New York City can proceed with the rollout of its pied-à-terre tax while an appeals court considers a legal challenge. A Staten Island judge’s Sept. 29 ruling blocking the tax’s implementation was put on hold Monday by the Brooklyn-based appeals court, which promised to rule on the dispute by Nov. 10. Homeowners flagged as potentially eligible face a Tuesday deadline to apply for exemptions.
The tax on second homes is a signature policy of Mayor Zohran Mamdani. The levy applies to single-family homes with market values of $5 million or more, and co-ops and condominiums worth at least $1 million. New York City officials plan to include the surcharge on property tax bills due Jan. 1.
The ruling by Justice Wayne Ozzi on Staten Island came in a suit that claimed the city’s publication of potentially eligible addresses and its requirement that owners apply for exemptions were unlawful. The judge agreed and ordered the city to start over. The city sent 17,000 notices in July to properties subject to the tax. City officials said Sept. 4 they had granted 4,000 exemptions requests and roughly 11,000 applications for carve-outs had been started.
Two lawsuits filed last week, including one by former US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and casino tycoon Steve Wynn, challenged the constitutionality of the levy. Those suits are unlikely to be resolved during the tax’s rollout.
Source: Bloomberg Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing