Eric Adams’ deputy mayor takes swing at Mamdani over tax on second homes

New York City is defending its rollout of the pied-à-terre tax against a lawsuit from Staten Island homeowners represented by Randy Mastro, the former Adams deputy mayor and vocal Mamdani critic, who say they were wrongly notified their high-value properties might owe the surcharge. All three plaintiffs have since been notified they're exempt, but the case continues over whether the city's blanket notification process itself caused harm.

City attorney Steven Banks argued the case is moot and unripe, calling it 'a policy dispute dressed up as a case in controversy' since the statute provides an appeal process homeowners hadn't yet exhausted when they sued. Mastro called the notices 'nastygrams' that put thousands 'through hell' and criticized the city for publishing a property roster that included a sitting judge's home.

The tax applies to second homes worth at least $5 million and second condos or co-ops over $1 million, and Gov. Kathy Hochul says it will generate at least $500 million annually for the city. A judge briefly halted the notices via temporary restraining order before an appeals court vacated it.

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