Housing, Tenant Advocates Launch Coalition To Fight New Airbnb Bill Threatening Tens-of-Thousands of NYC Homes

Intro 1107 would weaken enforcement of NYC's short-term rental law and legalize rentals in single-family neighborhoods, taking rental units off the market; Tenants Not Tourists coalition will urge Council to reject Intro 1107, stand with New Yorkers against Airbnb and real estate vultures trying to profit from NYC's scarce housing supply

NEW YORK, NY (12/08/2024) (readMedia)-- Tomorrow, housing advocates, tenant groups, labor, New York City residents and more will rally outside City Hall to launch "Tenants Not Tourists," a new coalition demanding NYC Council Members reject a bill from Airbnb and other private investors that would eliminate thousands of units of housing and weaken enforcement against illegal short-term rentals in city neighborhoods. Intro 1107, which was quietly introduced last month, would take tens of thousands of apartments off the rental market - driving rents up and deepening the city's worst housing crisis in decades.

In 2022, New York City lawmakers made history by adopting legislation to regulate the shady short-term rental market and enforce existing regulations around illegal short-term rentals that violate zoning or housing requirements. Since then, short-term rental listings have plummeted, and in the process made thousands of units of housing available for rent. Intro 1107 is backed by Airbnb, other short-term rental companies, and private equity firms looking to profit off of New York's scarce housing stock, potentially turning hundreds of thousands of homes into mini-hotels and our communities into transient tourist traps.

Now, coalition members are fighting back and urging the City Council to oppose the bill. Lawmakers must uphold their commitment to making housing more affordable for everyday New Yorkers - and reject bad-faith efforts to weaken our laws.

This event will be livestreamed.

WHEN: TOMORROW, Monday, December 9th at 11:00am

WHERE: City Hall Park, Manhattan, New York

WHO:

Tenants Not Tourist:

Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH)

Citizen Action of NY

Coalition Against Illegal Hotels

Community Service Society of New York (CSS)

Cooper Square Committee

Crown Heights Tenant Union

HOPE (Housing Organizers for People Empowerment)

Housing Conservation Coordinators

Inside Airbnb

Make the Road New York

MET Council on Housing

Mobilization for Justice, Inc.

National Organization for Women at Hunter College

Pratt Center for Community Development

Ridgewood Tenants Union

Tenants Not Tourists coalition

Tenants Political Action Committee

The Action Lab

The Legal Aid Society

VOCAL-NY

West Side Neighborhood Alliance

Supporters:

Hotel Trades Council

WHAT: Press conference with NYC housing advocates and residents to launch "Tenants Not Tourists," a new coalition fighting against bad-faith efforts by Airbnb and other real estate interests to weaken New York City's short-term rental regulations.