NYC Mayor Announces Pied-à-Terre Tax on Luxury Homes

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a new pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes on April 15, Tax Day, filming the reveal outside a Central Park South building owned by hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.

In the one-minute video, posted by the mayor's office and viewed nearly 470,000 times, Mamdani stood in front of 220 Central Park South, where Griffin owns a four-floor penthouse purchased in 2019 for $238 million, the highest price ever paid for a U.S. home at the time. "When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich," Mamdani said. "Well, today, we're taxing the rich." The proposal, backed by Governor Kathy Hochul, imposes an annual surcharge on one- to three-family homes, condominiums and co-ops valued over $5 million whose owners list a primary residence outside the city. For Griffin's property, officials estimate the tax would raise the annual bill from $841,000 to about $3 million.

The measure, approved by state Democrats in Albany but awaiting final legislative action, aims to generate at least $500 million annually. City officials plan to direct the funds toward free childcare, street cleaning and neighborhood safety initiatives. Mamdani described...