State Watch

Mamdani, Hochul team up on pied-à-terre tax: What to know

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by Fiona Bork - 04/16/26 2:52 PM ET

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by Fiona Bork - 04/16/26 2:52 PM ET

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) have proposed a new tax on property owners who have second homes in New York City worth more than $5 million, in an effort to narrow the city’s budget deficit by targeting the ultrawealthy.

The “pied-à-terre tax” would be an annual surcharge on one- to three-family homes, condominiums and co-ops owned by people who have a primary residence outside New York City.

The tax would apply to homeowners living outside the state as well as those who live in the state but don’t use their home in the city as a primary residence.

“If you can afford a $5 million second home that sits empty most of the year, you can afford to contribute like every other New Yorker,” Hochul said in a statement.

New York City’s budget deficit is currently estimated to reach $5.4 billion through the next fiscal year. Hochul and Mamdani’s proposal projects the tax would produce $500 million in additional annual revenue, though an analysis for a similar proposal in 2019 estimated it would generate about $232 million in revenue.

The 2019 proposal, which was supported by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and other New York state legislators, came after billionaire Ken Griffin purchased an apartment for $238 million on Central Park South. But the proposal failed after facing resistance from the real estate industry and other opponents.

Hochul and Mamdani’s proposal aims to target the same class of billionaires, directly calling out Griffin and Alexander Varshavsky, an auto dealer in Russia who owns a $20 million apartment in the city.

Though it’s not clear yet how much property owners would be charged, the Hochul administration estimated the tax would impact 13,000 properties.

Mamdani, a democratic socialist, ran a mayoral campaign focused on affordability. He also proposed in his campaign an increase in taxes on wealthy New Yorkers to subsidize city services like childcare and buses. Hochul, who is up for reelection in November, had previously rejected some of Mamdani’s proposals to tax the wealthy.

“Alongside the governor, our administration is fighting every day to make sure we address this fiscal deficit fairly, where the wealthy contribute what they owe and our budget reflects our commitment to the working New Yorkers being priced out of our city,” Mamdani said in a statement.

Several other New York leaders have also praised the proposal.

New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin (D) described the proposal as the “comprehensive approach we need to strengthen the City’s fiscal footing and tackle the affordability crisis without burdening working New Yorkers.”

Borough presidents of Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens also expressed support for the tax.

“If you can afford a $5 million second home, you should appropriately contribute to the subways, schools, and public services that protect and sustain your investment,” said Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D).

Critics, including the Real Estate Board of New York, have argued the tax would deter wealthy property owners from bringing their money into the city. The Board is urging their members to contact state representatives to ask them to oppose the tax.

“This annual tax will weaken the city’s broader economy — all without addressing its fiscal problems in the first place,” the organization’s president, James Whelan, said in a statement. “Albany should focus on policies that encourage investment and housing production to create a more affordable city, not ones that stifle its growth.”

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