Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s policy to tax luxury second homes in the city has been temporarily halted by a Staten Island judge, Richmond County court documents show.
The tax, created to help close $500 million in the city’s budget deficit, is to be implemented on second homes in the city worth more than $5 million.
The decision comes after a lawsuit was filed by a group of city homeowners upset at having “to be put through the burden and expense of having to apply for some exemption,” Randy Mastro, the former first deputy mayor and lawyer representing the homeowners, said.
In a statement responding to the temporary restraining order, Matt Rauschenbach, a spokesperson for the mayor, said while the city disagreed with the ruling, “we are confident in both the pied-à-terre surcharge and the City’s ability to implement it fairly and effectively.”
“The Law Department will appeal the ruling immediately which will stay the order, and the City will continue with the pied-a-terre’s implementation,” the statement goes on to read.
Mastro released a statement of his own, saying he was “very gratified” by the order and adding it “has vindicated the rights of hundreds of thousands of New York City homeowners who were subjected to a process they never should have been a part of in the first place.”
At an unrelated event Monday, Mamdani promised to “vigorously defend” the policy against the homeowners’ lawsuit.
City Hall is vowing to appeal.
A City Hall spokesperson responded to the ruling, saying: “We disagree with today’s ruling, but we are confident in both the pied-à-terre surcharge and the City’s ability to implement it fairly and effectively.”
The next hearing is set for Aug. 31.
Pied-À-Terre Tax Rollout Blocked Temporarily by Staten Island Judge
