(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is giving wealthy property owners more time to comply with a controversial new pied-à-terre tax on second homes in the city following a backlash over its botched rollout.
The Mamdani administration announced over the weekend that it is giving about 17,000 residents who may owe the 4% surtax on one-to-three-family second homes valued over $5 million, and co-ops and condos valued at $1 million, until Sept. 18 to file appeals with the city for an exemption. The previous deadline was late August, according to the Mamdani administration.
Mamdani said the new tax, which is expected to drum up $500 million in annual revenue, will force part-time New Yorkers to “pay their fair share” of the city’s operating costs.
But the Democratic socialist has been criticized for a confusing rollout of the new tax, including the release of a database of affluent property owners who could be subject to it, which critics say exposes them to harassment and threats. The list, required by the new law, includes their names, addresses, and other details.
The city’s Department of Finance also muddied the waters by including 900,000 properties on the list without explaining that many of them would not be subject to the pied-à-terre tax.
“Not every property or unit listed in the roll will be subject to the surcharge,” the city agency posted in an updated advisory. “Only property owners to whom DOF sent a notification by mail are required to take further action.”
Mamdani has defended his administration’s botched rollout of the new tax, saying the plan gives property owners time to work with the city before the surcharge takes effect next spring.
“One of the reasons that this is being done now is to ensure that New Yorkers have requisite time before the implementation of the surcharge,” Mamdani said Saturday. “They have until next March to be able to go back and forth with the Department to ensure that this is an accurate reflection.”
Among those who have called on the mayor to take down the database is New York University professor and liberal podcaster Scott Galloway, who said in a recent segment of “The Pivot” that he was “doxxed” by the Mamdani administration. He said the list endangers himself and other property owners.
“He’s turned a legitimate source of tax revenue and he’s turning it into a wanted poster,” Galloway said. “The question I would have is, other than trying to identify and imply these people have done something wrong — and then, 18 months after a healthcare CEO was executed in the street, published the list — what is the upside here? Why is he doing this?”
The Real Estate Board of New York, which opposed the tax, said the annual levy will weaken New York City’s economy and accelerate an exodus of wealthy households to lower tax states.
“It will not raise the amount of revenue expected, but will eliminate thousands of construction jobs, lower property values, and raise costs for New Yorkers,” James Whelan, the board’s president, said in a recent statement. “Albany should focus on policies that encourage investment and housing production to create a more affordable city, not ones that stifle its growth.”
