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NYC’s pied-à-terre tax horror stories: ‘Blatantly unfair’

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Calder, R. (2026, October 10). NYC’s pied-à-terre tax horror stories: ‘Blatantly unfair’. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/10/10/us-news/lawsuit-questions-constitutionality-of-new-yorks-pied-a-terre-tax-blatantly-unfair/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-10-10 · by Rich Calder

Quick Summary

Scott Golden and Stephanie Cohen faced an unexpected $48,949 tax bill when they sold their Manhattan condo, a sum 25 times larger than their regular property taxes. The couple are part of a group suing New York State over its new "pied-à-terre" tax on luxury second homes, which retroactively applies to properties from January 5 despite being enacted in May. Plaintiffs like Kent Barwick and his wife, who face an $83,603 bill for their part-time residence, argue the tax discriminates against nonresidents and imposes unfair burdens.
Written by AI on 2026-10-10, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Scott Golden and his wife Stephanie Cohen, Miami-based owners of an insurance brokerage firm, faced an unexpected $48,949 bill when they sold their Upper West Side condo in July 2023. This amount was about 25 times their regular property tax bill, due to New York’s new pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes. Despite the tax's initial intention of targeting billionaires, it has affected owners of less expensive second homes as well. The couple is part of a lawsuit filed against Governor Kathy Hochul and her administration in state Supreme Court on September 29, arguing that the new tax is unconstitutional and discriminates against out-of-state residents. The Real Estate Board of New York, which supports the lawsuit, claims the tax unfairly impacts New Yorkers who live, work, and invest in the city.

Written for “NYC Second Home Tax Controversy” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 NYC Second Home Tax Controversy
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 3 of 19 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes individual homeowners' experiences and lawsuits against the pied-a-terre tax, while Article B discusses the overall outcomes of appeals against this tax on a city-wide level.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
2 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-10 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15208 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Rich Calder
22 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Critics – including President Trump — immediately called for her to step away, saying she was too political, biased and unethical to fairly investigate the case. Norman Siegel, a longtime civil rights lawyer, said James is doing the right thing, adding that her taking the case would be like a police commissioner commenting on police misconduct cases before a probe is finished.
🔮 Republican Bruce Blakeman hit three corners of NYC to deliver his affordability message Saturday as his gubernatorial bid reached the final stretch, jabbing opponent Gov. Kathy Hochul and “anti-American” Mayor Zohran Mamdani along the way.
🔮 The socialist mayor – who has been campaigning heavily to get Gov. Kathy Hochul re-elected in a race against Republican Bruce Blakeman – showed up at the Upper East Side site around 10 a.m. Hizzoner brought donuts for poll workers and was greeted by at least one heckler, who yelled “Communist! You suck!,” according to video posted on X. Early voting will continue for more than a week before Nov. 3 on Election Day.
🔮 The ballot questions before NYC voters in the Nov. 3 general election – which include measures to fast-track how City Hall approves controversial outdoor dining sheds and anti-car, so-called street-safety projects — were selected by a 15-member Charter Revision Commission appointed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
🔮 A big chunk of the money came from former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg; the Greater New York Hospital Association Management Corp.; and Leadership for New York, a super PAC run by Jay Martin, a political strategist and former executive director at the New York Apartment Association.
🔮 Adding insult to injury, the socialist mayor then ditched a fresh Gracie Mansion tradition launched by his predecessor Eric Adams — pulling the plug on the annual breakfast reception at Gracie Mansion honoring Polish heritage.
🔮 But the decisions that I make will be decisions made solely in what I feel is in the best interest of New Yorkers.
🔮 And now they’re teaming up with other homeowners and a New York City co-op in the latest lawsuit contesting the legality of a new state-imposed tax that was initially pitched by Gov. Kathy Hochul and socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani as targeting billionaires — but also hits owners of less expensive second homes.
🔮 McLaughlin joined a growing chorus of critics who agreed with President Trump, who predicted Friday the Cornell Seven won’t get a “fair shake” with James on the case — because the attorney general is a “corrupt person.”
🔮 The Republican gubernatorial candidate told the newspaper his “Protect Our Daughters” plan would also prohibit biological males who transition to female from rooming with girls on overnight school trips.
Also by Rich Calder
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 22 articles by Rich Calder →

