Airbnbyebye

 

 CBS New York

Starting Tuesday, enforcement of a new law in New York City is expected to cause a big drop in the number of Airbnb rentals.

One expert says it could mean as much as 70% of listings will disappear.

If you search for an Airbnb in the city for next week and most of the results are apartments in New Jersey or boutique hotel stays.

Missing are short term stays, like a bedroom CBS New York saw in Bedford-Stuyvesant, or another one in Sunset Park. That's because starting Tuesday the city will enforce a law that prohibits Airbnb hosts from renting for stays of less than 30 days. (Wasn't that the rule in the first place?)

The only way it's allowed is if the host registers with New York City and they have to be present in the home for the duration of the stay.

Alex Thompson said he applied and hasn't heard back.

"Mine was application number like 9500 or something and they have approved like a few hundred at this point," Thompson said. "In the meantime, we're kind of in limbo."

Travel news site Skift said as of Monday, the city only looked at 25% of applications.

"Airbnb is going to lose about 70% of New York City's listings," Skift founding editor Dennis Schaal said.

He said it'll be bad for tourism, adding families will have to rent multiple hotel rooms for the holidays, instead of an Airbnb for a fraction of the price.

For those that decide to stay with a host, Schaal said, "How many times have you wanted to go, ya know, sit on the couch with your host and watch Netflix instead of enjoying some privacy in an affordable place?"

The goal of the legislation was for the city to crack down on illegal hotels and bad actors who deplete the city's housing stock. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said he's urging the city to target them, instead of New Yorkers operating in good faith to try to make ends meet.

Sunset Park resident Gia Sharp co-founded a coalition of one- and two-family homeowners called RHOAR -- Restore Homeowner Autonomy and Rights. She said she needs her space intermittently for family, so she can't rent long term. Nut no one has booked it for the minimum 30 days required by law, either.

"As much as we can saving our money because we rely on short-term rental to help pay our mortgage and our expenses, so it's pretty scary," Sharp said.

Another homeowner, a retired city worker in her 70s, said by phone she'll keep renting and risk getting the $5,000 fine.

"If I decide I want to have people stay for four, five, six days, I don't see what I'm doing wrong. I pay property tax," she said.

Longtime Bed-Stuy resident Wayne Slater said he hopes regulation will make the neighborhood less transient.

"When I came here people bought these houses so they can raise a family and through this we became community," Slater said. "They have agencies that are purchasing the houses and then flipping them."

Airbnb told CBS New York, in part, "It has long been our goal to work with New York City to create sensible home-sharing regulations for our host community. ... The city is sending a clear message to millions of potential visitors who will now have fewer accommodation options when they visit New York City: You are not welcome."

 

CBS catches up with illegal airbnbs in houses at Arvene on the Sea

 CBS New York

 A controversy over property rentals is heating up in a beachfront community in The Rockaways.

Some homeowners are being accused of taking advantage of a city program to cash in on a major tax break, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported Wednesday.

It's prime waterfront property: several homeowner communities made up of around 1,500 homes known as "Arverne by the Sea" in the Rockaway peninsula were built in the early 2000s as part of an urban renewal project.

The city designated it an "urban development action area project," which means homeowners would get a huge break on their taxes.

"We were also first-time homebuyers, so that was helpful," homeowner Adam Linet said. "Our tax rates are probably around 25 percent of what they would normally be."

It was a great deal, which is why the Department of Housing Preservation and Development required every homeowner make it their primary residence.

"One of the same zip codes that has among the deepest pockets of poverty in the entire city of New York. So, this was a real opportunity for folks who had been stuck in generational poverty," Assemblyman Khaleel Anderson said.

In February, a Department of Investigation report uncovered at least 15 homeowners violating the primary residence requirement, receiving in total more than $1 million in tax exemptions. Seventy properties had tax bills mailed outside of the development and one couple even turned its home into a fully licensed bed and breakfast.

Three months after the findings, Inn Your Element is available on reservation web sites. CBS2 also found on Airbnb entire homes available for $350 a night, another for $288, so residents believe there are many more homeowners violating the policy.

"I don't feel safe when so many people are coming in and out of a house," one woman said. "There are addresses that have been turned into three rental units rather than two."

