(The Center Square) — The New York City Council held an oversight hearing Tuesday on the confusing rollout of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's controversial pied-à-terre tax, which is facing public backlash and legal challenges.

The Mamdani administration didn't send a representative to testify before the Council's Committee on Finance and the Committee on Governmental Operations, citing ongoing litigation involving a lawsuit filed by homeowners seeking to delay its implementation. Instead, the administration submitted written comments, drawing a rebuke from City Council Speaker Julie Menin and other councilors.

In a memo to councilors, Richard Lee, commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, said the administration is "committed to ensuring that this surcharge is only applied to those properties that are subject to the surcharge under the law" and pointed out that the city has extended the deadline for property owners to challenge initial determinations.

"Whenever government implements a new law affecting thousands of property owners, questions inevitably arise," Lee wrote in the testimony. "Government should communicate clearly and effectively about new policies, and DOF is committed to doing that, not just with respect to this law, but across all aspects of DOF's work."

Homeowners, housing advocates, real estate groups, and others on either side of the issue testified in support or opposition to the new tax at Tuesday's hearing.

Real Estate Board of New York president James Whelan urged councilors to pause in the levy’s implementation, saying the rollout has been "plagued by confusion, errors, and unanswered questions."

"We warned from the beginning that this tax would be extremely difficult to administer," Whelan said in remarks. "The city cannot enforce first and explain later. The Mamdani administration should pause implementation until it can demonstrate it is ready to administer the tax fairly, accurately, and transparently."

The new levy is part of Mamdani's "tax the rich" campaign, and calls for charging owners of secondary homes valued at more than $5 million, as well as co-ops and condos worth more than $1 million that are not used as a primary residence.

While an estimated 17,000 property owners could be subject to the pied-à-terre tax, thousands have already applied to the city to be exempted ahead of a Sept. 18 deadline.

Last week, a state Supreme Court judge temporarily blocked the new policy in response to a lawsuit filed by several Manhattan property owners challenging the city's decision to post a public list of homeowners who could be subject to the new tax. But the pause was later lifted after the city appealed the judge's ruling.

The plaintiffs claim the city's decision to release a list of nearly 1 million properties that might be subject to the new pied-à-terre tax set off a "panic" among homeowners.

The Mamdani administration estimates the levy will drum up more than $500 million a year for the city to help plug gaps in the budget and fund the mayor's far-left agenda, which includes universal childcare, tuition, free public colleges, and fare-free bus service.

“From the beginning, we have been clear that the pied-à-terre surcharge is an important source of revenue for our city," a Mamdani spokesman said in a statement. "This revenue is essential to funding safer streets, cleaner parks and other critical investments that New Yorkers across all five boroughs deserve.”

President Donald Trump has called the new tax a "dangerous political experiment" and said last week that he is looking into ways the federal government can intervene to stop it.