{"id":126226,"date":"2025-08-07T11:39:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/126226\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T11:39:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T11:39:11","slug":"tensions-flare-between-nyc-tenants-and-homeowners-over-short-term-rental-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/126226\/","title":{"rendered":"Tensions flare between NYC tenants and homeowners over short-term rental laws"},"content":{"rendered":"

After the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce released a poll claiming<\/a> a majority of New Yorkers support short-term rentals, a tenant advocacy coalition went toe-to-toe with homeowner groups as the fight over Airbnb laws intensified.<\/p>\n

The poll, reported exclusively by amNewYork on Tuesday, found that 78% of residents believe New York City\u2019s law banning short-term rentals, such as Airbnbs, should be revisited or are open to changing it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the \u201cTenants Not Tourists\u201d coalition, which opposes short-term rentals in favor of long-term tenants, said the poll was \u201cwildly inconsistent\u201d with previous findings and did not reflect New Yorkers\u2019 views. The coalition instead pointed to a June poll, which found<\/a> that 56% of New Yorkers opposed legislation that would loosen restrictions on short-term rentals.<\/p>\n

The two sides each referred to the other as an \u201castroturf\u201d campaign, meaning disingenuous organizations with shady funding, in statements to amNewYork.\n<\/p>\n

Since 2023, New York City\u2019s Local Law 18 has essentially banned<\/a> rentals shorter than 30 days unless the host is present in the same unit. Proponents said the restrictions were necessary to increase the rental housing stock amid a historically low vacancy rate, but opponents accused it\u00a0<\/p>\n

The battle reignited in November 2024, when Brooklyn Councilmember Farah Louis proposed Intro 1107, an Airbnb-backed bill that would loosen restrictions. The Tenants Not Tourists coalition formed<\/a> in response.<\/p>\n

Whitney Hu, director of civic engagement and research at Churches United for Fair Housing, a Tenants Not Tourists coalition member, said the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce\u2019s poll was a \u201csham\u201d and was \u201cfaking\u201d support.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reality is that Airbnb\u2019s bill would decimate our housing supply and drive rents to new record highs,\u201d Hu wrote in a statement. \u201cThat\u2019s why Mayoral candidates from Zohran Mamdani to Eric Adams have publicly opposed efforts to overturn our housing laws, and why the vast majority of elected officials are standing with New Yorkers against this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Tenants Not Tourists noted that the June poll was more transparent, which stated that it was funded by the Hotels and Gaming Trades Council, a labor union that has backed the coalition against Airbnb. The spokesperson said that transparency makes it more trustworthy.<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce release given to amNewYork also did not include demographic information nor explain the poll\u2019s methodology, which the coalition spokesperson said undermined the results.<\/p>\n

The coalition\u2019s response came as homeowner groups held a rally at Brooklyn Borough Hall against Local Law 18.\n<\/p>\n

Amy Werba, a homeowner from Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn who spoke at the rally, said the restrictions were hurting small owners amid the city\u2019s affordability crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cRenting my home has been a crucial source of income that has given me stability as a single mother and now semi-retired homeowner in Bed-Stuy,\u201d Werba said at the rally. \u201cI follow the rules, maintain a safe home, and use the extra funds to cover everyday essentials. But the current restrictions are punishing responsible hosts like me.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tenants Not Tourists spokesperson aimed to discredit the rally, saying its sponsors were \u201callied with Airbnb\u201d but did not disclose their financial relationship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the rally\u2019s prime sponsors, Homeowners for Financial Empowerment, is a lobbying group created by Airbnb, according to the company\u2019s own policy strategy director, Bloomberg reported<\/a> in January. Airbnb gave the group $450,000 in 2024, according to state data.<\/p>\n

Hu added that Airbnb has financially supported homeowner groups to target Local Law 18, demanding the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce reveal its funding sources for the poll.<\/p>\n

\u201cAcross the world, Airbnb and its allies are bankrolling dark money astroturf campaigns like this one to spread lies to advance their affordability-killing, anti-tenant agenda,\u201d Hu wrote. \u201cBut New Yorkers aren\u2019t falling for Airbnb\u2019s sham tactics, and no new \u2018poll\u2019 faking support for their dangerous legislation will change that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

While there is no evidence that Airbnb funded the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce\u2019s poll, the company\u2019s political action committee, Affordable New York, has spent nearly $3.7 million on 2025 campaigns attempting to gather support for Intro 1107, the bill that would loosen restrictions.<\/p>\n

Affordable New York spent $1.1 million total on seven of the bill\u2019s eight co-sponsors, according to city data.\n<\/p>\n

Randy Peers, president and CEO of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, did not respond to questions about the poll\u2019s funding sources, instead saying Tenants Not Tourists does not represent New York City.<\/p>\n

\u201cA simple Google search for Tenants Not Tourists clearly shows that it is a fake astroturf group that was created months ago with the sole purpose of pushing special interest-backed policies that make New York City more expensive for homeowners and tourists,\u201d Peers wrote to amNewYork. \u201cThe Brooklyn Chamber is proud to be part of a broad coalition of community groups, including real housing organizers, supporting everyday New Yorkers and making this city more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tenants Not Tourists spokesperson said the coalition is made up of \u201clongstanding defenders of working-class New Yorkers\u201d and accused the coalition\u2019s opponents of being Airbnb lobbying arms.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnlike their campaign, our Tenants Not Tourists coalition includes a long list of civil rights groups, community organizations and tenant associations that have long been involved in fights to protect and preserve housing,\u201d the spokesperson wrote to amNewYork.<\/p>\n

The short-term rental battle will likely be an ongoing part of the 2025 citywide elections. In June, Affordable New York spent nearly $450,000 opposing Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, who has expressed support for Local Law 18.<\/p>\n

\u201cNearly 14 percent of all rental units that could be taken from our housing stock and turned into Airbnbs,\u201d Mamdani said during a CBS interview<\/a> in March. \u201cWhat we need to do is create more housing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Eric Adams, who is running for reelection as an independent, has long been a champion<\/a> of Local Law 18. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, another independent candidate, also supported restrictions<\/a> on Airbnb as governor.<\/p>\n

Hu said Airbnb will not deter Tenants Not Tourists.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cOur coalition is committed to fighting against Airbnb\u2019s shady tactics, and we\u2019ll continue to expose their shameless attempts to profit off of our housing crisis,\u201d Hu wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce released a poll claiming a majority of New Yorkers support short-term rentals,…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":126227,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,4329,8167,77529,77530,51691,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-126226","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-real-estate","16":"tag-rent","17":"tag-rental-law","18":"tag-short-term-rental-laws","19":"tag-short-term-rentals","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114987294543273240","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126226\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}