"We have trash issues. We have quality-of-life issues with noise complaints," Linet added.

Finance records show one man who is a real estate investor according to LinkedIn owns at least three properties and also has an address at a luxury high-rise rental building in Manhattan.

Emails and calls to him and other alleged absentee homeowners were not returned.

CBS New York also caught up with yours truly who did a story and synopsis about this continuing scandal on Impunity City back in March. Looks like Mayor Adams and his HPD Dept are not going to do anything about this. Bunch of lily-livered scalliwags.

Airbnbullets

 

Queens Chronicle

Shots were fired at a group of teenagers’ car as they rode along 38th Avenue and 209th Street in Bayside early last Saturday morning, the New York Police Department reported. One passenger, 19, suffered a gunshot wound to the right side of his back. He was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens and as of Monday was in stable condition.

According to Capt. John Portalatin, commanding officer of the 111th Precinct, the group of teens, at least one of whom is from Nassau County, were looking for parking near an AirBnB party at approximately 2:50 a.m. when a group of four to six individuals began firing rounds at their car.

An arrest has not been made in the incident, nor is the shooters’ motive known; the investigation is ongoing. Portalatin added that the NYPD is still looking for video footage of the shooters fleeing the scene.

The NYPD’s 111th Precinct, which includes Bayside, has long been considered one of the safest — if not the safest, alongside the 112th — precincts in Queens or even the city. Saturday morning’s occurrence is the 111th’s first shooting incident this year; the injured passenger is its first shooting victim.

“The police are on top of it, we’re taking it very seriously, and we’re doing everything we can to avoid these incidents in the future,” Portalatin said.

According to the office of Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside), the house where the party in question was held, located at 208-16 38 Ave., has been occupied by squatters for roughly two years, and that they are renting it out on AirBnB. His office told the Chronicle that it has been working to get in contact with the bank that owns the house, which is in foreclosure.

Stephen Markowski lives across the street from that house, and heard the shots fired on Saturday morning — in fact, he initially thought it was fireworks before a neighbor corrected him. He has been monitoring the squatting situation since its beginning.

“Not only don’t they own it, but they’re making money off of it,” he said.

 

 Queens Chronicle

A rally was held in Bayside on Friday to address a recent shooting that took place in front of a foreclosed home that was being used as an Airbnb rental by squatters, according to the community.

 “This has been going on for two years,” said Stephen Markowski, who lives across the street from the house located at 208-16 38 Ave. “They tried to keep a low profile, but we were joking one day that they are probably renting it out on Airbnb. Sure enough there was the house listed on the website, not once, but twice.”

The rental of the home by squatters has been a cause of public safety concern for the surrounding homeowners who live within the 111th Precinct, which has been considered one of the safest if not the safest precinct in Queens, according to the NYPD. Saturday morning’s shooting was the first shooting of the year within the precinct. 

Nearly 20 shots were fired at a car the victim, 19, along with a group of other teenagers rode along 38th Avenue and 209th Street in Bayside as they were going to the Airbnb for a party, according to officials. The victim was later sent to NewYork-Presbyterian on Monday and was in stable condition. 

“Twenty shots,” said Markowski. “What is it going to take for a public official to act on it?”

Robbie Schecter, 74, was out of town during the shooting, but lives around the corner from the foreclosed home. 

“We’ve been here for 43 years,” said Schecter. “We’ve never seen anything like this happen before. It’s an incredibly peaceful place. We take walks around here to go to Bell Boulevard to go to the restaurants. Our kids love to come here to visit us from Long Island because there it’s just a bunch of strip malls. This is a neighborhood.”

Schecter’s neighbor Donald Chen, 73, agreed. 

“I’ve lived here since 1983,” said Chen. “The worse thing that happens sometimes was a set of robberies. We are very close to Clearview Expressway, so it’s easy to get away, but something like this? No.”

The squatting has become a scourge, according to state Sen. John Liu (D-Bayside).

“The transient occupants have held late night parties and threatened the neighbors here,” said Liu. “We’ve seen just last week shootings on this block — could you imagine 19 shots being fired on this block — one shot landing in someone’s stomach. Another landed in a car seat. Thankfully there was no baby in that car seat.”

