New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is praising a proposal by Gov. Kathy Hochul to impose a second-home luxury tax on owners in the city, calling it a fulfillment of his promise to "tax the rich." 

On Wednesday, Hochul unveiled her new to impose a pied-à-terre tax on luxury second homes in the city. She said the tax is expected to generate at least $500 million a year in revenue for the state. 

"When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich. Well, today, we're taxing the rich," Mamdani, a Democrat Socialist, said in a video posted to X. 

The tax, he said, will target those who "store their wealth in New York City real estate but who don't actually live here." 

"This is a fundamentally unfair system that hurts working New Yorkers," the mayor said. "Now, it's coming to an end."

The governor's office said the tax would apply to residential properties in the city that are not used as primary residences. 

Hochul, a Democrat, said the levy would "ensure that those that own luxury homes, but do not live in the City or pay City income tax are still fairly contributing towards the funding of the essential services like policing and parks that make New York City a global destination."

New York City is facing a multi-year budget crisis as spending continues to grow year over year, without enough tax revenue or state subsidies to close the gap. 

Mamdani has undertaken a potentially risky gamble to balance the budget, including digging into the city's cash reserves and revising revenue forecasts to be more optimistic, Politico previously reported.