The complaint was filed by three city homeowners, two of whom are related to one of the mayor’s political opponents in City Hall.
MANHATTAN (CN) — A trio of New York City homeowners sued the city on Friday over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s rollout of a so-called pied-à-terre tax, a looming surcharge on high-value residential properties that don’t serve as the owner’s primary residence.
In a 24-page complaint, the three plaintiffs, two of whom are family members of Republican New York City Councilman Frank Morano, claim the Mamdani administration broadly distributed a public list of potential tax targets and sent letters to those who “may be subject” to it. They argue the city is unfairly forcing them to prove they shouldn’t have to pay the tax, rather than “using the vast resources at its disposal” to identify homeowners who should.
“In rolling out these two notices, the city has arbitrarily and capriciously foisted onto New York City residents the burden of proving they are not subject to the surcharge,” the three homeowners claim.
Plaintiffs Rachel O’Brien, Morano’s wife, and Carmine Morano, his father, claim they received notices that their Staten Island homes, both primary residences, were “related to the annual non-primary residence property surcharge.”
The third plaintiff, Manhattanite Simon Hedley, claims he received notice that his primary residence “may be subject” to the pied-à-terre tax and had to apply for an exemption by Aug. 21.
The homeowners say they are “not challenging the state statute itself,” only its execution. They seek a declaration preventing the city from acting on the notices, including a public roll of 900,000 homeowners potentially “related to” the surcharge and 17,000 notices sent to those who “may be subject” to it.
They additionally want the city’s finance department to scrub the 900,000-name list from its website. Considering the city has since conceded that a vast majority of properties listed on the roll “will not be subject to the surcharge,” the homeowners question why it’s still live at all.
“The city respondents publicly posted a roll on DOF’s website purporting to list hundreds of thousands of properties ‘related to the annual non-primary residence property surcharge,’ then claimed it is meaningless, yet it remains publicly posted on DOF’s website,” they say.
In a statement to Courthouse News, a spokesperson for the mayor said the city’s law department will “vigorously” defend against the suit.
“The pied-à-terre surcharge will help deliver the city New Yorkers deserve: cleaner parks, safer streets, and critical public investments that make our city a more affordable place,” Deputy Press Secretary Matt Rauschenbach said. “As the mayor has said, we also know that whenever government asks something new of New Yorkers, we have a responsibility to make the process clear, transparent and accessible. That is why the Department of Finance has been working around the clock to answer questions, provide assistance and ensure those subject to the surcharge have the information they need.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Randy Mastro, a vocal Mamdani critic who served as first deputy mayor under former Mayor Eric Adams until resigning in 2025, when he told reporters he “will never work for a socialist.” Since then, he has brought several lawsuits against the Mamdani administration, including one seeking to block an East Village intake shelter and another, filed in July, challenging Mamdani’s signature rent freeze proposal.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the pied-à-terre tax into law in late May as part of the state budget. She said the citywide surcharge, expected to generate at least $500 million annually, would help close the city’s budget gap and ensure the wealthiest New Yorkers contribute to city services.
The tax applies to second homes valued at at least $5 million and second condos and co-ops valued at more than $1 million.
“If you can afford a $5 million second home that sits empty most of the year, you can afford to contribute like every other New Yorker,” Hochul said in April, announcing the tax.
Mamdani, a Democratic Socialist, has championed the policy as part of his broader promise to tax the city’s wealthy to help fund his populist policies, such as free buses and childcare. But he’s faced pushback from political opponents and homeowners since its announcement, and has since agreed to push back the deadline to apply for an exception from Aug. 21 to Sept. 18.
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