The fight over the future of Airbnb and other short-term rentals in New York City is turning ugly, with proponents and opponents of expanding the temporary housing market lobbing accusations of racism at each other.
The battle centers on a law, adopted by the City Council with support from Mayor Adams, that imposed a restriction aimed at ensuring the city’s housing stock is mainly reserved for long-term residents rather than tourists. The law only allows short-term rentals on properties where the owners also reside and are present.
Airbnb, the $77 billion company that dominates the country’s short-term rentals market, has launched an aggressive lobbying campaign to get the Council to pass a bill that would modify the law so certain owners of one- and two-family properties could open up their homes for temporary guests again without having to be there.
