The appeal and the stay
The Mamdani administration filed its appeal of Justice Wayne Ozzi's order on Tuesday night, a city official told The Hill, and invoked the automatic stay that New York law gives a government appellant. Under that stay the order to take down the property list, cancel the roughly 17,000 notices and re-notify owners is on hold, and the Department of Finance keeps implementing the surcharge while the Appellate Division considers the case. City Hall spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach told Gothamist: "With a stay, we will continue implementing the surcharge fairly, efficiently and in full compliance with the law, as we have since day one."
This is the same sequence as August. Justice Ozzi's August 10 restraining order was met with an overnight appeal and the same automatic-stay claim, and three days later the Appellate Division, Second Department, let the rollout continue. The homeowners' lawyer, Randy Mastro, told a virtual press conference reported by Inman that he will ask the appellate court to deny any stay: "Even if there were technically an automatic stay, it should be vacated while the case is on appeal." Until that court acts, the city's position governs what happens on the ground.
One concrete date came out of the hearing record. Mastro said the city has told the court it will not invoice the surcharge until November 15 and will not collect it until January 1, which he argued leaves time to issue proper notices. Owners should read that as the earliest a bill can arrive, not as a reprieve from filing.
What this means for October 6
Yesterday we called the October 6 exemption deadline "in limbo" because the order cancelled the notices behind it. With the city's appeal filed and the stay invoked, the deadline is back where it was on Monday: live, published by the Department of Finance, and enforceable unless a court says otherwise. If you received a notice and the home is your primary residence, or a family member's or a tenant's, file the exemption before October 6. If the Appellate Division later vacates the stay and the city has to re-notify, a filed exemption still counts; nothing about filing early can hurt you. We checked the Department of Finance's surcharge page this morning: it still shows the October 6 deadline in capitals, still links the July 24 supplemental roll, and says nothing about the court order, the same posture the city took after the August order.
The other half of the ruling is worth keeping. Justice Ozzi found the notices "lacked any real guidance as to the proof required" and that the city "irresponsibly and unnecessarily caused homeowners to expend time and money," per The Hill. Whatever the appellate court does with the stay, the city has now been told on the record what a compliant notice looks like: an individualized determination, disclosed records, and reasons. Expect the next round of notices, whenever it comes, to be better than the first.
The constitutional challenge is no longer hypothetical
For two months this site's legal tracker has said that no one had yet attacked the tax itself, only its rollout. That changed this week. On Monday, Steve Wynn, the founder of Wynn Resorts, and Wilbur Ross, the former U.S. commerce secretary, together with Hilary Geary Ross, sued New York State in Suffolk County Supreme Court, per Gothamist and Bloomberg. All three live full-time in Florida and own property in the five boroughs. Their complaint calls the surcharge a "property tax that falls exclusively on nonresidents of New York City" and argues that nonresident owners already pay significant property taxes while using fewer services. The notices they received, according to the complaint, add $83,531.52 a year for the Rosses' co-op and $183,094.69 for Wynn's Manhattan property.
Hours before Tuesday's ruling, a second group of homeowners and a New York City co-op filed their own complaint against the state seeking to overturn the tax, represented by Mastro and Dechert LLP, per Inman. Mastro called the timing a coincidence and described the cases as "very different lawsuits, different plaintiffs, different defendants, different substance." The city said it will intervene in the state case to defend the tax; Governor Hochul's spokesperson said Wynn and Ross "are making the case for the pied-à-terre tax as well as anyone could."
None of this changes an owner's obligations today. A facial challenge takes months at minimum, courts often fashion narrow remedies, and refunds after the fact are not automatic. The Real Estate Board of New York welcomed Tuesday's ruling but said it is not funding the Staten Island case; the American Real Estate Association called for the surcharge to be halted and for legislative hearings in January.
Where the numbers stand
Of the roughly 17,000 owners notified in July, Mastro told the court that about 7,000 had either been told they do not owe the surcharge or had completed exemption applications by the August 31 hearing. The city says it approved about 4,700 proofs of residency as of September 16 and sent revised notices to more than 11,000 owners after receiving 2025 state income-tax data in August. The state projected the surcharge would reach about 13,000 properties and raise roughly $500 million a year; the mayor says he remains confident in that figure.
What to watch
The Appellate Division's response to Mastro's motion to vacate the stay is the next real decision point; in August the court moved in three days. After that: whether the Department of Finance changes anything on its website or in its notices voluntarily, the first surcharge bills the city says will not go out before November 15, and the state's answer to the Wynn-Ross complaint in Suffolk County. Our tracker and 24/7 phone line are updated as each lands; our report on Tuesday's ruling itself has the order's full terms.
Questions owners ask
Is the October 6 exemption deadline still in effect after the city's appeal?
Yes, treat it as live. The city filed its appeal on September 29 and says the automatic stay keeps the rollout, including the October 6 deadline, in force while the appeal is heard. In August the appellate court let the city continue under the same mechanism. File before October 6 if the home is a primary residence; a filed exemption counts whatever the appellate court later decides.
Does the automatic stay mean the judge's ruling is overturned?
No. The stay suspends the order (list down, notices cancelled, re-notify) while the appeal is pending. The homeowners' lawyer says he will ask the Appellate Division to vacate the stay. The ruling itself stands until the appellate court rules on the merits.
Who is challenging the tax itself, and what do they argue?
Two suits filed this week against New York State. Steve Wynn, Wilbur Ross and Hilary Geary Ross, all Florida residents with New York City property, argue in Suffolk County Supreme Court that the surcharge is an unconstitutional tax falling exclusively on nonresidents. A separate group of homeowners and a city co-op, represented by Randy Mastro and Dechert, filed a complaint seeking to overturn the tax. The city says it will intervene to defend it.
When will the first surcharge bills go out?
The city has told the court it will not invoice the surcharge before November 15 and will not collect it before January 1, 2027, according to the homeowners' lawyer. That is the earliest a bill can arrive; it is not a reason to skip the exemption filing.
Sources
- The Hill — New York City appeals Staten Island judge's ruling against Zohran Mamdani's pied-à-terre tax (Sept. 29, 2026)
- Gothamist — Mamdani must redo his pied-à-terre tax rollout, NY judge orders (David Brand, Sept. 29, 2026)
- Inman — Pied-à-terre Tax: Judge Orders NYC To Redo Rollout Amid New Suits (Sept. 29, 2026)
- Bloomberg — Wilbur Ross, Steve Wynn Sue Over New York Pied-a-Terre Tax (Sept. 29, 2026)
- Our prior coverage: the September 29 ruling annulling the rollout · the August 13 appellate order · the live legal tracker