Liu and Assemblyman Ed Braunstein (D-Bayside) said they have called upon the city, specifically the Department of Buildings to take a look at what is happening at the house and to issue a vacate order. 

The DOB sent inspectors to the home ahead of the press conference, according Liu. He said he is giving them to time to make a determination on a vacate order. 

“We are exploring every option to get these people out of this neighborhood,” said Braunstein. 

Liu said he was demanding that Airbnb stop listing the property. 

Markowski said that the squatters use different names for every time they list the house. 

“Every time we get Airbnb to take down a listing they put one back up,” said Braunstein. “We have also been in contact with the bank to expedite eviction proceedings and foreclosure proceedings. This has been going on for two years now and this past weekend this issue has reached a new level of urgency.”

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), who lives a few blocks from where the shooting took place, called into the meeting from Washington, DC. 

“I received calls from some of my neighbors about the horror that happened,” said Meng. “This has been a nightmare for our community. Bullets were literally flying around in the middle of the night. It could have hit any of our family members, friends or neighbors. Airbnb needs to take this problem more seriously, otherwise they have blood on their hands.”

Hours after the rally, Airbnb said that it has cancelled all bookings for that house and will continue to do so in the future, according to the congresswoman via Twitter. She further iterated that Liu and Braunstein will be watching closely to make sure the company keeps its word.

As the rally concluded, former homeowner Joe Carrollo spoke to residents, police and elected officials to clarify that he cannot evict the homeowners himself because the house has been the property of Citi Bank and Bank of America since 2018. He personally handed over documents to the 111th Precinct to prove that he is no longer responsible for the property and said he was equally upset about what has happened to his former home of 15 years. 

He later noted that one of the banks has plans to auction the house on June 16 and who ever takes over the property will become the person who has to evict the squatters unless Citi or Bank of America steps in to evict.

Stephen Markowski lives across the street from that house, and heard the shots fired on Saturday morning — in fact, he initially thought it was fireworks before a neighbor corrected him. He has been monitoring the squatting situation since its beginning.

“Not only don’t they own it, but they’re making money off of it,” he said.

It's a lot harder to get and start an airbnb in this city

 

Brick Underground 

 Renting out your New York City apartment to visitors via short-term rental sites like Airbnb has become more difficult in the last year. Not only did the pandemic end the city’s steady stream of visitors but a court ruling means owners of one- or two-family houses are restricted from doing short-term rentals if they are not in the building at the same time.

This may sound similar to previous restrictions, but until recently there was ambiguity about whether the rules applied to New Yorkers who live in or own smaller buildings. Prior to the ruling, it was understood it was illegal for anyone in a building with more than three units to rent out their place for less than 30 days, unless the owner or leaseholder was present during the stay.  

Fines for violating these rules can be massive and now the rule extends to owners of one- and two-family homes. 

Responding to a question on the Brick Underground podcast about whether the owner of a single-family home in Queens might be able to start using the property for Airbnb rentals without living in the property, Steven Kirkpatrick, a real estate attorney with Romer Debbas, says the simple answer is no. 

“Recently there was an ambiguity regarding whether owners of one- or two-family houses could do short-term rentals while not residing in the apartment or house being rented. That ambiguity has now been resolved by an appellate court in New York and the appellate court held that the rules are applicable to one- and two-family houses,” he says. 

A short-term rental is defined as under 30 days. So if you're renting for 30 days or more, then you are within the law and would be able to rent out the place while not being present. “If you're renting for 29 days or less, and the owner is not present, then it's against the law,” Kirkpatrick says. 

He points out the penalties for breaking the law are are "brutal." Fines, even for a first time violation, can be anywhere from $10,000 up to potentially $100,000, he says.

A landlord and his relatives and friends ran illegal Airbnbs in apartment buildings in Astoria

Gothamist


A ring of illegal hoteliers is facing a lawsuit from the city for allegedly using Airbnb and other "home sharing" websites to turn dozens of NYC apartments into short term rentals for tourists.

