFI, I worked with tenants in one building who went six months without cooking gas while their landlord strung them along with false promises.

In another building owned by A&E, 2025's worst landlord in the city, tenants showed me videos of water pouring through window frames during rain and collapsed ceilings left unfixed for months.

Letters demanding repairs went ignored.

But it doesn't have to be this way.

Working at Cooper Square Community Land Trust, I've seen a different model.

We're the oldest active community land trust stewarded housing in New York City.

Residents pay rents far below market rate, and buildings are managed by professional staff under a democratically elected, resident-controlled board, with real say over repairs and renovations.

The land trust also serves as a third-party monitor through a regulatory agreement with HPD.

Residents have a real stake, a real voice, and real control over their housing.

It's a model.

being replicated citywide, and one COPA would help expand.

COPA would give tenants and qualified nonprofits a fair chance to pursue preservation before buildings are lost to speculation,

letting CLTs and other community-based organizations partner with the city to protect affordability while easing pressure on HPD's own resources.

I urge the council to pass COPA.

Again, it won't fix every problem tenants face, but it's a real tool to help people stay in the communities they've built.

Thank you for your time.