NYC can keep rolling out the pied-à-terre tax, at least for now, appeals court judge rules

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Aug 14, 2026

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NEW YORK — The city can move forward with its implementation of a tax on luxury second homes, a state appeals court judge ruled — at least until a court hearing at the end of the month.

Thursday’s ruling upheld the city’s appeal of a temporary block placed on the pied-à-terre tax by Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Wayne Ozzi.

That order would have had the city take down a property tax roll of nearly 1 million properties it had posted online and would have nullified any upcoming deadlines for the tax, which targets non-owner-occupied homes valued at $5 million or more and co-ops valued at $1 million or more.

Randy Mastro, formerly a top official in the Adams administration and the lead attorney on the case, said Mamdani’s City Hall exhibited an “astonishing display of chutzpah” in their handling of the case.

Allowing the TRO to be voided by the appeal would subject local homeowners “to the City’s unlawful burden-shifting and the irreparable harm that Justice Ozzi’s TRO was designed to prevent,” Mastro wrote in his letter of opposition to the city’s actions in the appeals case.

The case is set to be heard in Staten Island on Aug. 31.

The lawsuit, filed earlier this month by a trio of perturbed homeowners, takes issue with the city’s publication of a massive tax roll, including a note that some of the properties listed could be subject to the tax.

The homeowners suing the city claimed the publication of that list created confusion and “invited public scrutiny and ridicule.”

The master list was not indicative of who would be taxed. The city sent letters to around 17,000 individuals who’d been identified as second-homeowners subject to the surcharge.

One of the three plaintiffs has received the letters warning them they’d be taxed, per the lawsuit. Two of the plaintiffs, Rachel O’Brien and Carmine Morano, are respectively the wife and father of Staten Island Councilmember Frank Morano. Simon Hedley, the other plaintiff, had his exemption granted by the city this week, per court papers.

As of last week, the Department of Finance, which administers the program, had received nearly 4,000 appeals, according to an affidavit filed by Michael Smilowitz, the general counsel for the department.

Associate Justice Phillip Hom of the Brooklyn Appellate Division signed Thursday’s order.

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