‘We’re taxing the rich’: NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani announces $500M luxury home levy

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Mayor Zohran Mamdani is celebrating a new proposal aimed squarely at ultra-wealthy second-home owners, a move officials say could rake in at least $500 million a year.

Earlier in the day, Gov Kathy Hochul rolled out a pied-à-terre tax targeting high-end second homes in New York City valued at $5 million or more. The plan would allow the city to impose an annual surcharge on properties owned by wealthy nonresidents, essentially those with multimillion-dollar homes they rarely use.

According to Hochul, the proposal is expected to generate at least $500 million annually.

The governor framed the measure as a fairness issue, saying it would “ensure that those that own luxury homes, but do not live in the City or pay City income tax are still fairly contributing towards the funding of the essential services like policing and parks that make New York City a global destination.”

She stressed the tax wouldn’t affect locals. “It is not a tax on residents. That is so important. We're talking about people who are ultrawealthy,” Hochul said at a news conference.

The governor added that the plan would help shore up revenue as the city faces budget pressures without squeezing most New Yorkers.

Mamdani claims win as NYC targets wealthy homeowners

Mamdani wasted no time claiming credit. “When I ran for mayor, I said I was gonna tax the rich. Well, today, we’re taxing it,” he said in a video released hours after Hochul’s announcement.

The video was filmed outside hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin’s $238 million Manhattan penthouse.

“I’m thrilled to announce we’ve secured a pied-à-terre tax,” he said in the clip, targeting the “richest of the rich,” people who “store their wealth in New York City real estate but who don't actually live here.”

“This is a fundamentally unfair system that hurts working New Yorkers,” Mamdani said. “Now, it's coming to an end.”

“As mayor, I believe everyone has a role to play in contributing to our city, and some a little bit more than others," he added. “Happy Tax Day, New York.”

Mamdani didn’t mention Hochul in the video itself, although he did thank her in a statement included in the governor’s official press release.  

“Thanks to the support of Governor Hochul, we are one step closer to balancing our budget by taxing the ultra-wealthy and global elites with a pied-à-terre tax, the first of its kind in our state,” he said.

Critics accuse Kathy Hochul of tax flip-flop

While Mamdani and his allies cheered, critics called out Hochul’s perceived hypocrisy, especially given her earlier resistance to tax hikes.

The governor had repeatedly insisted she wouldn’t raise taxes, even as progressive lawmakers pushed for higher levies on wealthy residents and corporations.

“I don’t believe in raising taxes for the sake of raising taxes,” Hochul said during a January 16 interview on Fox 5 New York. “And what is served by that? We have high taxes already predating my time. We have enough revenues to do what we want to do and what we need to do to support our state. So beyond that, I don’t see a justification.”

Republicans accused her of flip-flopping on the issue.

Rep Nicole Malliotakis commented, “Speaking out of one side of her mouth, Hochul tells those who fled New York to come back, but out of the other side, she’s plotting ways to tax New Yorkers even more.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who is challenging Hochul in her re-election bid, also criticized the governor.

“Kathy Hochul’s ‘No Tax Hike’ promise has expired faster than the families fleeing New York’s affordability crisis,” he said.