Mayor Eric Adams’ administration came out swinging Thursday against Airbnb’s multi-million dollar effort to dilute the city’s strict short-term rental laws — warning it’ll lead to inflated rents and exacerbate the housing supply crisis.

A City Council committee heard testimony from the Mayor’s Office of Special Engagement, along with nearly 90 members of the public, over the package of bills, Intros 948-A and 1107-A.

The proposed laws would change restrictions on short-term rentals, allowing one and two-family homeowners to let out their units without being present for up to 30 days — which the OSE argued would threaten long-term leases.

“This bill allows for the potential loss of this entire group of homes to the short-term rental market, which would be devastating,” warned Christian Klossner, Executive Director of the OSE.

“While it may seem like an insignificant change, it is not.”

City council held a hearing Thursday for two bills that would expand Airbnb’s access to the Big Apple. REUTERS

Even Bronx Councilwoman Piernina Ana Sanchez, the committee chair, said she had “serious concerns” about the proposals, which sources said were pushed to a hearing by Speaker Adrienne Adams.

“I enter this hearing with serious concerns myself,” Sanchez, a Democrat repping the 14th District, said, noting that 28% of the city’s current housing stock falls under the bill’s purview. 

“Short-term rental policy is one of the most contentious issues before this body,” she said.

A slew of unions, including 32BJ SEIU and the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council, came out in droves to oppose the legislation.

But Council Members Mercedes Narcisse (Brooklyn-46th District), Kevin Riley (Bronx-12th District), and Farah Louis (Brooklyn-45th District), a bill sponsor, led the charge in support — arguing that current restrictions prevent homeowners from earning necessary extra cash. 

“We need to carve this little space for the people who need to breathe – what do I say to those folks,” said bill sponsor Mercedes Narcisse.   JUSTIN LANE/EPA-EFE / Shutterstock

“We need to carve this little space for the people who need to breathe – what do I say to those folks?” Narcisse argued. 

“There is no recipe for those people losing their home, they’re losing their homes over $5,000.” 

Over the past year, Airbnb has spent $10 million dollars funding a super PAC called “Affordable New York” to push the bills, that target Local Law 18, which the council passed in 2023 imposing strict regulations on home-sharing, serving a blow to the online rental company.

The PAC has spent over $2.5 million funding campaigns for pro-Airbnb New York politicos, including Narcisse, Riley and Louis, who all successfully ran for re-election this year in their respective districts. 

Airbnb argued the bill would not affect the city’s housing supply. Christopher Sadowski

“I thought it was interesting that the sponsors made it sound like it was all about homeowners, but they left out the fact that their campaigns were pretty much carried by the support they got from Airbnb,” Estaban Girón, political director for TenantsPAC, which opposes the legislation, told The Post after testifying at the hearing. 

Nathan Rotman, director of policy strategy for Airbnb, insisted intro 948 “would not affect the city’s housing supply.”

“Even with these updates, New York City would still have one of the strictest short-term rental laws in the world,” Rotman said.

“That’s why more than a dozen local housing groups and advocates agree it’s time to fix a law that has failed homeowners and restore New Yorkers’ ability to share extra space in their homes to help weather this once-in-a-generation affordability crisis.”

Council spokesperson Rendy Desamours didn’t say whether Adams, no relation to the mayor, supports the bills, but noted: “The overwhelming engagement at today’s hearing reflected the ongoing concerns about the impact of the bills on the City’s housing stock and the need to support financially struggling homeowners amidst a housing crisis.”