'Reasonable' or a 'hit list'? New Yorkers react to rollout of Mamdani's tax on second homes

Jason Haber, who runs the American Real Estate Association, said the list of names and addresses threatens people's safety."Imagine the gift this is to scammers, to fraudsters, to anyone with ill will," he said. He said a foreign actor could download the list and send an email to residents posing as the city asking for tax money.Haber told the BBC he has seen some buyers pause searches for expensive properties in New York because of the new tax."It's the surprise of this and the confusion of this that's really pushing everyone over the edge," he said. Haber said he believes the loss of tax revenue from fewer people purchasing pricey homes in New York would offset the effects of the pied-à-terre tax.But Morris Pearl, a former managing director at investment firm BlackRock, said the idea that people were choosing not to invest in the city because of the tax was "absurd"."The whole point of being rich is you can live wherever you want," said Pearl, a chair of Patriotic Millionaires, a group of wealthy Americans who advocate for taxing the rich."Someone who owns a residence that is not their primary residence that's worth more than $5m has the ability to pay more than most New Yorkers ...