![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8e1869364db76afa95c5d2d576b1118ed7-Mamdani-Pied-a-terre.rhorizontal.w700.jpg\")
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\n \u201cYeah, we may have botched this a little.\u201d
\n Photo: NYC Mayor\u2019s Office\/Youtube\n <\/p>\n
The ownership of every property in New York City is public and searchable through a funky website<\/a> that takes a minute to master. Last week, when a slice of that data set \u2014\u00a0some 900,000 names and addresses\u00a0\u2014\u00a0was published in another easy-to-search form<\/a>, the internet suddenly took notice. \u201cThe worst mass doxxing I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d one user wrote<\/a> in a post on X. The City Council minority leader called the list\u2019s publication \u201creckless and foolish.\u201d A New York Post front-page story<\/a> claimed that the mayor was \u201ceffectively doxxing thousands of wealthy New Yorkers.\u201d Less exciting was a quote from a City Hall representative further down in the piece. \u201cAs per State law, a property roll was released for public inspection,\u201d the spokesperson told<\/a> the paper. In other words, everyone already had all these names and addresses; they just didn\u2019t know they did. The full tax roll is published every year.<\/p>\n This so-called supplemental roll simply pulled out\u00a0addresses that could be hit with the new pied-\u00e0-terre tax, which applies<\/a> to second homes worth more than $1 million for co-ops and condos with a second tier for those worth more than $5 million. (Though those properties probably sell for far more, since the city is using a property\u2019s assessed value<\/a> as the metric.) A New York Times analysis found<\/a> that the list covered \u201cmost non-rental residential properties in the city, not only those likely to owe the tax.\u201d But that came a week later, buried in newsprint. If you didn\u2019t know that part, the list seemed far more selective and targeted than it actually was.<\/p>\n The problem is that City Hall was under scrutiny<\/a>, Mamdani\u2019s opponents were eager for something to hit him with, and there were errors. The Post found<\/a> the address of a strip mall in Rockaway that \u201cis definitely not a vacation home.\u201d The residential properties on the list that could be hit by the tax included a bunch of media catnip, too: Anna Wintour\u2019s Manhattan house was included, for example, and she certainly seems to live there. Councilmember Gale Brewer found her own home on it, the one she\u2019s lived in since 1994. \u201cThis whole list must be messed up,\u201d she told the Post.<\/p>\n The city had rolled out the tax like most cities share reassessments. As tax attorney Adrian Diaz explained<\/a> to Gothamist, \u201c\u200aThey\u2019re sending it out to everyone who is above the threshold, and then saying, \u2018Hey, is this your primary residence or not?\u2019 It seems like what the city is doing is basically asking taxpayers to do a little bit of their work for them.\u201d Gothamist reported<\/a> that when homeowners tried to do what the city was asking, and appeal by sharing documents proving that they lived where they lived, it didn\u2019t always work. (Here\u2019s an example<\/a>.)\u00a0 An owner on the hook for $43,000 was \u00a0\u201cunable to upload her driver\u2019s license to the city website,\u201d the site reported<\/a>. Homeowners have until August 21 to share the paperwork, a short deadline during vacation season. (Especially if you\u2019re at your primary home in Paris.)<\/p>\n But let\u2019s not forget that some people claiming that a New York residence is their permanent address may just feel that way. As one user pointed out on X:<\/p>\n Let’s be honest here. A lot of the frenzy about the pied-a-terre tax list is not on behalf of helpless little old ladies. <\/p>\n It’s coming from people who have been defrauding NYC by pretending not to be residents for income tax purposes.<\/p>\n Now those people have to choose. Income tax\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Wealthy New Yorkers Who Take The Bus (@bri_guy_ny) July 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n That said, the appeals process already looks broken. The city could find itself pushing back the deadline, spending<\/a> millions on litigation, or just failing to collect a buck. Angry New Yorkers have been calling up their council members, including Brewer. She told<\/a> the Times that she might withdraw her support of the tax itself. \u201cPeople are already on edge about everything,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n Sign Up for the Curbed Newsletter<\/p>\n A daily mix of stories about cities, city life, and our always evolving neighborhoods and skylines.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n