New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration has published a searchable online database listing the names and home addresses of more than 960,000 property owners, drawing immediate condemnation from Republicans, real estate groups, and civil liberties advocates who say the release exposes residents to harassment and targeted violence.
The city’s Department of Finance released the database Monday as part of the rollout of a new pied-a-terre tax targeting high-value secondary homes. A department spokesperson said the publication was required under state law. Officials initially pitched the tax as targeting “ultra-wealthy and global elites” who own second homes worth more than $5 million.
The list is far broader. According to the New York Post, the database contains more than 960,000 records, compared to the roughly 31,000 properties city officials cited when the tax was first proposed. It includes modest homes in working-class neighborhoods and at least one shopping center.
Council Minority Leader David Carr, a Staten Island Republican whose own condominium appeared on the list, called the release “reckless and foolish.” He said thousands of owners would ultimately contest their inclusion.
Steven Fulop, president of the Partnership for NYC, said the disclosure sets “a dangerous precedent” that singles out people “who have done nothing wrong.”
Republican strategist Colin Reed said the combination of the database and Mamdani’s inflammatory rhetoric toward wealthy residents is “not only reckless, but outright dangerous given the current climate around political violence.”
The release is not without context. Mamdani filmed a promotional video in April outside Citadel founder Ken Griffin’s $238 million Central Park South penthouse, naming Griffin by name while pushing the tax proposal. Griffin later called the stunt “creepy and weird” and cited it as a factor in his decision to expand Citadel’s operations in Miami rather than New York.
