Mamdani Plans To Snub Council, Homeowners With Pied-à-Terre Hearing No-Show

Two City Council committees will hold oversight hearings Tuesday to examine the botched rollout of Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax, which frightened middle class homeowners into thinking they could be on the hook for thousands and has failed to provide some property owners who meet the city’s residency requirements a clear path off its target list.Despite those shortcomings, a spokesperson for the mayor confirmed to The New York Sun on Monday that no one from the administration will appear to answer councilmember’s questions.“Given the ongoing litigation, our administration has decided to submit written testimony to the City Council tomorrow for its hearing on the pied-à-terre surcharge,” a spokesperson for the mayor said in an emailed statement, which went on to reiterate the administration’s position that revenue from the additional property tax will be “essential to funding safer streets, cleaner parks, and other critical investments that New Yorkers across all five boroughs deserve.”The announcement was met with outrage from the Council chamber. “For weeks, New Yorkers have been confused, frustrated and in some cases genuinely alarmed by the way this was handled,” Councilman Frank Morano said in a statement. “People were put on a massive public list. Thousands received letters. Homeowners were told they may have to prove that the house they actually live in is their primary residence. And now, when the public finally gets a hearing to demand answers, the administration won’t even show up.” Mr. Morano was the architect of Tuesday’s joint hearing between the council’s Committee on Governmental Operations, State & Federal Legislation and Committee on Finance. His wife and father are also two of the plaintiffs at the center of the litigation Mr. Mamdani’s spokesperson referenced as the mayor’s reason for avoiding the hearing. Their lawsuit has called to block implementation of the surcharge, claiming harm caused by the city’s high-profile publication of homeowner data and failure to conduct basic vetting before issuing surcharge letters. A judge on New York’s Supreme Court briefly blocked the rollout before the city successfully appealed that order earlier this month.“That court decision only makes the administration’s absence tomorrow more troubling,” Mr. Morano said. “If City Hall believes it handled this correctly, then come defend it. If mistakes were made, come explain them. If changes are needed, tell the public what you are going to do differently.” Councilmember Kamillah Hanks, the body’s majority whip, urged homeowners to share their experiences with the city’s lawmakers in a post on X. “Your voice matters. If you’ve received a letter regarding the new pied à-terre tax, now is your opportunity to speak directly to the New York City Council,” she wrote.While the hearing is open to the public, registration is required to testify.Councilmember Gale A. Brewer told the Sun the council had amassed 11 pages of questions for the mayor’s office as of Monday evening on subjects largely unrelated to issues raised in the lawsuit.“People are concerned,” she said in a phone conversation. “ They want to know why, for instance, — maybe there’s an answer — why they did not use the city income tax list? You have to be a resident to file those. Why didn’t they look at the co-ops?” she said, noting their exemption from the property tax. “The veterans,” she continued. “I could go on and on.”In the absence of a representative from the mayor’s office or Department of Finance, Ms. Brewer said the council would hear testimony from the public and then read its questions out during the hearing.After that, she said “We’re going to send all the questions to the administration, and we are demanding answers to all of them.”

Mamdani Plans To Snub Council, Homeowners With Pied-à-Terre Hearing No-Show

Mamdani Plans To Snub Council, Homeowners With Pied-à-Terre Hearing No-Show

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