The City Council finally got a chance to air their grievances about the Mamdani administration's rollout of the state-level pied-à-terre tax, and the result was as languid as the weather outside.
There were a variety of reasons that Tuesday's meeting of the Committee on Governmental Operations, State & Federal Legislation was sparsely attended, though being scheduled for absolute deadest time of year, in the middle of the day, certainly didn't help.
Crucially, the Mamdani administration refused to show up, citing a lawsuit recently filed by Randy Mastro and a group of aggrieved homeowners, who have reacted with near-hysteria at the very idea that their addresses and property tax records might be published online—as they are every year.
While the administration's reason for not showing face is dubious, it's arguably the correct response to a hearing that seemed engineered to embarrass Mamdani, run by a City Council speaker who has been trying to position herself as the responsible foil for the socialist mayor.
In other words, which constituency matters more to the mayor: A few thousand property owners who may or may not have to pay a new surcharge, or submit a few tax documents to avoid it? Or the two million New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized housing, who recently got a rent freeze?
The mayor made his choice. Some councilmembers weren't happy about it.