Topics

Miami New York City New York’s Supreme Court The Post

Subjects

Hochul PERSON · 3× New York City GPE · 3× Barwick PERSON · 2× Golden PERSON · 2× June PERSON · 2× Mamdani PERSON · 2× Miami GPE · 1× New York’s GPE · 1× Scott Golden PERSON · 1× Stephanie Cohen PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Jim Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, which is funding the lawsuit and vehemently opposes the new tax, said the perils raised by the plaintiffs show that the “second-home tax is hurting New Yorkers, not the out-of-state billionaires its supporters promised to target.” “Their stories demonstrate why this tax is misguided, unconstitutional, and unfair to the very people who live, work, and invest in New York,” he said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-10
🔮 And now they’re teaming up with other homeowners and a New York City co-op in the latest lawsuit contesting the legality of a new state-imposed tax that was initially pitched by Gov. Kathy Hochul and socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani as targeting billionaires — but also hits owners of less expensive second homes.
2026-10-10 · New York Post
NYC’s pied-à-terre tax horror stories: ‘Blatantly unfair’ · assertive framing

Claims (21 extracted, 2 hedged)

When Scott Golden and his wife Stephanie Cohen sold their Upper West Side condo in July, they thought they were done with New York’s sky-high taxes. asserted
they → sell → taxes
Instead, they were slapped with an additional $48,949 bill on the way out — roughly 25 times their regular property tax bill. asserted
they → slap → bill
The Miami-based couple, who run an insurance brokerage firm, are among the thousands who were retroactively slammed by the state’s controversial new pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes. asserted
who → base → homes
And now they’re teaming up with other homeowners and a New York City co-op in the latest lawsuit contesting the legality of a new state-imposed tax that was initially pitched by Gov. Kathy Hochul and socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani as targeting billionaires — but also hits owners of less expensive second homes. asserted
that → team → homes
“I think it’s blatantly unfair that they are targeting and discriminating against out-of-staters,” the 63-year-old Golden told The Post. asserted
Golden → think → staters
If we had known, we would have sold earlier,” added Golden, who got $6.55 million for the Riverside Boulevard property. asserted
who → know → property
The suit, filed Sept. 29 against the Hochul administration in state Supreme Court, alleges the second-home tax violates the US and state constitutions by unlawfully discriminating against nonresidents, imposing unfair burdens on homeowners and cooperative buildings and applying retroactively to Jan. 5. asserted
tax → file → Jan.
That’s nearly five months before it was enacted on May 28 by Democratic-controlled state Legislature and Hochul at the behest of Mamdani to raise $500 million for the city budget. uncertain
it → ’ → budget
Others who’ve joined the litigation include Kent Barwick, a New York City civic legend who previously headed the city’s Landmarks Preservation Commission and the Municipal Arts Society, and his wife, June. asserted
who → join → Commission
Barwick purchased his co-op apartment on Mott Street in Little Italy in 1972 and lived there full-time until he and his wife moved upstate to Cherry Hill a few years ago. asserted
he → purchase → Hill
They kept the co-op, which the city values at nearly $2.1 million, as a part-time residence. asserted
city → keep → residence
When the second-home tax kicked in, the senior couple was slammed with a whopping $83,603 bill on top of the $24,984 they must pay in normal property taxes — bringing the entire tab to $108,587. asserted
they → kick → 108,587
“For us, for people of modest means, both retired, it meant suddenly getting a property tax bill that was four times higher than what we were paying,” said Barwick, 85. asserted
Barwick → retire → what
“Now we have to figure out a way to come up with an additional $80,000.” asserted
we → have → 80,000
June conceded they might have to sell the co-op if they can’t come up with the money. uncertain
they → concede → money
The plaintiffs and others being slammed have to pay the new tax by January. asserted
plaintiffs → slam → January
Mamdani vowed to forge ahead with the tax rollout two weeks ago even after a judge ruling on a related lawsuit ordered the city to go back to the drawing board and essentially start the process from scratch. asserted
judge → vow → scratch
Instead, the city opted to appeal the decision. asserted
city → opt → decision
Jim Whelan, president of the Real Estate Board of New York, which is funding the lawsuit and vehemently opposes the new tax, said the perils raised by the plaintiffs show that the “second-home tax is hurting New Yorkers, not the out-of-state billionaires its supporters promised to target.” “Their stories demonstrate why this tax is misguided, unconstitutional, and unfair to the very people who live, work, and invest in New York,” he said. asserted
he → fund → York
The Mayor’s Office did not return messages. asserted
Office → return → messages
Hochul spokesperson Kassie White said, “While this lawsuit about the administration of the tax is a matter for the city and the courts to work through, the governor continues to believe that people who can afford a multimillion-dollar second home in New York City can afford to pay their fair share.” asserted
who → say → share
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