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Judge temporarily blocks NYC pied-à-terre tax rollout after lawsuit
By
David Brand
Published Aug 10, 2026
Modified Aug 10, 2026
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Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images
By
David Brand
Published Aug 10, 2026
Modified Aug 10, 2026
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A Staten Island judge temporarily blocked New York City’s new tax on luxury second homes after a group of property owners sued last week. An appeal by city lawyers stayed the judges ruling hours later.
The order from Judge Wayne Ozzi, issued Monday afternoon, would have stopped the city from granting exemptions or collecting pied-à-terre surcharges from roughly 17,000 property owners who received notices in July identifying them as potentially subject to the tax. The city and the property owners return to court on Aug. 31.
Under the new law, homeowners have until Sept. 18 to apply for an exemption from the surcharge. It applies to second homes worth more than $5 million and condo and co-op second homes with market values of more than $1 million. State lawmakers created the pied-à-terre tax in this year’s state budget as a way to raise revenue for the city. Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration was tasked with implementing the new program.
City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said the city would continue with implementation.
“We disagree with today’s ruling, but we are confident in both the pied-à-terre surcharge and the City’s ability to implement it fairly and effectively,” Rauschenbach said.
At an unrelated press conference earlier Monday, Mamdani said he believes the city will prevail in the legal challenge.
“And that is a confidence coming from both the legality of the City's actions as well as the importance of a surcharge on secondary homes worth more than $5 million, a surcharge that will help fund safer streets, that will help fund stronger schools, and it will help fund the city that New Yorkers deserve,” he added.
The lawsuit was filed Aug. 7 by a trio of homeowners, including the wife and father of Republican Councilmember Frank Morano, who represents parts of Staten Island. They are represented by former Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro.
They argued in their complaint that the Mamdani administration had “caused mass confusion” by publishing a list of about 900,000 properties that homeowners feared could be subject to the new tax, though only a small portion received the mailed notice. Mamdani has said the database was part of the city’s routine publication of its property tax roll, which is required under state law.
Ozzi ordered the city to remove the list of properties posted on the Department of Finance website while the temporary order is in effect.
The temporary restraining order was first reported by Crain’s.
The surcharge is meant to raise revenue from luxury second homes. But last week, a spokesperson for Gov. Kathy Hochul said the new program will also help the state crack down on people who claim their primary address is in New York City to avoid the new surcharge despite paying income taxes in another state.
This story has been updated with new information.
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new york city
David Brand
David is a reporter covering housing for Gothamist and WNYC. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 908-310-3960.
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