NYC owners sue over alleged mishandling of luxury pied-à-terre tax rollout

Three New York homeowners have filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the city’s new surcharge on high-end second homes, alleging the administration botched its implementation.

A group of three New York City property owners initiated legal action in Staten Island Supreme Court to stop the city’s controversial luxury second-home tax. Their complaint claims the Department of Finance placed an undue burden on residents by requiring them to demonstrate full-time New York residency to qualify for an exemption. The filing points to a tax roll covering almost one million properties and 17,000 notices that warned of substantial bills unless an exemption request is submitted.

The lawsuit seeks a judicial ruling that the city’s procedures violate the law, the removal of the 900,000-name list from the department’s website, and an emergency injunction to cancel the mailed notices. The current administration extended the exemption filing deadline to September 18, after originally setting it for the end of August. The owners are represented by Randy Mastro, who previously served as first deputy mayor under former Mayor Eric Adams.