Angry NYC homeowners challenge Mamdani’s luxury-home tax rollout at council hearing

New York City homeowners and real estate figures packed a City Council oversight hearing to slam Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rollout of the pied-à-terre tax, citing confusing notices that wrongly implied they owed large sums and accusing the administration of targeting private wealth. The hearing highlighted about 17,000 notices already issued and concerns that up to roughly 900,000 properties could be affected, with exemptions and residency proofs adding to the confusion. While supporters said the tax is a fair measure on luxury second homes, critics warned of the bureaucratic drag and potential harm to cooperatives and individual residents. The administration did not attend the hearing, DOF defended the rollout, Hochul appeared to distance herself from the plan, and a lawsuit seeking to halt the rollout hovered in the background.