Mayor Zohran Mamdani lauds Gov. Kathy Hochul's pied-à-terre tax; would bring in $500 million a year to NYC

Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News on Apr 15, 2026

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NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pied-à-terre tax on expensive secondary residences in the city will bring in at least $500 million a year to city coffers amid Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s full-court press for higher taxes on New York City’s wealthiest residents and corporations, Hochul said Wednesday.

The tax represents a safe middle ground between Mamdani’s tax-the-rich proposals and Hochul’s more moderate standpoint on taxes. It is expected to affect 13,000 units in the five boroughs that are valued at $5 million or more and are not owner-occupied, the governor said Wednesday.

That revenue will go towards the Big Apple’s budget, which is currently facing a $5.4 billion gap, per the mayor’s estimates.

Details, including the rates and whether the surcharge will scale up over time, have yet to be fully hashed out, Hochul said.

The mayor celebrated the move, claiming it as a victory for his campaign to levy higher taxes on the super-wealthy.

“So much of that scholarship, that advocacy, we’re already seeing the fruits of it,” the mayor said at a tax forum Wednesday morning. “Just last night, we saw an announcement that we are working together with the governor to introduce New York City’s first-ever pied-à-terre tax.”

Mamdani pointed as an example to Citadel CEO Ken Griffin’s $240 million penthouse at 220 Central Park West as an example of the need for this kind of tax: “This is the kind of wealth that is being stored in the city, and it is a residence that is so often empty.”

The pied-à-terre tax is more modest than the hikes Mamdani has advocated for and represents somewhat of a compromise for the mayor and was not among those he’s advocated for in Albany.

The revenue raisers he’s pushed for include a hike for millionaires’ personal income tax rate, a higher corporate tax rate, an increase for the unincorporated business tax rate and a reduction in the city’s Pass-Through Entity Tax Credit.

Asked Wednesday whether she’d move on the other proposed tax hikes, Hochul voiced opposition to corporate and personal income tax hikes, calling them “nonstarters.”

“I feel no need to appease anyone,” the governor said when asked if this new tax was a way to placate Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders and others advocating for higher taxes. “… We’re trying to help the city and whittle it down. I’m a partner to this mayor, and so I have found a path.”

Hochul also emphasized that Mamdani must work with the City Council to find additional savings to balance the city’s books. The two sides of City Hall have been locked in a fight over the city budget.

Speaker Menin, who has not advocated for the same income and corporate tax hikes as Mamdani, applauded the surcharge on secondary homes as a “smart, sensible proposal” in a statement on Wednesday.

“This is the comprehensive approach we need to strengthen the City’s fiscal footing and tackle the affordability crisis without burdening working New Yorkers,” Menin said.

The tax will be included in the state’s budget, which was due April 1 and is now several weeks past its deadline.

New York has tried before to implement such a tax, most recently in 2019. Then the efforts were defeated after heavy lobbying from the real estate industry.

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