New York City’s plans to charge a pied-à-terre tax on some second homes were met with sharp criticism at a council oversight hearing, after the administration published a list of nearly one million properties and owners’ personal details. The tax plan, backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, would impose an annual charge on second homes in the city worth more than $5m (£3.7m), or on condos and co-ops worth more than $1m. The names and addresses were released at the end of July as part of the process to identify potential payers, with the city later issuing tax notices to 17,000 people. Officials faced questions at City Hall on Tuesday about how the rollout was carried out, and whether publishing the information created security and fairness concerns. Published List Sparks QuestionsCity council member Gale Brewer said she and other members supported the pied-à-terre tax but said there were “challenges” in implementing it. Brewer pointed to issues raised by how the list was compiled and communicated. Kamillah Hanks argued the approach unfairly singled out homeowners and could put them at risk. Speaking during the meeting, Hanks described the published information as “a hit list of the haves and the have-nots” and said it amounted to a “scarlet letter”. Hanks also said the administration was implying that owning a home was something people should be ashamed of. New York City’s Department of Finance said the addresses and personal information it posted were already available to the public, as data the administration is legally required to provide each year. Celebrities Included, Notices Sent to 17,000The list included nearly one million properties, featuring addresses for celebrities and some of the city’s wealthiest residents, including hedge fund manager Ken Griffin and his $239m penthouse, director Woody Allen, former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and actress Cynthia Nixon. While the list covered a broad set of properties, the city sent tax notices to 17,000 people. In testimony at the hearing, some speakers who supported the tax accused wealthy residents of using the oversight meeting to complain about rising taxes. Dave Backer, a professor of school finance, said, “I think the wealthy homeowners here doth protest too much.” Beverly Solo, a New York City resident for 44 years who wore a “Tax The Rich” shirt, argued the measure could raise money for city services. She said it seemed “reasonable and fair” to ask people who use luxury homes for pleasure and do not pay full-time income taxes in New York to contribute to city wellbeing, but added that the rollout had been “a mess”. Lawsuit Filed Over Unpublished InformationA group of New York City homeowners has sued over the rollout, seeking an order forcing the administration to remove the list of nearly one million properties and owners’ names. Mamdani’s administration has defended the tax as a fair way to generate $500m in annual revenue in a city marked by wide socioeconomic inequality. The surcharge has also received backing from Governor Kathy Hochul, who had previously been hesitant to increase taxes. Representatives for Mamdani’s administration did not attend the hearing, which angered some attendees. A spokesperson for Mamdani said the administration asked for the session to be delayed while the legal challenge was addressed, but the council declined, and officials could not testify while the case was before the courts. Safety and Investment ConcernsJason Haber, who runs the American Real Estate Association, told the BBC that publishing names and addresses could endanger residents by enabling scams and fraud. He said a foreign actor could download the list and send emails posing as the city to request tax payments. Haber also said he had seen some buyers pause searches for expensive properties in New York since the tax announcement. He argued that any drop in tax revenue from fewer purchases would likely cancel out the benefits of the pied-à-terre tax. Morris Pearl, a former managing director at BlackRock and a chair of Patriotic Millionaires, said the suggestion that the tax would deter investment was “absurd”. He said people with wealth can choose where to live and that someone owning a residence worth more than $5m that is not their primary home has the means to pay more than most New Yorkers. Pearl also said launching the tax alongside a public list may not have been the most diplomatic approach, adding that the mayor sometimes “unnecessarily antagonises people”, while stating he supported the policy itself. Across the world, some cities and countries have tried similar charges on secondary homes, including France, Vancouver and San Francisco, where measures have faced varying levels of opposition and legal challenges. Join the discussion? 22 August 2026
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