{"id":206088,"date":"2026-04-22T15:22:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/206088\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T15:22:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T15:22:06","slug":"op-ed-nycs-proposed-pied-a-terre-wont-fix-the-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/206088\/","title":{"rendered":"Op-Ed | NYC\u2019s proposed pied-\u00e0-terre won\u2019t fix the problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember when\u00a0Representative\u00a0Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore\u00a0a\u00a0dress<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>with \u201cTax the Rich\u201d splashed\u00a0across it to the Met Gala?\u00a0It certainly turned heads, but it\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0solve\u00a0any of the financial problems actually\u00a0facing her constituents.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As if taxing the rich solves poverty, defunding the police cures crime, or building\u00a0awall fixes immigration. Issues this complex require detail\u00a0and nuance, not political slogans designed for social media.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Right now, Governor Hochul is facing pressure\u00a0around her re-election\u00a0and has pivoted from\u00a0a\u00a0platform\u00a0of no new taxes to embracing\u00a0a\u00a0\u201ctax the rich\u201d\u00a0approach,\u00a0aligning with Mayor Mamdani\u00a0and\u00a0advancing\u00a0an\u00a0annual tax on non-resident New Yorkers who own homes valued\u00a0above $5 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Governor claims\u00a0this \u201cpied-\u00e0-terre\u201d\u00a0tax will generate $500 million\u00a0annually for the city. If that were true, I would fully support it. But what this initiative really does is\u00a0forge alignment with\u00a0a\u00a0political base eager to target the ultra-wealthy. That may help in the short term politically, but it comes\u00a0at\u00a0a\u00a0big\u00a0cost.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Just weeks\u00a0ago, Governor Hochul was encouraging\u00a0wealthy former New Yorkers to return<\/a>\u00a0<\/a>from places like Florida,\u00a0acknowledging that high earners\u00a0are essential to funding the city\u2019s social programs. This proposal sends the opposite message.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0much easier\u00a0and more cost-effective\u00a0for people of means to\u00a0get\u00a0a\u00a0hotel room\u00a0for\u00a0a\u00a0few nights\u00a0than to pay a\u00a0high\u00a0annual tax on top of the\u00a0other\u00a0high taxes\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0paid\u00a0and continue to pay to the City\u00a0and State.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u00a0are several reasons why this tax is poorly conceived\u00a0and\u00a0ultimately ineffective:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

This policy is unlikely to generate\u00a0anything close to the projected revenue\u00a0and could put the city in\u00a0a\u00a0worse financial position. Fewer second-home owners\u00a0mean\u00a0less spending in restaurants, retail,\u00a0and entertainment, which directly\u00a0impacts\u00a0jobs\u00a0and local businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another challenge\u00a0is how this tax will\u00a0actually be implemented.\u00a0Most\u00a0of New York City\u2019s housing stock consists of co-ops, where ownership structures\u00a0are far more complex than traditional property holdings. Creating\u00a0a\u00a0fair\u00a0and enforceable system to\u00a0determine\u00a0who is taxed,\u00a0and how, would be extraordinarily difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u00a0are\u00a0also broader consequences for housing. Developers\u00a0are currently incentivized to include\u00a0affordable units\u00a0alongside market-rate\u00a0and luxury housing. Policies that discourage high-end investment risk shrinking development pipelines\u00a0altogether, reducing not only luxury inventory, but\u00a0also the\u00a0affordable housing this city\u00a0desperately needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s\u00a0easy to understand why this proposal is politically\u00a0appealing. It fits\u00a0a\u00a0narrative\u00a0and resonates with\u00a0a\u00a0certain\u00a0audience. But is the goal to score political points with headlines, or to\u00a0achieve meaningful, lasting results?\u00a0<\/p>\n

There\u2019s\u00a0no question that New York City\u2019s property tax system needs reform. But this is not the way to do it.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

We should\u00a0be exploring alternative sources of revenue\u00a0and\u00a0bringing\u00a0together leaders from both the public\u00a0and private sectors to develop thoughtful,\u00a0actionable solutions. There\u00a0are countless developers\u00a0and industry professionals who would welcome the opportunity to collaborate with the government to strengthen this city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New York has\u00a0always been resilient. We get knocked down,\u00a0and we come back stronger. People\u00a0are drawn to\u00a0the energy, the opportunity,\u00a0and the life this city offers.\u00a0That\u2019s\u00a0exactly why\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0so concerning to see short-term thinking take precedence over long-term strategy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

I urge the Governor to take\u00a0a\u00a0step back\u00a0and consider the broader impact before\u00a0advancing\u00a0a\u00a0policy that may\u00a0ultimately do\u00a0more harm than good. There\u00a0are better solutions;\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0find one that works.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Remember when\u00a0Representative\u00a0Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wore\u00a0a\u00a0dress\u00a0with \u201cTax the Rich\u201d splashed\u00a0across it to the Met Gala?\u00a0It certainly turned heads, but it\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0solve\u00a0any…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,2584,299,79763,42101],"class_list":{"0":"post-206088","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-headlines","10":"tag-new-york-news","11":"tag-op-ed","12":"tag-opinion","13":"tag-pied-a-terre","14":"tag-tax-the-rich"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}