NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani Announces Pied-à-Terre Tax Outside Ken Griffin’s 220 Central Park South Home

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked tax day by filming a video outside hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin’s home at 220 Central Park South, announcing what he called the city’s first-ever pied-à-terre tax.

“What is Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax”

Bergen Record

In the one-minute clip posted Tuesday by the NYC Mayor’s Office, Mamdani said, “When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich,” and then added, “Well, today we’re taxing the rich.”

Bergen Record

The video was shot outside the limestone building where Citadel CEO Ken Griffin owns a four-floor penthouse purchased in 2019 for $238 million, which Fortune described as “then the highest price ever paid for a home in the United States.”

Fortune reported that the proposal would impose an annual fee on luxury properties valued above $5 million whose owners do not live in New York full-time, and that it would apply to one-to-three-family homes, condominiums, and co-ops.

Mamdani’s office estimated the tax would generate at least $500 million annually, with revenue directed toward free childcare, street cleaning, and neighborhood safety.

The proposal is backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul but still requires approval from the state legislature, and Fortune reported that neither Griffin nor the mayor’s office responded to its request for comment.

The New York Post later described Mamdani’s filming as a public confrontation, noting that he pointed to Griffin’s “$238 million spread” and that CNBC anchor Sara Eisen warned the move could backfire by “demonizing him.”

The proposed pied-à-terre tax would target luxury non-primary homes in New York City valued above $5 million, with the tax applying when the owner’s primary residence is outside New York City.

Fortune said the annual fee would be levied on luxury properties valued above $5 million whose owners do not live in New York full-time, and that it would apply to “one-to-three-family homes, condominiums, and co-ops worth over $5 million.”

Business Insider

The Hill described the same structure as “an annual surcharge on one- to three-family homes, condominiums and co-ops owned by people who have a primary residence outside New York City,” and it added that the tax would apply to homeowners living outside the state as well as those who live in the state but don’t use their home in the city as a primary residence.

Business Insider reported that the levy would apply to non-primary homes worth over $5 million and would be “in addition to current property taxes,” while also noting that the state had not publicly said how it would determine a residence’s value or primary residence status.

Business Insider also reported that the tax is part of Hochul’s state budget proposal and estimated it would generate $500 million a year, while Hochul’s and Mamdani’s offices projected that figure.

The Bergen Record framed the policy as a rarity in the United States, explaining that “pied-à-terre (PAT) tax is an annual surcharge on residential properties not used as a primary residence,” and it contrasted that with “mansion taxes” that are typically one-time transfer taxes.

In addition to the $5 million threshold, the Hill reported that the Hochul administration estimated the tax would impact 13,000 properties, and Business Insider said Hochul’s office estimated it would apply to 13,000 properties as well.

Supporters and opponents of the pied-à-terre tax quickly moved from policy detail to political confrontation after Mamdani’s announcement.

“- New York officials have proposed a pied-à-terre tax on non-primary homes worth over $5 million”

Business Insider

Fortune reported that the proposal is backed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and that Mamdani’s office estimated it would generate at least $500 million annually, with revenue directed toward “free childcare, street cleaning, and neighborhood safety.”

Hochul’s statement, as quoted by The Hill, argued, “If you can afford a $5 million second home that sits empty most of the year, you can afford to contribute like every other New Yorker.”

Mamdani also framed the tax as a fix for what he called “a fundamentally unfair system,” saying, “These units are sitting empty,” and adding, “And even so, they’re able to reap the huge financial rewards of owning property in, dare I say, the greatest city in the world.”

Critics attacked the plan as harmful to investment and jobs, with New York Post reporting that CNBC anchor Sara Eisen warned the move risks backfiring because Griffin “employs thousands of people in NYC” and is “investing billions more and creating thousands more jobs.”

Business Insider reported that Bill Ackman wrote on X, “Mamdani likes the tag line 'Tax the rich.' Unfortunately, his policies will harm the constituencies he is supposedly trying to help,” and it described a wave of attacks within 24 hours.

The Hill added that the Real Estate Board of New York argued the tax would deter wealthy property owners from bringing their money into the city, quoting its president James Whelan saying, “This annual tax will weaken the city’s broader economy — all without addressing its fiscal problems in the first place.”

The fight over the pied-à-terre tax is also being tied, in the reporting, to where major investors choose to base themselves and how they justify those moves.

Fortune reported that Griffin relocated Citadel’s headquarters from Chicago to Miami in 2022, “drawn by Florida’s lack of a personal income tax,” and it said he shares the move with Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and Google cofounders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, all of whom “recently left high-tax states and now maintain Florida residences.”

Daily Mail

Fortune also reported that Griffin paid $38 million for a duplex apartment up the block from where Mamdani shot the video, according to the Wall Street Journal, and it described Griffin’s broader real estate footprint.

The New York Post similarly emphasized that Mamdani’s video targeted Griffin’s penthouse at 220 Central Park South and that Eisen warned about the risk of “demonizing him,” while noting that “Meantime Miami is welcoming him and his firm.”

Forbes added that Trump accused Mamdani of “destroying” New York City and quoted Mamdani’s video framing the tax as targeting “Those who store their wealth in New York City real estate, but who don’t actually live here.”

Business Insider broadened the list of potential targets, saying the tax would affect “big-name billionaires” including Donald Trump and Jeff Bezos, and it described Bezos’s move to Miami in 2023 and his purchases on Indian Creek.

The Hill tied the proposal to the city’s finances, saying Hochul and Mamdani proposed the tax “in an effort to narrow the city’s budget deficit” and that the budget deficit is “currently estimated to reach $5.4 billion through the next fiscal year.”

The proposal’s next steps hinge on state-level approval and on how the tax is implemented, with multiple outlets emphasizing that the plan still requires legislative action.

“Topline President Donald Trump criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday after the mayor and Governor Kathy Hochul proposed a tax on secondary homes worth $5 million or more in the city, flipping his surprisingly cordial relationship with Mamdani on its head”

Forbes

Fortune reported that the pied-à-terre tax “still requires approval from the state legislature,” and it described Mamdani’s position that if the tax didn’t get state approval, the city would be forced to increase property taxes.

Forbes

Business Insider reported that City Hall did not respond to questions about how the state would determine a residence’s value, whether a home is a primary residence, or how much homeowners would pay, leaving key mechanics unresolved.

The Hill reported that Hochul and Mamdani’s proposal aims to narrow the city’s budget deficit and that Hochul is “up for reelection in November,” while also noting that Hochul previously rejected some of Mamdani’s proposals to tax the wealthy.

The Hill also quoted New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin describing the plan as the “comprehensive approach we need to strengthen the City’s fiscal footing,” and it included support from borough presidents of Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens, as well as Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal saying, “If you can afford a $5 million second home, you should appropriately contribute to the subways, schools, and public services that protect and sustain your investment.”

On the opposition side, The Hill reported that the Real Estate Board of New York urged members to contact state representatives to oppose the tax, with James Whelan warning, “Albany should focus on policies that encourage investment and housing production to create a more affordable city, not ones that stifle its growth.”

Forbes added that Trump’s criticism escalated after the proposal was announced, with Trump saying, “The TAX, TAX, TAX Policies are SO WRONG,” and it described the president’s claim that the U.S. “should not contribute to” New York City’s “failure.”