The rollout of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's new pied-à-terre tax was temporarily blocked by a state court judge on Staten Island. The city additionally mailed 17,000 notices to property owners notifying them that they may be liable to pay the tax. Roughly 2,000 people have completed applications seeking an exemption from the tax, the city's Department of Finance said last week. Rent-freeze challengeThe suit was brought on behalf of three New York homeowners by lawyer Randy Mastro, a former deputy mayor. The case is O'Brien v the City of New York, 85217/2026, New York State Supreme Court, Richmond County.