Assembly bill seeks to unmask AirBnB rentals

From the Real Deal

From The Real Deal:

What could go wrong when sharing your address with thousands of strangers over the internet? A new bill sponsored by State Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal would force Airbnb hosts to do just that.

Anyone who lists an apartment on the short-term rental site in New York would have to include the unit’s address, down to the apartment number. Rosenthal argued the bill would create “an open and honest system that prioritizes transparency and safety” and make it easier to unmask illegal listings.

A spokesperson for Airbnb said the bill will “put thousands of lives at risk.”

People who post illegal listings (such as renting out an entire unit for 30 days or less if the tenant or owner isn’t also present) could face fines ranging from $1,000 to $7,500, the New York Daily News reported.

Why Maspeth is getting a shelter, part 1

From the NY Post in 2014:

Mayor de Blasio has put the kibosh on a homeless shelter proposed for the Upper West Side, the man pushing the project claims.

Ron Edelstein, whose family owns the Imperial Court Hotel on West 79th Street, said a high-ranking city Department of Homeless Services official told him the mayor ordered the agency to reject his proposal to convert the 227-room building into apartments for 340 homeless people.

Anti-shelter pressure came from local elected officials, including Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal and Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, a former councilwoman.

Unfortunately, the people of Maspeth don't have this kind of representation, so they're going to get a shelter no matter how hard the local pols huff and puff in fake indignation for the cameras. Especially when the council member actually makes a deal to place a shelter.

Commercial targets AirBnB

From PIX11:

The battle against Airbnb continues. For years, housing organizations and local leaders coming together saying big profit companies are taking advantage of New York and allowing the big guys to profit while the little guys lose out. This time that message coming out through an ad that may seem a bit familiar.

A new campaign is out against Airbnb.

“We thought it was very iconic. I think once you are drawn in to the concept you see what airbnb is really about,” said James Freedland of ShareBetter Coalition, the organization behind the new commercial spot.

The group works with local politicians, community leaders and organizations and are telling people to not be duped by Airbnb’s latest friendly homesharing campaign.

Instead the organization says Airbnb is really all about profit for the rich, catering to large commercial real estate brokers. Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal said her office uncovered just that during a recent sting operation.

Big city landlords were seen in the Upper West Side and Midtown taking hundreds of units off the market, some even rent regulated ones and instead putting them out to the home-sharing site to earn lucrative fees.

Assemblywoman catches AirBnB'ers on hidden camera

From CBS 2:

Business is still booming for Airbnb in New York City, even though a report last year from the state attorney general found that most of the listings in New York City violate the law and take affordable housing off the market for New Yorkers.

As CBS2’s Sonia Rincon reported, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan, went undercover to see exactly how it’s happening.

Rosenthal used a hidden camera and got one leasing agent to admit he didn’t really live at an apartment and that it wasn’t really supposed to be rented short-term.

“If somebody asks you something, never mention in the building Airbnb,” he told her. ” … Because this is supposed to be residential.”

State law prohibits someone from renting out an apartment for less than 30 days unless that person is also staying in the unit.

But those aren’t the types of places Rosenthal found on Airbnb.

“Thousands of units that belong in the housing market to rent to New Yorkers are taken off the market and reserved for tourists,” Rosenthal said.

She says the apartments she saw had no evidence of anyone living there.

“So, in fact, they were hotel rooms,” Rosenthal said. “There were no clothes in the closet. There was no food in the kitchen.”