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NYC council questions pied-à-terre tax rollout after mass name lists
About 17,000 homeowners received surcharge letters, even as Brewer said estimates put second homes at roughly 14,000.
New York City Council lawmakers held a hearing on the administration of the citys pied-à-terre tax for second homes, as the legal dispute continues. Manhattan Councilmember Gale Brewer led the session, criticizing what she called a dysfunctional rollout that included publishing up to 900,000 names and addresses of possible second-home properties across the five boroughs, according to Commercial Observer.
Brewer said the Department of Finance did not send representatives to the hearing, including staff from the agency tasked with collecting the tax. She argued that the list was overly broad, noting it even included her own name and home address despite her saying she has lived in the same home full time since 1994.
The committee also pressed the Mamdani administration on why it attempted to require thousands of property owners to prove their residences are primary, even though the city Comptrollers office reportedly had information on how many second homes exist. Brewer said homeowners faced a short window to contest the surcharge, and while the deadline was extended by four weeks, the burden still fell on property owners.
According to Brewer, about 17,000 homeowners received letters placing them on a supplemental tax roll, while her estimate of second homes in the city is about 14,000. Real Estate Board of New York President James Whelan testified that the tax would be extremely difficult to administer, adding to concerns about how the surcharge is being implemented, Commercial Observer reported.