City Council hearing takes aim at NYC's pied-à-terre tax rollout
The New York City Council held an hours-long hearing Tuesday afternoon on the controversial new pied-à-terre tax rollout.
Dozens of frustrated New York City residents and homeowners attended, although no one from the mayor's office was present. Written testimony was provided instead, the mayor's office said, because of ongoing litigation involving a lawsuit filed by homeowners seeking to delay implementation of the tax.
"Oversight is one of the key and critical functions that the City Council performs. And the idea that there's active litigation - oftentimes administrations, in fact all the time, testify when there is active litigation," City Council Speaker Julie Menin said Tuesday morning.
"As with all revenue collected by the Department of Finance, these funds help keep the city running," City Councilmember Gale Brewer read from the testimony. "The revenue therewith collected supports essential services that New Yorkers rely on every day."
The new tax is part of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's efforts to increase taxes on wealthy property owners of secondary homes valued at more than $5 million, as well as co-ops and condos worth more than $1 million that are not used as a primary residence.
The public hearing was held amid some backlash against the rollout, which has sparked confusion and has had some homeowners filing legal challenges.
"I personally support the tax, but the rollout has been confusing among property owners," Brewer said.
Supporters say the new tax is an important step toward addressing the city's budget shortfall.
The Department of Finance sent letters to more than 17,000 property owners as part of the rollout, including to people who say their New York City home is their primary residence. The city published more than 900,000 addresses, including many property owners who are not impacted by the tax.
Some who actually spoke Tuesday at the hearing actually feared reprisal for doing so.
"Yes, I am on the list and so are many other people who don't even know about the list," said a Staten Island resident named Vincent, who didn't want to share his last name out of fear. "You're putting a list up with all my information, with people I know. We started from the bottom like everyone else.
"I felt like I was finger pointed, like I did something wrong, which I have not. Nothing but the American dream and better [for] myself and my family," he added.
The Real Estate Board of New York said it is calling for a pause on the tax, citing difficulties with the rollout.
"We warned from the beginning that this tax would be extremely difficult to administer. The rollout has been plagued by confusion, errors, and unanswered questions. The city cannot enforce first and explain later. The Mamdani administration should pause implementation until it can demonstrate it is ready to administer the tax fairly, accurately, and transparently," said James Whelan, president of REBNY.
Earlier Tuesday, there were three rallies held on the steps of City Hall that were all for and against the new tax.
"What I don't hear from my neighbors is, 'I feel so bad for those wealthy folks and their second homes being taxed,'" community leader Brian Romero said.
"I'm one of the thousands of working class New Yorkers who support taxing the rich. Billionaires [should] pay their share of taxes," a woman added.
"We need to address a city-made crisis, and that is the pied-à-terre tax rollout, which has been completely botched," one rally speaker said.
The deadline to apply for an exemption from the new tax is Sept. 18. Officials say proof like your driver's license will be accepted.