NEW YORK, N.Y. — City Councilmember Zohran Mamdani is backing a plan to overhaul New York City’s property tax system by shifting the tax burden from working-class homeowners in the outer boroughs to what he describes as “more expensive homes in richer and whiter neighborhoods.”
The proposal, outlined in campaign materials, argues that current property tax laws unfairly benefit wealthier areas by capping assessment levels, allowing high-value properties to pay less than their proportional share. Mamdani’s plan would lower assessment percentages citywide while adjusting rates upward in expensive neighborhoods—specifically naming areas with Brooklyn brownstones—raising their tax contributions.
“The property tax system is unbalanced because assessment levels are artificially capped, so homeowners in expensive neighborhoods pay less than their fair share,” the plan states. It goes on to call for reducing tax payments for homeowners in neighborhoods such as Jamaica and Brownsville, while increasing taxes on properties in wealthier, majority-white sections of the city.
Plan includes circuit breakers, co-op and condo reform
Mamdani is also calling for the inclusion of “circuit breakers” to protect low- and moderate-income homeowners, particularly seniors in gentrifying neighborhoods, from being overwhelmed by higher taxes. This would cap the amount of property tax paid based on income levels.
The proposal further targets Real Property Tax Law Section 581, which currently treats co-ops and condominiums like rental properties. Mamdani wants the law repealed, arguing it results in “arbitrary and inequitable tax burdens on moderate and low income owners.”
The overall plan is based on recommendations from the New York City Advisory Commission on Property Tax Reform and is aimed at creating a more income-based and geographically adjusted tax structure.
Mamdani’s proposal would increase property taxes on high-value homes in affluent and majority-white neighborhoods to ease the burden on outer borough residents.