A Staten Island judge has ruled against Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration over its handling of the pied-à-terre tax rollout, siding with a group of homeowners who argued the process caused widespread harm and confusion.
The judge found that the administration created “mass confusion” when it sent notices to property owners who might be subject to the new surcharge. The ruling requires city officials to redo the rollout from scratch and take down a website that publicly listed property names and their owners.
In other words, it’s insane.
Homeowners Say They Were ‘Irreparably Harmed’
The plaintiffs, represented by former First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, sued the Mamdani administration arguing they had been “irreparably harmed” by the flawed process. The court sided with them, finding that individualized determinations should have been made before any payment demands went out.
Mastro released a pointed statement following the ruling. “Now the administration must go back and do what it should have done from the start: use all the information at its disposal to make an individualized ‘initial determination’ about who truly owes this surcharge before demanding that they pay it,” he said. He added, “It’s a shame that it took a lawsuit to get this administration to do the right thing. In short, City Hall botched this rollout and should have just admitted error and fixed its own mistake, instead of wasting time and taxpayer dollars by fighting it in court.”
Mastro called the process “botched,” a word that sums up the legal and public backlash the administration has faced over the pied-à-terre tax dispute since the surcharge was first announced months ago.
Mamdani Administration Vows to Fight the Ruling
The mayor’s office pushed back immediately. Spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said the administration disagrees with the decision and plans to seek a stay of the injunction. “Today’s decision is wrong, and we will invoke a stay of the injunction,” Rauschenbach said. “With a stay, we will continue implementing the surcharge fairly, efficiently and in full compliance with the law, as we have since day one.”
He added, “New York is a city for the many, not a tax haven for the wealthy few.” Mayor Mamdani, when asked whether he regretted the rollout, acknowledged the public’s concerns while defending his team’s approach. I understand the concerns New Yorkers have, especially when it comes to a new tax,” he said, adding that there had been “both a willful and an unintentional conflation” of the property tax roll and the notices that were sent out.
What the City Must Do Next
Under the court’s order, the Mamdani administration must remove the online property database and conduct an individualized review of each case before issuing new surcharge demands. The ruling sets a higher procedural bar for how the tax can be enforced going forward.
Whether the city wins a stay of the injunction will determine how quickly, or whether, the surcharge can continue to be collected while the legal challenge plays out. The outcome could shape how New York City implements similar tax measures in the future.
