Staten Island judge overseeing Mamdani pied-à-terre case appears on disputed property roll himself

Key Points:

• Supreme Court Justice Wayne M. Ozzi and his wife own a home in Annadale valued at $1.109 million, which is below the $5 million threshold for the new property tax surcharge on non-primary residences; his property appears on the Department of Finance’s supplemental property roll that is the subject of a lawsuit he is presiding over.
• Ozzi granted a temporary restraining order halting the city’s publication of the supplemental roll and enforcement of related notices, but the city filed to appeal and stated the rollout would continue, leading to a legal dispute over whether the appeal automatically stayed the order.
• The lawsuit challenges the city’s implementation of the surcharge, specifically the publication of the broad supplemental roll and mass mailing of notices, arguing it caused confusion and public scrutiny; the city maintains the roll’s publication is legally required and information was already publicly available.
• Legal experts suggest Ozzi’s ownership of a listed property does not mandate his recusal, though disclosure might have been appropriate to avoid any appearance of conflict; it is unclear if this was disclosed before his order, and his chambers referred questions to the Office of Court Administration, which did not comment.
• Despite the restraining order, the supplemental roll remained publicly accessible online during the dispute, and debate continues over the practical impact and necessity of the temporary halt after the roll’s publication and notices mailing.