NYC Pied-a-Terre Tax Revenue at Risk as More Than Half of Appeals Succeed
New York City is located in New York State. New York City's Department of Finance disclosed on October 10 that 10,000 exemption and appeal applications have been filed against the city's new pied-a-terre tax, with 5,700 already approved — more than half. The levy, once projected to generate over $500 million a year, now faces an uncertain revenue outlook.
The tax was announced in April by Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Governor Kathy Hochul, targeting second homes in the city: co-ops valued above $1 million and houses above $5 million. City Hall claimed it would bring in $500 million-plus annually to fund affordable housing, mental health services, parks and libraries.
The rollout has been rocky. The city initially mailed notices to about 17,000 homeowners, prompting a lawsuit on Staten Island by lawyer Randy Mastro, a former first deputy mayor under Eric Adams, over inadequate notice. State Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi ruled just over a week ago that the city must redo its rollout from scratch. The appeals deadline has been pushed back three times and now stands at October 13. The Finance Department now estimates 10,000 to 13,000 homeowners are affected.
Plaintiff lawyer Ben Williams of Rosenberg & Ellis said that once primary residences are removed and overstated market values corrected, actual collections could fall far short of projections, questioning whether the $500 million estimate was ever realistic.
According to the New York Post's October 11 report citing Finance Department figures, exemption requests and lawsuits keep pouring in. For the Mamdani administration, a shortfall in this signature tax on wealthy second-home owners could open a new hole in the already-adopted $125.8 billion FY2027 balanced budget.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：曼哈顿联排住宅（资料图）。摄影：Beyond My Ken，CC BY-SA 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons
