A New York appeals court lifted the order blocking New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's luxury home surcharge Thursday, allowing the city to resume its rollout while a legal challenge from homeowners moves forward.
Judge Philip Hom temporarily lifted the blocking order, staying the earlier temporary restraining order that had stopped the city in its tracks. The decision was procedural, allowing the city to pursue its appeal while the underlying lawsuit continues.
The surcharge targets certain high-value properties that do not serve as primary residences. The city began sending notices to homeowners, but a lower court judge, Wayne Ozzi, had ordered the city to remove a disputed supplemental property roll from its website and blocked officials from taking further action based on that roll. Ozzi also stopped the city from enforcing deadlines in those notices, including a September 18 deadline to file an administrative appeal.
Randy Mastro, the attorney representing the homeowners challenging the rollout, sharply criticized the city following Thursday's court decision.
"It is a shame that the City can't own up to its own mistakes and admit that it has badly botched the rollout of this surcharge," Mastro said. "Instead, the administration is doubling down, going to court to ensure that it can continue harassing and threatening New York City homeowners who clearly are permanent residents — something the City would know if it would only do its homework."
Mastro also accused Mamdani of pushing ahead with notices he described as unlawful.
"It is, quite frankly, outrageous that this Mayor is so desperate to further his agenda that he's continuing to try to enforce thousands [of] surcharge 'notices' that are blatantly illegal," Mastro said.
Mastro's office confirmed to Fox News Digital that Thursday's development was procedural. His office also said the homeowners expected to be back in court on August 31, when they plan to seek permanent relief from the original judge.
The dispute had sharpened earlier this week over whether the city's decision to appeal had automatically put Ozzi's entire order on hold. In an August 11 letter to Ozzi, Mastro argued that most of the judge's restrictions remained in effect and warned the city not to press ahead. Thursday's appellate order removed that immediate uncertainty.
The homeowners are due back before the original judge on August 31.
