Council member Gale Brewer, who chairs one of the committees holding the hearing, called the administration\u2019s move not to testify \u201cvery unfortunate.\u201d She has a list of questions for the administration that\u2019s \u201cabout 5 pages long,\u201d and she intends to still ask them at the hearing, before sending the list to the Department of Finance and the Tax Commission, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do feel strongly it\u2019s a mistake on their part,\u201d Brewer, who represents the Upper West Side, said. \u201cI don\u2019t see why they couldn\u2019t testify even with the litigation, because I would assume there are some questions they could answer, maybe some they could not.\u201d<\/p>\n
A Mamdani spokesperson cited a pending lawsuit as the reason for the no-show. The mayor himself is out of town this week, vacationing in upstate New York.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiven the ongoing litigation, our administration has decided to submit written testimony to the City Council tomorrow for its hearing on the pied-\u00e0-terre surcharge,\u201d Matt Rauschenbach, a Mamdani spokesperson, said in a statement on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom the beginning, we have been clear that the pied-\u00e0-terre surcharge is an important source of revenue for our city. This revenue is essential to funding safer streets, cleaner parks and other critical investments that New Yorkers across all five boroughs deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n
The hearing, held by the Committee on Finance and the\u00a0Committee on Governmental Operations<\/a>, is slated for Tuesday afternoon. The surcharge was passed in the state budget but is administered by the city. It applies to\u00a0second homes<\/a>\u00a0valued at $5 million or more and co-ops of $1 million or more.<\/p>\n It is not uncommon for mayoral administrations to testify before the Council despite ongoing litigation.<\/p>\n In 2023, Department of Social Services officials went before the Council to testify about the administration\u2019s\u00a0slow rate of processing food stamp applications<\/a>\u2014while\u00a0facing a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0on the issue. And in 2017,\u00a0city officials testified<\/a>\u00a0on the antiquated \u201cCabaret Law\u201d which banned dancing at the vast majority of bars and restaurants in New York City, despite facing a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0on the law.<\/p>\n Still, it\u2019s also not the first time an administration has skipped a hearing citing litigation: Under former Mayor Eric Adams, the NYPD did not testify at a hearing on a controversial arm of the department in 2023,\u00a0sparking huge outrage<\/a> from the Council.<\/p>\n \u201cMany Council Members raised concerns and requested a hearing on this issue. Council Members Brewer and Lee, who chair the relevant committees, are co-chairing tomorrow\u2019s hearing,\u201d Council spokesperson Henry Robins said.<\/p>\n A trio of\u00a0upset homeowners<\/a>\u00a0filed a lawsuit against the city over its publication of a massive tax roll that noted some of the properties listed could be subject to the tax.<\/p>\n The list of nearly 1 million properties was not indicative of who would be taxed. The city sent letters to around 17,000 individuals who\u2019d been identified as second-homeowners subject to the surcharge. Homeowners can apply for an exemption from the tax by claiming they, a family member or tenant lives in the home.<\/p>\n The Department of Finance, which administers the program, has received around 4,000 appeals, according to an affidavit filed by the DOF\u2019s general counsel last week.<\/p>\n While a Staten Island judge placed a temporary restraining order on the rollout of the tax, a state appeals court judge ruled last week that the city can continue implementing the tax.<\/p>\n Photo caption: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani<\/p>\n _______<\/p>\n \u00a92026 New York Daily News. Visit\u00a0nydailynews.com<\/a>. Distributed by\u00a0Tribune Content Agency LLC.<\/p>\n Sign in to get access to this free resource, and all of our whitepapers and reports.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\tDownload this content today!<\/p>\n Register to get free access to this content, as well as newsletters, continuing education, podcasts, and more\u2026<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"](\"https:\/\/www.cpapracticeadvisor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/CPAPA-Logo.svg\"){kind=logo}
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