Item — HN Reader

If someone built an ETL data pipeline and made it public, would the same complaints apply? Or is it simply negative press against a policy unpopular with the wealthy? I believe the latter.

Wealthy NYC real estate owners weren’t doxxed, their public information is just more easily accessible. Their privilege has been challenged, which they do not like. Same reason Bill Ackman spent more on trying to defeat Mamdani then he would pay in increased taxes: it's about control and power.

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> If someone

The mayor isn’t “someone.” He has a bully pulpit. If the President published a list of Americans who are e.g. foreign born, or who are registered Democrat in a particular city, that would still be problematic even if it’s something one could eventually assembly from public records.

> Same reason Bill Ackman

Ackman is a moron. Punishing a group because he’s corrupt is wrong.

(To be clear, I am not affected by this tax and pushed for its passage until now.)

The NYC Mayor’s Office publishing a list of real estate owners impacted by a publicly communicated and recently enacted tax is wrong? I find that incredibly hard to believe as a proponent of open and transparent government. My property valuations are public record, my property taxes due on those properties is public record, any exemptions are public record. This is a sql query, not a witch hunt. Should they hide the data instead? The data is already public.

I’m not in NYC, nor exposed to this tax, but I still support it, even if my name was in the dataset.

What do you think the purpose of introducing a new public tool to access the data is?

Immigration status and home address is "public information" for anyone involved in the criminal court system. How do you feel if Steven Miller or the Trump Administration created a new app to easily look up the home address of any immigrant Flagged in those systems.

One might even accuse them of doxing for political purposes

A bit of a stretch to compare an authoritarian enabling his white nationalist and supremacist supporters to harass and harm a vulnerable population vs property tax collection, no? No shared ground if you believe our examples are equivalent. Leftists aren’t going to round up the wealthy in concentration camps, pulled off the street with no recourse. The ask is simply to pay the slightly more taxes being asked, from the wealthiest who can absolutely afford it.

What do you think the point of the tool was?

To demonstrate who is funding the promises made, and that it could be done. What do you think the point was?

I dont get that... So that his base could send their thank you cards or what?

Jump covered my intuitions.

Edit. I would add it reads like an imitation reminder. Kind of like the mob stopping by your kids school for a friendly hello.

E.g. "Nothing gonna happen, but it sure would be a shame if you didnt play ball and someone got upset."

> What do you think the point was?

Vilification. Why was Mamdani TikToking in front of Griffin’s mansion before? It plays well with an angry base. Same goes for right-wing folks who will give you a tool to find likely DSA-voting neighbours.