On Wednesday, the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement [OSE] filed a lawsuit against 13 people and entities for allegedly participating in a housing scheme that converted 36 buildings into illicit hotels using Airbnb, Booking.com, and Homeaway.com. The complaint named Elvis Tominovic (a licensed realtor with Progressive Realty Group), his father Franko Tominovic, and his mother Loreta Tominovic, of Astoria, Queens, as defendants in the case. Other members of their family and friends, including Susana and Sanya Colic, Dragan Mavra, Neo Panayiotou, and Elvis's sister, Romina, were also allegedly involved in the plot, according to the complaint.

Since at least 2015, the defendants in question "collaborated and conspired with each other, as well as with other unnamed defendants, in a wide-ranging operation to profit from illegal short-term rentals that have converted dozens of permanent residential dwelling units into de facto hotels, and misled thousands of transient guests into booking such unlawful and unsafe accommodations" while netting over $5 million in profits, according to the complaint submitted to the Queens County Supreme Court.

The investigation, which was initiated following a tip from a concerned neighbor, found that the defendants allegedly advertised units in Manhattan, Queens, and the Bronx, renting out rooms in dozens of buildings, some of them rent-stabilized, to almost 60,000 guests over five years—while not alerting them that where they were staying was both illegal and unsafe.

Investigators believe the defendants used several shared bank accounts to collect travelers' money, as well as shared phone numbers and IP addresses, to create host accounts on multiple websites. All told, the ring allegedly rented units to almost 60,000 guests over five years.

A three-story building located at 25-58 48th Street, for instance, was advertised as “Big Wonderful NYC Apt in Astoria” for $130 a night. And another, going for $90 a night, boasted: “Big Gorgeous Room for Rent with 2 Closets Astoria," the complaint details. The Queens neighborhood has become a particular epicenter of illegal renting schemes, and, as a 2018 report from the Comptroller's Office posited, home sharing websites have contributed to rising rents in NYC, by taking potential residential apartments out of the rental market. Earlier this year the OSE determined that roughly 

450 permanent housing units in Astoria are turned into short-term Airbnb rentals ever year. In turn, that's exacerbated the neighborhood's rent increases (median rents rose 30% from $1,700 a month in 2010 to $2,200 in 2018, according to the OSE complaint).

In reviews, guests shared much different experiences than the ones they'd been promised at said apartments. They wrote that their units were cramped, had no hot water and heat, and lacked windows. The investigation found that the defendants failed to install the likes of fire alarms and automatic sprinklers when they turned the units into short-term rentals, and purposefully overcrowded spaces: At the likes of 12-10 31st Drive, for instance, a three-family dwelling was turned into 12 different hotel rooms. The New York City Department of Buildings has since issued three partial vacate orders stemming from the overcrowding and fire safety concerns that pose “imminent danger to life or public safety."

Furthermore, the complaint also notes that defendants convinced travelers to lie about their stays, and "misleadingly instructed transient guests to deny access for inspections and to refuse answering the inspectors’ questions, with the goal of: 'Let’s keep Airbnb alive!'"

More rules for AirBnB

From Crains:

The mayor's office on Monday unveiled a set of proposed rules that will force short-term rental sites such as Airbnb to disclose the identities of hosts and the types of listings they are offering. The new statues are the result of a law enacted earlier this year that's designed to aid city inspectors in cracking down on illegal home sharing—which they have done in grand fashion lately.

Absent certain exceptions, the new rules propose that booking services submit monthly reports to the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement through a yet-to-be-create web portal or face fines up to the larger of $1,500 or the annual income from the listing. The reports are to include a host's personal information, how much money changed hands, where to find advertising materials for listings and, most crucially, whether an entire apartment was being rented out and for how long.

Renting an empty unit for fewer than 30 days in larger buildings is considered a violation of the state's multiple dwelling law, and the mayor's office has invoked that statute to ding homeowners or building owners and then hit them with additional violations for not having exit signs, sprinklers and other safety measures required in hotels.

"This law provides the city with the critical information it needs to preserve our housing stock, keep visitors safe, and ensure residents feel secure in their homes and neighborhoods," Christian Klossner, executive director of the Office of Special Enforcement, said in a statement.

The administration is hosting a public hearing on the proposed rules Dec. 18, after which the mayor's office is likely to adopt them in some form. The effort is part of the city's opposition to illegal home sharing, a thorny issue involving a nebulous mix of housing economics, politics and pricey public relations campaigns.

