Mamdani Pushes Pied-à-terre Exemption Deadline Another Week

Homeowners will have one more week to file for exemptions from the controversial pied-à-terre tax.

Exemption applications were set for a Tuesday cutoff until the Department of Finance issued a last-minute Oct. 13 extension, citing the complexities of litigation challenging both the rollout and constitutional underpinnings of the second home surcharge. The deadline had already faced multiple delays, with the Oct. 6 due date being the administration’s second extension.

“These meritless lawsuits have created a lot of unnecessary confusion. Nevertheless, the Administration remains fully committed to ensuring that New Yorkers have the time and information they need to apply, so we are extending the deadline for exemption applications to October 13,” a DOF spokesperson said in a statement. “While this legal process moves forward, we will continue administering the surcharge fairly, efficiently and in full compliance with the law, as we have done from day one.”

The surcharge applies to one-, two- and three-family homes valued at more than $5 million, along with condos and co-op units with assessed values of $1 million or more.

The Mamdani administration is currently staring down three separate lawsuits over the tax.

Homeowners in August sued the Mamdani administration over the rollout, arguing that their addresses were wrongly included among more than 900,000 properties listed on a supplemental tax roll of second homes. They also claimed they shouldn’t have received “nasty-gram” letters notifying them they may be subject to the surcharge, which were sent out to more than 17,000 homeowners. 

Last week, Justice Wayne Ozzi ruled in the homeowners’ favor that the process was “arbitrary and capricious, ordering the Mamdani administration to take down the list, nullify the notices and restart the process from square one. 

The mayor’s office countered with an immediate appeal that triggered a stay of the lower court’s order and allowed implementation to move ahead while the appellate court weighs whether to uphold or overturn Ozzi’s ruling. The panel of justices agreed to hear the appeal on an expedited timeline Tuesday, after confirming Monday that the stay will extend until they reach a determination no later than Nov. 10.

Former Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro, who represents homeowners in the case challenging the tax rollout, will square off with the city’s lawyers at oral argument before Nov. 6 after both parties have filed their respective briefs and replies this month. 

The two other cases filed in Suffolk County, one of which counts developer Steven Wynn and former commerce secretary Wilbur Ross among its plaintiffs, challenge the tax on constitutional grounds.

Despite the legal drama surrounding the surcharge’s implementation, some 9,300 exemption applications had already been completed and 5,200 had been approved as of Monday, according to the DOF. Proving primary resident status, occupancy by an immediate family member or tenant and challenging the valuation figure are among the ways to secure exemptions. 

Any homeowner who doesn’t submit an exemption application before Oct. 13 can also challenge the agency’s valuation or determination of non-primary resident status with the city’s Tax Commission until March 1 for Class Two and March 15 for Class One properties.

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