Anyone looking for a place to stay in New York City will be annoyed by a recent decision by the New York State Assembly, which effectively banned the sharing economy based service Airbnb from operating in the five boroughs. According to a spokesperson from Airbnb, unless an owner or renter were to remain present for the duration of the stay, the bill would make it illegal to advertise entire home rentals in class A multiple dwelling buildings.
“I’m elated,” said the bill’s chief sponsor, Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan), according to the New York Post. “You should know who your neighbor is and what happens when people rent out their apartments on Airbnb is you get strangers. Every night there could be different person sleeping in the next apartment and it shatters that sense of community in the building. It also can be dangerous.”
So what happened? The state legislature in Albany passed a bill on Friday that will impose big fines on anyone that advertises an apartment rental lasting less than 30 days. The fines start at $1,000 but ramp up to $7,500 by the third infraction.
“It’s disappointing — but not surprising — to see politicians in Albany cut a last-minute deal with the hotel industry that will put 30,000 New Yorkers at greater risk of bankruptcy, eviction or foreclosure,” said Airbnb Head of New York Public Policy Josh Meltzer in a statement to iDigitalTimes. “Let’s be clear: this is a bad proposal that will make it harder for thousands of New Yorkers to pay the bills. Dozens of governments around the world have demonstrated that there is a sensible way to regulate home sharing and we hope New York will follow their lead and protect the middle class.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo hasn’t signed the bill into law yet, but all reports seem to indicate the ink of his signature will be drying on the bill’s page soon enough.
Editor's Note: The headline of this article has been updated to reflect that advertising, not rentals, could be prohibited under the proposed legislation.
