(NewsNation) — A viral video of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani touting a proposed tax surcharge on pricey second homes in Manhattan is drawing jeers from a Republican City Council member and a local real estate official.
In the footage, Mamdani, a self-described Democratic Socialist who sailed to victory last fall, taps the camera lens and says, “Today, we’re taxing the rich.”
“This here video is absolutely evil, if you ask me,” Vickie Paladino, a GOP member who represents the City Council’s 19th District in Northeast Queens, told “Katie Pavlich Tonight” on Friday.
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She said the so-called “pied-à-terre” tax that targets the ultrawealthy will ultimately drive out businesses and erode the city’s tax base.
The plan was endorsed this week by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a moderate Democrat. If state lawmakers approve the measure, the Big Apple could impose tiered tax surcharges on secondary residences worth more than $5 million. The proposal would raise an estimated $500 million annually to help fill a significantly higher budget gap.
Kenny Burgos, CEO of the New York Apartment Association, said Mamdani’s administration ultimately will try to hike property taxes on multi-family buildings — a move that would hurt renters.
“Which goes, really, antithetical into his affordability campaign, what he ran on, in trying to make the most expensive city in the country cheaper,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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