Mamdani Secures Appeals Court Win in Pied-à-Terre Tax Rollout

Mayor Zohran Mamdani can move forward with his pied-à-terre tax rollout after a state appellate court Wednesday reversed a lower court’s ruling that the tax’s debut was mishandled.

A Staten Island judge ruled in September that the surcharge on luxury second homes in the city unlawfully burdened homeowners with having to prove their residency status, as well as targeted 900,000 residential properties through a public list that included owners’ personal details. Attorney Randy Mastro is representing homeowners in the lawsuit.

But Wednesday’s ruling reaffirms the pied-à-terre tax was legal and that property owners did not suffer harm because of the list’s release, which contained details local tax assessors publish regularly.

“These public and published assessments contain much of the same information as the supplemental roll at the heart of this appeal,” a panel of appellate judges wrote Wednesday.

The pied-à-terre tax, first proposed by Mamdani, was signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul in May and applies to single-family homes worth $5 million or more, as well as co-ops and condos worth at least $1 million.

“Today, an appeals court rejected an attempt by the ultra-wealthy to avoid paying their fair share and ruled in favor of the city in a lawsuit challenging the rollout of the pied-à-terre surcharge,” Mamdani said in a statement Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Mastro said Wednesday that the appellate court “avoided addressing the merits of this case,” and that he will continue to work on behalf of his plaintiffs.

Despite this week’s win, Mamdani isn’t completely out of the woods. Two other lawsuits against the state are arguing the pied-à-terre tax is unconstitutional because it discriminates against non-residents of New York City, according to Bloomberg. Those cases will proceed in December.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.