Mamdani blows off concerns from NYers over pied--terre mailing snafu as questions swirl over new tax

Mayor Zohran Mamdani blew off concerns Wednesday from New Yorkers who argue they’re being wrongly targeted by the state’s new pied-à-terre tax — that Hizzoner claimed for months would only hit wealthy out-of-towners.Questions have been swirling about how exactly the city determined who would be subject to the newly approved tax, though neither Mamdani nor his Department of Finance Commissioner Richard Lee could provide straight answers.The mayor had repeatedly insisted that only rich owners of secondary homes in New York City would get squeezed by the surcharge, but some full-time residents have cried foul after DOF mailed them a notice that they “may” be on the hook for a five-figure tax bill.At an unrelated press conference, reporters pressed Mamdani and Lee on whether the DOF should have been more diligent in vetting its mailing list before sending out potentially erroneous notices to longtime locals.“What I would say is the Department of Finance identified homes that may be subject to the surcharge, as we know this is a surcharge on non-primary residences that are worth more than $5 million,” the mayor said, essentially just reiterating the terms of the new tax.“As required by the law, the Department of Finance sent informational resources to homeowners to ensure that they understood the tax, that they understood the options before them, and also if they did not believe it to apply to them, that they had the time in order to be able to appeal,” he said.But New Yorkers who believe they are being wrongly charged now have to go through what some have described as a bureaucratic nightmare to appeal the decision — and prove the DOF wrong — by Aug.21.Mamdani did not respond when asked later “why should New Yorkers be tasked with fixing this?” He instead choose to only address another part of that reporter’s question, about a searchable database the DOF posted of hundreds of thousands of properties, including the addresses and owners’ na...