By Hank Russell
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman and GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman accused the Democrats — notably Governor Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — of engaging in “class warfare” by implementing new taxes such as the “pied-á-terre” tax on owners of second homes.
Appearing on Newsmax’s National Report on July 3, Blakeman called the tax on second homes “very, very dumb” and “nothing more than class warfare.”
According to Blakeman, New York has lost $11 billion in the last four years from high-net-worth individuals “who moved out of state. … We’re basically running them out of town.”
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Hochul proposed the pied-á-terre tax on homes in New York City used as secondary residences and valued at $5 million or more, despite pledging never to raise taxes. The tax would raise at least $500 million a year for the city, according to the governor’s office.
On May 28, state legislators passed the tax. CNBC reported that homes valued at over $5 million will be taxed 6.5% in the 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 tax years. But it’s not just these high-priced residences getting hit: condominiums and cooperatives valued at over $1 million will be taxed. Further, properties valued between $1 million and $3 million face a tax rate of 4% while properties worth $3 million to $5 million will be taxed at a 5.25% rate.
Last month, the city established a database listing the addresses and property owners who would have to pay the tax. Mamdani also announced that he has sent letters to the second-home proprietors, calling on them to “pay their fair share.” Many blasted the database, citing personal privacy and safety concerns and calling the list reckless and tantamount to doxxing. Critics also said the tax will cause property values to decline.
“This guy [Mamdani] wants to take your property by taxing it so high that you’ll leave and then the city will take over,” Blakeman told Newsmax. “It’s communism, and this is something that people are now waking up to. We are going to lose our state if we don’t change the leadership.”
He also said that, once the millionaire homeowners leave, the tax burden will fall on the middle class. “When those high-net-worth individuals leave, they hurt business. They hurt the carpenter, the plumber, the electrician, the waiter, the waitress, the bartender, the cleaning service, the dog walker. Everybody gets hurt. We should be encouraging them to come to our state, and Kathy Hochul and Zohran Mamdani are trying to run them out of town.”
On August 2, the day before the interview, Blakeman posted on X, “Your hard-earned money belongs in your pocket. When I am Governor, my plan focuses on real relief by cutting income taxes and slashing utility bills in half, ensuring life is more affordable for every New York family.”
Long Island Life & Politics reached out to the Hochul campaign for comment.
“‘MAGA all the way’ Blakeman raised property taxes himself twice,” said campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki, “but here’s what he’s promised to cut as governor: a revenue-raiser on ultra-wealthy out-of-staters’ second homes, and Medicaid ‘in half’ for the vulnerable New Yorkers who rely on it.”