Condos raided over AirBnB rentals

From the Wall Street Journal:

A team of New York City law-enforcement officers swarmed a Manhattan condominium last month, issuing 27 notices of violations for illegal hotel use in one of the largest crackdowns on short-term rentals such as those listed on Airbnb.

The raid at the Atelier, a 46-story Midtown luxury tower, may be a sign of what’s to come. New York and other cities are seeking to limit short-term rentals that can run afoul of local laws designed to limit hotel-style stays in residential buildings.

The violations went to 20 different apartment owners who allegedly rented to guests from at least 15 countries including Argentina and Spain. Some guests paid $400 a night, and one group of six from Switzerland paid a total bill of $3,823 for a short-term stay, according to city records.

Two members of the Atelier condo board were among those cited for making illegal short-term rentals. They also were accused of putting up illegal partitions in their units to create extra rooms.

Heavy fines levied against illegal hotels

From Commercial Observer:

City Hall has continued its crusade against illegal short-term rentals by slapping landlords who illegally convert residential buildings and rent them out on a nightly basis with nearly $300,000 in penalties during the month of July alone.

The New York City Department of Buildings issued 43 violations and $285,375 in penalties against landlords for illegal transient use of 11 different buildings, the agency announced last week. The biggest offender was Hank Freid‘s Branic International Realty Co., which racked up $55,000 in violations for illegally converting a residential building at 2690 Broadway on the Upper West Side into the Marrakech Hotel. The city is already suing Freid, the owner of the Marrakech and two other walkups in the neighborhood, for illegally operating his single-room-occupancy buildings as hotels, as Commercial Observer previously reported. Freid’s lawyer didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although the city has long prohibited renting out apartments and homes as hotels, the rise of vacation rental sites like Airbnb and Homeaway.com have driven a corresponding increase in enforcement against illegal short-term sublets from city agencies.

Posting a property on AirBnB will have consequences

From Crains:

Airbnb seemed to be sucking wind after its political foes delivered it a gut punch Wednesday.

The City Council voted 45-0 in favor of a bill backed by the hotel industry and its union allies, a measure that will require the company to disclose to law enforcement the names and addresses attached to every one of its listings in the five boroughs. The legislation, expected to by signed by Mayor Bill de Blasio, will help the city to crack down on anyone violating state law by using the site to rent an apartment for fewer than 30 days.

The sole consolation for Airbnb was that the final draft of the bill lowered the fines the city can levy against the firm for every case of noncompliance to just $1,500, down from the original bill's range of $5,000 to $25,000.

The vote followed months of bitter public recriminations between the tech giant on one side and the city's traditional lodging interests and Hotel Trades Council on the other. On the morning of the vote, Airbnb labeled its loss "bellhop politics," and announced it would fund a lawsuit against the city brought by a host who claimed authorities targeted him after he testified at a council hearing.

Landlord sued over illegal converting apartments into AirBnB rentals

From AMNY:

An “unscrupulous” Airbnb host is being sued by the city after he allegedly converted four apartments into illegal hotel listings that misled renters, placing them in hazardous living conditions, according to the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE).

The lawsuit was brought against David Schuchter De Oliveira by OSE on behalf of 10 unnamed plaintiffs who detailed horror stories of being duped into staying in illegally converted apartments in Manhattan, sometimes with dozens of other guests at the same time. Schuchter De Oliveira rents, but does not own the apartments, three of which are located in rent-stabilized buildings, per a city spokeswoman.

One plaintiff, David, said he was led to believe he was renting a room in a young couple’s guest bedroom with quality amenities and access to a shared living space, bathroom and kitchen.

“I first sensed something dubious about the host/listing when the key pick-up instructions sent me on a clandestine mission, several blocks from the apartment, to pick up keys from inside a small lockbox attached to a public telephone booth,” he said, adding that he realized it was an illegal Airbnb as soon as he walked into the apartment.

David said the two-bedroom unit had been converted into a hostel-like hotel with five bedrooms, each with their own lock, one bathroom and no common areas.

“Each bedroom was furnished to sleep up to six people, except for the kitchen which had been converted into a bedroom with a single bed,” he added.

