Nolte: Democrat Judge Halts Mamdani’s Second-Home Tax over Botched Rollout

Democrat Judge Wayne M. Ozzi of the New York State Supreme Court sided with homeowners Tuesday over the botched rollout of Socialist/Islamist New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s second-home tax.

Ozzi did not find the tax itself illegal. The tax on New York City second homes was approved by the legislature and signed by the Democrat governor. What he ruled against, and did so sharply, was the bungled and grossly unjust process behind the rollout of the tax.

The city has already appealed, which halts Judge Ozzi’s ruling.

The ruling sides with homeowners on a number of issues and orders the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) to fix each of them.

As far as how the tax was rolled out, the judge said it was sloppy and violated due process. The primary objection was that the DOF used outdated lists (more on this below) to mail notices to around 17,000 New Yorkers that not only warned them that their property could be subject to this tax but required them to prove why they should not be taxed.

The judge called this second-home tax as “unlawful burden shifting.”

“The refusal to use the tax data that was ‘sufficiently available’ to DOF unfairly shifted the burden to thousands of homeowners to prove their basic residency,” reads the ruling. “This shifted burden is not hyperbolic, as many property owners, perhaps unsophisticated, may need to consult with legal or accounting professionals merely to prove residency, despite such information being readily available to DOF.”

“Furthermore,” the ruling adds, “by placing the burden on homeowners, DOF may require a person to provide otherwise protected data or documents in order to avoid the surcharge.”

The judge has ordered the DOF to basically start over. The list of homeowners must be taken down from the DOF website, all the notices sent must be canceled, and a new list must be created but cannot involve speculation; only those subject to the tax. Only then may new notices be sent, and the new notices are required to make clear why the property qualifies as a second home and therefore qualifies to be taxed.

The automatic stay caused by the appeal allows the botched implementation to continue until the appellate court rules.

The “list” referred to is the list the DOF published on its website, which was an act of obvious intimidation. The ruling explains it this way:

DOF compiled a “Supplemental Roll” which it placed on its agency web page on July 24, 2026. The published roll included over 900,000 distinct properties including effectively all 1-3 family homes, residential condominiums and select cooperatives. As part of the publication of the Supplemental Roll on its public page, DOF noted that the publication was “related to” the new surcharge / pied-a-terre tax. It is not disputed that 98-99% of the properties on said Supplemental Roll are not subject to the surcharge.

The ruling adds that “Upon its publication, there was significant reaction, confusion and criticism from property owners, elected officials and media. On August 1, 2026, DOF updated its public page to include a disclaimer that ‘The vast majority of the properties and units listed in the roll will NOT be subject to the surcharge.’”

We should all be grateful that the City of New York is getting exactly what it voted for.