The city council of New York City held a hearing on Zohran Mamdani’s controversial new pied-à-terre tax and NO ONE from the Mamdani administration showed up.
Members of the council were not happy and blasted the tax, as well as the rollout and the Mamdani administration.
Is the bloom already falling off the stem here?
ABC 7 News reports:
NYC Council members assail rollout of new pied-à-terre tax
Outrage continued to build at a New York City Council hearing on the controversial pied-à-terre tax on Tuesday.
Members slammed Mayor Mamdani and his administration for skipping the meeting.
Critics have questioned how the tax is being implemented and why some homeowners were mistakenly put on the list.
“We’re asking basic questions about how a major tax was administered,” Frank Morano of the NYC Council said.
Members of the New York City Council took out their frustrations on empty chairs on Tuesday.
“My residents in my district shouldn’t have to hire lawyers to prove they live in their own home,” Councilmember Phil Wong said.
The council’s oversight hearing was intended to get answers about Mayor Mamdani’s controversial new tax on luxury second homes. But the administration declined to testify because of a pending lawsuit against the tax.
Instead, the council heard from critics who warned of unintended consequences.
“It’s not only billionaires. It’s hardworking New Yorkers who dedicate themselves to making this city work that are very concerned about what impact it might have,” one witness said.
See the video below, transcript via Eric Daugherty:
“Somehow today, the administration couldn’t find its way within the same building to City Hall to answer questions about it!”
“That this is something that we need to be ashamed of! A HIT LIST of the haves and the have nots, a scarlet letter.”
“I find that to be TOTALLY unacceptable!”
“How the administration published more than 900,000 names and addresses showed me that this is how the administration feels about homeowners in this great city!”
“They should show up and answer basic questions about the rollout.”
“I think New Yorkers are entitled to ask a very simple question. WHAT are they hiding!?”
🚨 JUST IN: New Yorkers are GOING BERSERK right now on Ugandan Mayor Mamdani for SKIPPING today’s hearing on his draconian 2nd home tax, and publishing a PUBLIC DATABASE of “rich” people
Even DEMOCRATS are fuming. Wow!
“Somehow today, the administration couldn’t find its way… pic.twitter.com/X9b17VD1SX
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 18, 2026
More here:
🚨 NOW: Ugandan Mayor Mamdani just got EATEN ALIVE by members of his OWN PARTY for his botched rollout of the second home tax — and publishing a PUBLIC DATABASE of the “rich”
DEMOCRAT: “My residents in my district shouldn’t have to hire LAWYERS to prove they live in their OWN… pic.twitter.com/n4IHJ0apwP
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 18, 2026
Mamdani’s people could have easily sent someone to the hearing to represent them.
This was obviously a deliberate choice.
Mike LaChance has been covering higher education and politics for Legal Insurrection since 2012. Since 2008 he has contributed work to the Gateway Pundit, Daily Caller, Breitbart, the Center for Security Policy, the Washington Free Beacon, and Ricochet. He has also written for American Lookout, Townhall, and Twitchy.
You can email Mike LaChance here, and read more of Mike LaChance’s articles here.
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