Exclusive | Blakeman blasts Hochul as he says Mamdani is leader of NYS Dems

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman slammed Gov.Kathy Hochul Tuesday as she distanced herself from the new pied-a-terre tax — as he claimed she’s not the state Democratic Party’s real leader.Blakeman tore into his Democratic rival as he visited with local businesses in Flushing, Queens one day after a judge paused the tax on luxury second homes that was pushed by Mamdani but signed into law by Hochul.“She’s doing everything that Zohran Mamdani wants her to do, ‘cause he’s running the party now,” Blakeman told The Post.Blakeman, who serves as Nassau County executive, called the rollout of the levy – which applies to non-primary residences worth more than $5 million and condos worth more than $1 million – “horrible.” “We want to encourage people to invest in second homes in New York State — what are you, crazy?” Blakeman said, pledging to change the policy if he’s elected.Blakeman’s comments came just a day after the controversial tax was halted by a Staten Island judge, who issued a temporary restraining order on the levy until the end of the month. It was also a day after the governor expressed her frustration with the rollout of the tax – and attempted to distance herself from the ruling. “We’re not responsible for the rollout,” Hochul said to reporters during an unrelated event in The Bronx yesterday. “This is something that we talked to the city about in advance,” the governor said.

“It’s up to their city tax department.But Blakeman said that this was just a “typical Kathy Hochul” case of blaming everyone else for her own mistakes. “It’s typical Kathy Hochl to blame everybody else for her failures,” Blakeman said.“This is the most overtaxed state.” Beside the pledge to change the pied-a-terre duty, Blakeman also told reporters that he was looking to defy New York State’s recent Sanctuary State law that requires local governments to cancel partnerships with immigration official...