// BBC WORLD NEWS — MONDO
'Reasonable' or a 'hit list'? New Yorkers react to rollout of Mamdani's tax on second homes
Mayor Mamdani says that taxes on second homes will help fund social programmes aimed at New Yorkers struggling with affordability
Owning one home in New York City is a dream far beyond what many people could afford. But in one of the most expensive cities in the world, some people have not only a first, but a second, home.
The identities of those elite few - and others with expensive primary residences in New York - were made public at the end of July, as part of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's plans to charge a "pied-à-terre" home tax - an annual fee for second homes in the city worth more than $5m (£3.7m), or condos and co-ops worth more than $1m.
That list, which identified people who the government said might have to pay the tax, became one of the main topics at a city council oversight meeting this week, which was called to address concerns about how it was rolled out.
City council member Gale Brewer said she and some other council members supported the pied-à-terre tax, but pointed to "challenges" with its implementation.
City council member Kamillah Hanks said the list unfairly targets homeowners and could be a security issue.
"A hit list of the haves and the have-nots - a scarlet letter," Hanks said during a heated public meeting at City Hall on Tuesday.
New York City's Department of Finance has said the addresses and personal information it posted were already available to the public, as data the administration is legally required to provide each year.
But Hanks said the administration was suggesting to people that their home ownership was something "to be ashamed of".
The list included nearly one million properties, including addresses for celebrities and some of the city's wealthiest residents, such as hedge fund manager Ken Griffin and his $239m penthouse, director Woody Allen, former Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and actress Cynthia Nixon. The city ultimately sent tax notices to 17,000 people.