Add The New York Post on Google The Mamdani administration admitted it mistakenly told more than 1,000 New Yorkers that they could get hit with a pied-à-terre tax bill unless they proved otherwise, according to new court documents.
City attorneys, in the Tuesday filings, also revealed they were extending the deadline for targeted property owners to apply for an exemption to October 6.
It’s the second time the city has moved that deadline, which was originally set for late August and then pushed to September 18 following massive backlash over the new tax’s rollout.
As part of the launch of the levy — which is meant for luxury second homes in the city — the Department of Finance sent out 17,000 notices to New Yorkers, warning them they may get walloped with a tax bill, but could appeal the determination.
But DOF admitted in the court filings that it erroneously sent such letters to at least 1,210 addresses that were actually primary residences — and said it was working to correct the snafu as more 2025 personal income tax data becomes available.
At least 5,500 notice recipients submitted appeals, and 2,900 total had been granted as of Tuesday, a DOF spokesperson confirmed. A total 11,000 people started applications for exemptions.
The court docs were filed as part of the ongoing lawsuit over the city’s bungled rollout of the surcharge, which applies to one- to three -family homes worth at least $5 million and co-ops and condos valued at $1 million or more that are unoccupied, non-primary residences.
The state law creating the tax — approved by the state legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul this spring — went into effect last month.
Randy Mastro, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the Staten Island Supreme Court suit, said the city essentially admitted to a massive gaffe in the new filings.
“The city’s latest submission is tantamount to an admission of a massive screw-up by the Mamdani administration,” said Mastro, who served as first deputy to former Mayor Eric Adams.
“Instead of doing the homework and determining who actually owed the surcharge … the Mamdani administration switched the burden on to thousands and thousands of New Yorkers who now have to prove they actually live in their own homes,” he said.
The city also noted in the filings that the five suing homeowners have had their exemptions approved.
Because of the newly obtained 2025 tax data from the state, the DOF will also be sending another 10,800 letters by August 31 reiterating homeowners that they’ll need to prove their address is their primary residence or be on the hook. Among those are 6,400 to entity- and trust-owned properties and 4,400 addresses that the DOF said it couldn’t determine were primary homes, according to the filing.
“From the beginning, we have been committed to ensuring that New Yorkers have the time and information they need. Property owners have until October 6th to file an exemption application. We have received the tax information from the state for 2025 and want to give New Yorkers more time to apply for an exemption, if applicable,” a DOF spokesperson said in a statement.
The next hearing for oral arguments in the case is scheduled for August 31.
