Judge Orders Mamdani To Redo Pied-à-terre Tax Rollout

NEW YORK — Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration must redo its rollout of the pied-à-terre tax, a Staten Island judge ruled Tuesday.

The decision from Judge Wayne Ozzi sides with New York City homeowners challenging Mamdani’s rollout of the surcharge, which applies to second homes in the city worth more than $5 million. The lawsuit, filed last month, alleges the administration did not perform sufficient due diligence before sending letters to some 17,000 homeowners and separately took issue with a public list of some 900,000 homes that could fall under the tax.

Under Ozzi’s order, the city must mail out new notices “in compliance with the intent of the law.” The notices that have gone out thus far are essentially voided. The ruling also eliminates the city’s exemption process, which Ozzi holds as “unlawful burden shifting.”

“Any time constraints imposed by this new legislation do not permit respondents to take shortcuts in implementing the law [in] a manner which violates petitioners’ (and all others who received the Mailed Notices) due process rights,” the ruling states.

City Hall plans to invoke a stay of the injunction later this evening, according to the mayor’s office.

“Today’s decision is wrong,” mayoral spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said in a statement. “With a stay, we will continue implementing the surcharge fairly, efficiently and in full compliance with the law, as we have since day one.”

He described the surcharge as being about "a basic principle of fairness."

"If you can afford a luxury second home in New York City, you can afford to pay your fair share for the schools, streets and parks that make this city work,” he continued. “The ultra-wealthy are fighting in court to avoid paying their fair share. They have filed lawsuit after lawsuit to protect their privilege, and we will not back down.”

If the lower court’s ruling were to be upheld, it could risk delaying the implementation of the surcharge.

The new notices, according to Ozzi’s ruling, must state the factors and information considered in identifying a given property as a likely pied-à-terre, and the city must disclose the records or documents that support its initial determinations.

The decision requires the city to also remove the broader 900,000-home list from the Department of Finance website, with the option of replacing it with a more limited database.

“We’re gratified that the court has recognized we were right all along,” said Randy Mastro, the attorney for the plaintiffs and a frequent Mamdani antagonist. “The fact is that this administration failed to follow state law when it burdened New York City homeowners with proving they live in their own homes or be on the hook for paying a new surcharge.”