By Shaina McLawrence
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
(TNS)
July 29 — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s press office trolled NBA star LeBron James on social media by suggesting he would face a luxury-home tax following reports of a potential move to New York City.
The governor’s team used a post on X to label the athlete “LePied-a-Terre” in response to a report from ESPN that he would commute via helicopter from Manhattan to play for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The referenced pied-a-terre tax, approved earlier this year, imposes a surcharge on expensive condos and co-ops that are not used as a primary residence.
James, who recently signed a two-year, $8 million contract with Philadelphia, might not be required to pay the surcharge if he establishes the Manhattan property as his main home.
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The social media jab coincides with backlash against Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration for releasing a searchable database of properties that could be subject to the tax.
This latest interaction follows a previous instance in May where Hochul was criticized for incorrectly naming the year of a New York Knicks championship during a press conference.
Photo credit: Erik Drost/Wikimedia Commons
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© 2026 Staten Island Advance, N.Y. Visit www.silive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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