What the court told the city to fix
The order voids the mailed notices and the exemption process, which Ozzi called “unlawful burden shifting.” The city must also take down a roll of about 900,000 properties it posted online in July. It may replace that roll with a narrower list of homes actually subject to the surcharge.
Any new notices must explain how each property was flagged and disclose the records behind that determination.
“We’re gratified that the court has recognized we were right all along. The fact is that this administration failed to follow state law when it burdened New York City homeowners with proving they live in their own homes or be on the hook for paying a new surcharge,” said Randy Mastro, the attorney for three homeowners who said their primary residences had been wrongly identified.
Mayoral spokesman Matt Rauschenbach called the decision wrong. “The pied-à-terre surcharge is about a basic principle of fairness: if you can afford a luxury second home in New York City, you can afford to pay your fair share for the schools, streets and parks that make this city work,” he said.
Why co-op borrowers should pay attention
Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced the pied-à-terre in April with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s backing, pitching it as a way to close the city’s budget gap by taxing wealthy second-home owners. State lawmakers passed it on May 27, and it took effect July 1.
