Mayor Zohran Mamdani will halt the city’s controversial tax lien sale and potentially scrap it altogether over concerns that the process exposes homeowners to “predatory debt collectors” and foreclosure, City Hall said Tuesday.
Since 1996, the city has sold property owners’ unpaid tax liens and water debt at a discount to a private investor-backed trust that then attempts to collect the unpaid bills while hitting homeowners with additional fees. The system has faced sharp criticism for disproportionately affecting homeowners of color, especially in predominantly Black sections of Southeast Queens and Central Brooklyn. Mamdani himself called the practice “racism” in a campaign policy outline during his run for mayor.
Mamdani spokesperson Matt Rauschenbach said the mayor will suspend the tax lien sale this fiscal year to conduct a “six-month review of the program” and consider enacting alternatives…