The Pied-à-Terre Tax Would Cost 10,000 Working New Yorkers Their Jobs
The narrative behind New York’s proposed pied-à-terre tax is, “make wealthy homeowners pay more.” In reality, it would land hardest on working-class New Yorkers—blue-collar workers whose livelihoods depend on a healthy building and service economy.
Housing does not build itself. Every residential project employs thousands of construction workers—carpenters, laborers, electricians, elevator mechanics and especially plumbers -earning union wages that sustain families across the five boroughs. But before any worker shows up on a job site, lenders and investors must believe a project makes economic sense. New York already has one of the highest development costs in the world. Adding a recurring annual tax on residential units makes many projects financially impossible.
According to a forecasting model by a trusted economic modelling firm, the pied-à-terre tax would eliminate approximately 15 million square feet of residential development over the next decade. That translates into over 10,000 construction jobs going away that our members are counting on.
The job losses would not stop at the construction fence line. New development supports an entire ecosystem of blue-collar and service workers: building superintendents, porters, cleaners, security staff, and maintenance workers. It supports restaurant employees, coffee carts, and neighborhood delis that rely on daily foot traffic from construction crews and building workers.
When projects do not get built, those good paying middle-class jobs disappear too.
Supporters argue the tax will raise new revenue, but the city’s own experience suggests otherwise. The number of second homes in New York City has already fallen by 21 percent since 2017—before any pied-à-terre tax has taken effect. As construction slows, the tax base shrinks, undermining the very revenue the policy is supposed to generate. Other cities offer a cautionary tale. Vancouver’s empty homes tax led to a sharp drop in luxury residential investment and a contraction in its construction pipeline. Capital moved elsewhere—and jobs followed.
Our Association of union affiliated contractors, who have used NYC union plumbers for almost 150 years, are not indifferent to the questions of equity. We have spent decades advocating for fair wages, safe conditions, and the right of working people to share in the prosperity they help create. We believe that wealthy New Yorkers and corporations should contribute meaningfully to the public good. But balancing the budget should not come at the expense of construction workers, building service employees, restaurant staff, and small business owners who keep this city running every day. We ask only that Albany keep the full economic picture in view: a taxable base already in meaningful decline and a ten-year projection showing the loss of 10,000 working-class jobs. If this law is passed, it will punish working New Yorkers who cannot afford to lose another job in a city already challenged by affordability issues.
We, and other trade Associations and Labor groups, are glad to engage with lawmakers on
revenue solutions that protect working families and do not hollow out the development pipeline our members depend on. We hope that human arithmetic of working New Yorkers weighs heavily on this decision.
Robert Greenberg; President; Association of Contracting Plumbers of the City of New York Inc.
