City Council members want to grill the subletting service Airbnb about fears renters could die in a fire while struggling to flee an unfamiliar apartment.
“We need to ensure Airbnb is not putting profit over people by allowing listings that cram too many tourists into apartments far too small to guarantee their safe escape from danger,” said Councilman Ben Kallos (D-Upper East Side).
The council’s Housing and Buildings Committee has scheduled a Jan. 20 hearing over “short-term rentals” arranged through Airbnb and other sites.
In a recent affidavit, an FDNY official said that, unlike hotels, apartments being illegally used for “transient occupancy” don’t offer visitors a “detailed fire-safety and evacuation plan.”
3 comments:
Alot of new apartments in Woodside/Elmhurst along Queens Boulevard are doing this --
it's happening in jamaica too.
before sandy hit,there was a lot of hostel airbnb shit going on in rockaway beach
Great - pay a fortune for a co-op AND get extensively vetted only to discover that your neighbors change every 3 days - ban AirBnB from NYC.
And start going after the illegal hotels all over Queens - these people rent a house and strangers arrive (always Asian) several night a week.
They should be paying taxes to NYC. AND being inspected!!!
Post a Comment