Judge Orders New York City to Restart Second-Home Tax Rollout

Justice Wayne M. Ozzi of the State Supreme Court on Staten Island ordered New York City to scrap and restart the rollout of its second-home tax. The ruling follows a lawsuit from homeowners who argued the city mishandled the implementation of the tax, which targets high-end condos, co-ops, and homes valued between $1 million and $5 million.

Justice Ozzi ruled that the city failed to verify primary residency before sending notices to 17,000 residents and publishing a public list of nearly one million potentially taxable properties. He ordered the city to rescind the tax notices mailed in July and replace the supplemental roll of over 900,000 properties with a more limited list. The judge stated that homeowners were being "substantially harmed and penalized needlessly."

While the court did not challenge the legality of the tax—which was unveiled by Governor Kathy Hochul and supported by Mayor Zohran Mamdani to raise an estimated $500 million annually—the city must now provide detailed justifications for tax determinations. New York City is expected to seek a stay of the decision to avoid disrupting the November billing cycle.