City files lawsuit against AirBnB landlord

From AMNY:

One of the city’s “worst landlords” is accused of turning rent-stabilized apartments in Hell’s Kitchen into illegal hotel rooms and listing them on websites like Airbnb.

The Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (MOSE) announced a lawsuit Wednesday against Big Apple Management LLC for allegedly converting seven buildings on 47th Street, between Eighth and Ninth avenues, into illegal hotels despite years of complaints, violations and fines.

Based on the city’s inspections, at least seven of the unlawful hotel rooms had been rent-stabilized units before 2009.

City Council planning major crackdown on AirBnB

From The Real Deal:

The City Council is slated to consider a controversial bill seeking to fine Airbnb up to $25,000 for every listing it fails to disclose to the city.

The legislation, which will be introduced in the City Council on Thursday, requires online home-sharing companies to submit data on individual listings — including the host’s name, home address and phone number — to the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, which goes after illegal hotel operators, Politico reported. Under the bill, Airbnb and similar companies can be fined between $5,000 and $25,000 for each listing that isn’t shared with the city.

City Council about to lower the boom on AirBnB

From The Real Deal:

The New York City Council is at work on a new bill that would be the biggest crackdown yet on Airbnb.

Councilmembers are writing a bill that would require Airbnb to provide addresses of their listings to the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, according to Politico. The push comes amid a strong anti-Airbnb lobbying campaign from New York’s hotel industry accusing the company of lowering the stock of affordable housing in New York.

The bill would also require hosts to give their full names and addresses to the mayor’s office, report whether the home is their primary residence and say whether they are just renting a room or their entire home. Penalties would be applied to listings that do not comply with the reporting requirements, although lawyers for the City Council are still figuring out what these would be.

The City Council and Airbnb did not have statistics for how many rent-regulated apartments make up Airbnb listings, but politicians believe it takes low- and moderate-income housing off of the rental market based on anecdotal accounts.

AirBnB has caused rental prices to skyrocket

From Bloomberg:

The cost of Airbnb to New York renters: $616 million.

That’s the conclusion of a new report by city Comptroller Scott Stringer that details the home-sharing website’s impact on housing affordability from 2009 to 2016. It’s no secret to New Yorkers that leasing costs skyrocketed during the time. But to isolate the Airbnb effect, Stringer’s office compared the growth in what rents would have been without listings on the site to what they actually were. Airbnb Inc. disputed the study’s findings, calling them “wrong on the facts” and containing “substantive issues with the methodology.”

Owners who list their apartments for short-term stays essentially are removing those units from the rental market, reducing the supply of housing and pushing up the cost of what remains, according to the report. For each 1 percent of all residential units in a neighborhood listed on Airbnb, rents in that neighborhood went up 1.58 percent, Stringer said. The estimated $616 million impact is for 2016 alone.

Groups crawl out of the woodwork to support AirBnB

From the Daily News:

Business groups and faith leaders oppose an Assembly bill to require Airbnb operators to give city enforcement agencies details about the units they rent.

The bill represents "an incomplete, piecemeal approach to the regulation of homesharing" that would "impede the growth of the sharing economy in New York," says the state Business Council, which represents 2,400 businesses.

A prominent religious group also opposes the plan, which is being pushed by Airbnb critics.

"We strongly support a robust and affordable housing market — it's essential to ensuring many New Yorkers can afford to stay in the city they love," Mobilizing Preachers & Communities wrote in a memo opposing the bill.

"But this bill will have the opposite effect, cutting off the very means by which many have been able to keep their homes," the group said.

The anti-Airbnb bill would send "a signal that New York is hostile toward business, and specifically the tech sector," said Tech:NYC, a group of technology companies.

The bill would require anyone advertising apartments on home-sharing sites to disclose to city agencies detailed address information like street name and number, apartment number, borough, town and county of the unit being offered.

Okay, so if the only way you can pay your mortgage is to rent it out to strangers, you probably should sell it and just rent. You're putting apartments that could be used by working people who live in NYC on AirBnB to rent out to tourists to make more money. Price your apartment to cover your costs and you won't need to run an illegal hotel.

Council wants to go after AirBnB

From Crain's:

The City Council hopes to pump up a task force targeting illegal home rentals—a move that could deflate Airbnb.

