New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has secured a significant legal victory after an appeals court cleared his administration to continue implementing a proposed tax on expensive second homes across the city.
The ruling, delivered on Wednesday by an appellate panel in Brooklyn, overturned an earlier decision by a Staten Island judge who had criticised the city’s handling of the tax’s introduction and directed officials to restart the process.
The city had challenged that order and continued moving ahead with the tax while the legal proceedings were underway.
The decision marks an important win for Mamdani, who had made taxing wealthy homeowners a key campaign promise and sees the measure as a way to address the city’s budget shortfall.
Responding to the verdict, the mayor said he was “heartened” by the ruling.
However, the tax is not entirely free from legal trouble, as separate cases challenging its constitutionality are still pending.
Randy Mastro, representing the homeowners who filed the lawsuit, criticised the court’s decision, arguing that what he described as a “lawless and chaotic” rollout would remain uncorrected. He also expressed confidence that the constitutional challenges could succeed.
The measure, introduced by Governor Kathy Hochul in the spring with Mamdani’s backing and included in the state budget, applies to people who primarily live outside New York City but own high-value properties there.
