No-show sparks outrage: Council slams Mamdani administration over pied-à-terre tax hearing
The administration opted to forgo sending a representative in person to testify, and instead, Department of Finance Commissioner Richard Lee submitted written testimony citing active litigation.
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The city council convened for an oversight hearing on the controversial roll-out of the Mamdani administration's new pied-à-terre tax.
The administration opted to forgo sending a representative in person to testify, and instead, Department of Finance Commissioner Richard Lee submitted written testimony citing active litigation.
"The public understandably has a range of questions about this surcharge and the manner in which it has been implemented," Lee wrote. "I would have welcomed the opportunity to appear in person and field your questions directly, but the pending and active litigation precludes me from doing so."
Lee says the administration requested that the City Council postpone the hearing after Aug. 31 but says the council declined.
The tax is a surcharge on secondary homes in New York City that are worth $5 million or more and cooperatives that surpass a value of $1 million. The Mamdani administration projects the secondary tax on luxury homes to generate $500 million to close the city's multibillion-dollar budget shortfall.
Council member Gale Brewer, who chairs the Committee on Governmental Operations, State & Federal Legislation, says she does not disagree that the tax is needed but questions the implementation of the tax, including a property tax assessment roll that was released in July with roughly 960,000 property addresses and their occupant's information.
"The city still published a list with properties on the list that might be subjected to the charge - the list is so overbroad that it even includes my name," said Brewer.
Brewer says she wants to know how all of the names ended up on the list when the city knew a vast majority of the properties could not be subjected to the surcharge.
"Why would the city publish a list that they knew was not accurate?" Brewer asked during the hearing.
In the testimony, Commissioner Lee explained this information has always been public through property records and assessment rolls.
About 17,000 property owners received letters in the mail. The Department of Finance says the letter is a preliminary notice and does not mean the owner owes the tax, but that the property could be subjected to the surcharge.
"DOF took steps to ensure the surcharge would be implemented through a transparent, consistent, and fair process that is legally compliant," Lee wrote.
Jason Haber, president of the New York Residential Agent Continuum and licensed real estate agent, was among the group to provide public testimony.
"How did that swell 74 times and why is the burden on the individual instead of the enormity of the government?" asked Jason Haber, president of the New York Residential Agent Continuum.
The Citizens Union also weighed in on the administration's lack of presence at the hearing.
“The mayoral administration’s refusal to appear for a standard City Council oversight hearing on the rollout of a new program is a blow to basic accountability standards," said Grace Rauh, executive director of Citizens Union. “A recent outlier was Eric Adams’ City Hall, which repeatedly flouted hearings to avoid oversight and transparency. This administration should make it clear it does not intend to go down a similar path.”
The mayor's office defended its position on not attending the meeting.
"From the beginning, we have been clear that the pied-à-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," said Matt Rauschenbach, deputy press secretary.
The next court hearing for a lawsuit against the city on the tax is scheduled for Aug. 31.
Meanwhile, homeowners, condo owners and co-op shareholders who wish to submit an exemption application must do so by Sept. 18.