Speaker Corey Johnson's response to Mayor Bill de Blasio's budget proposal calls for injecting an additional $2 million into the Office of Special Enforcement, an investigations unit that conjoins half a dozen city agencies and often enforces state statutes barring transient occupancy. Johnson's request would bring the team's budget to $6.8 million and could enlarge its staff to 47 employees from 27.

"The increase could add approximately 20 new staff and allow OSE to take a more proactive approach to enforcement," the document, released last week, states.

In most cases, state law requires that a permanent occupant remain on-site whenever paying guests stay in an apartment or house for fewer than 30 days. The state also passed a law in 2016 outlawing the advertising of arrangements that would violate this rule. Both have dug into the business of booking site Airbnb, though the San Francisco–based tech giant has said it works hard to keep its listings and rentals in compliance.

The council's redoubled effort against scofflaw rentals comes in the wake of a hotel industry–funded mail and TV advertising offensive slamming Airbnb for allegedly putting upward pressure on rents. It also follows a zealous campaign by the Hotel Trades Council—the union representing traditional hospitality workers—to elect council members supportive of Johnson's speaker candidacy and to lobby the Bronx and Queens Democratic machines on his behalf.

AirBnB couple on the hook for big fine

From The Real Deal:

A pair of illegal hotel operators need to pay the city $1 million as part of its crackdown on converting housing units into hotels.

The Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement received the $1 million judgment against Mina Guirguis and Szilvia Patkos, who used services like Airbnb to market at least seven units in 5 West 31st Street and 59 Fifth Avenue, according to Politico. They operated as City Oases LLC and marketed the units as “Urban Oasis” and “the Contempo Design Suites.”

The city sued them in 2014 and previously received a $1 million settlement in November with property owners Majid and Hamid Kermanshah. However, the Kermanshah’s ultimately will only need to pay the city $201,500.

Corona AirBnB flophouse shut down

From the Daily News:

The city has shuttered a Queens flophouse that operated as an illegal hotel listed on the Airbnb site — even offering travelers a $21-per-night stay in backyard tents.

The Corona home at 98-13 Northern Blvd. was one of two hit with a partial vacate order last month after officials deemed them “imminently perilous to life (and) public safety.”

“There is about 40 people on the two floors,” a caller reported to the city last October.

“The backyard has air beds under tents, also.”

When investigators from the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement showed up on Feb. 21, they found 27 mattresses crammed into two floors, four guests and one permanent resident.

The two-family property was illegally converted to seven furnished bedrooms where transient guests lived alongside one permanent resident, officials said.

Corey is not an AirBnB fan

From the Daily News:

Council Speaker Corey Johnson is vowing to crack down on home-sharing site Airbnb — a favorite foe of the hotels union that helped boost him in the speaker’s race.

“The Council is going to continue to lead on cracking down on illegal hotels and illegal Airbnb warehousing of apartments,” Johnson told the Daily News in an interview, promising to beef up budgets for enforcing existing laws, hold oversight hearings and draft new legislation.

Johnson said the proliferation of illegal listings — it’s against the law in New York to rent an entire apartment out for fewer than 30 days, or even to just advertise it for rent — is one of the biggest complaints his constituents have.

But making an anti-Airbnb push one of his earliest policy proposals is sure to raise some eyebrows from those who might see it as a reward to the Hotel and Motel Trades Council — whose politically influential union is rabidly anti-Airbnb and which helped Johnson become speaker.

AirBnB fine payment is lacking

From Crains:

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill late last year to stop Airbnb hosts from turning their apartments into de facto hotels, bigger fines were supposed to deter a practice elected officials argued took much-needed apartments off the rental market.

But more than six months after city inspectors’ first round of enforcement, the de Blasio administration has collected only a fraction of the issued fines, which added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to a Crain’s analysis. In large part, the trouble is rooted in the city’s long-flawed collection system—where cases and appeals can take months to process and landlords have little reason to pay up—which could ultimately defang efforts to curb illegal home sharing.

Between November and May, the mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement targeted 16 properties in its first wave of inspections, issuing violations for operating an apartment as a hotel room. Inspectors also fined owners for building-code violations, like missing sprinklers and improper egress routes, and—beginning in February when the new law went into effect—for advertising units online. Few owners have paid up.