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See the full story · 3 sourcesThe new tax is expected to bring in $500 million annually for America's largest city
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President Donald Trump offered harsh criticism of New York on Tuesday, characterizing a planned surcharge on luxury second residences in his former home city as a "dangerous" leftist experiment that the federal government could challenge.
According to U.S. media, the so-called "pied-a-terre" tax is already facing a state court challenge, where a Staten Island judge temporarily halted its rollout on Monday.
City Hall did not immediately comment on Trump's social media post, though New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani stated Monday that the city will vigorously defend its stance in court.
Trump and Mamdani have met twice in person, with their initial encounter proving surprisingly cordial despite major policy differences regarding immigration and support for Israel's war in Gaza.
However, with progressive Democrats winning primaries prior to midterms projected to be difficult for Republicans, Trump has escalated attacks on Democrats, employing phrases like "Radical Left Jihadists" when addressing the administration of New York's first Muslim mayor in Tuesday's post.
“ I am looking to see if the Federal Government has any legal right to avert this disaster,” Trump said in his statement.
Trump called the pied-a-terre tax a "dangerous political 'experiment.'"
"I am looking to see if the Federal Government has any legal right to avert this disaster," he said.
The new tax is expected to bring in $500 million annually for America's largest city.
The Mamdani administration was sued by three New Yorkers over his recently implemented tax on luxury second homes, accusing the mayor’s office of causing chaos.
The suit does not challenge the underlying tax law. Instead, it accuses the mayor’s office of failing to follow state notice requirements and setting off a “panic” in late July by releasing a list of nearly 1 million properties that might be hit with pied-à-terre surcharge, then mailing about 17,000 notices to a smaller group of property owners.
The lawsuit has ties to Mamdani’s political rivals.
One of the plaintiffs is Rachel O’Brien, who is married to Republican City Councilmember Frank Morano, whose father is another plaintiff. Mastro, meanwhile, served as first deputy mayor under Adams and as Giuliani’s chief of staff.
The city has defended its approach to the tax, which applies to homes worth more than $5 million and co-ops and condos worth more than $1 million that are not used as primary residences.
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