ICYMI: Crain's Editorial Urges NYC Council Members To Reject Airbnb-Backed Intros 948 and 1107

NEW YORK, NY (11/21/2025) (readMedia)-- Today, Crain's New York Business published an editorial urging the New York City Council to reject Intro 948-A and Intro 1107-A, two Airbnb-backed bills that would undermine housing regulations and roll back regulations on short-term rentals. The editorial highlights how Airbnb's bills would weaken the city's housing laws, fuel speculation and undermine the progress this Council has made to ease New York's affordability crisis.

Read the full editorial here.

The Crain's editorial states that both Intro 948 and Intro 1107 would exacerbate New York's housing and affordability issues, writing, "Supporters say the goal is to help homeowners manage high housing costs - a real concern in a high-interest-rate environment. But helping homeowners should not mean enabling the speculative behavior that worsens affordability for everyone else."

The editorial acknowledges concerns from homeowners who support Airbnb's proposed measures, but continues that both measures would make things worse: "The City Council bills now under consideration - 948-A and 1107-A - are not the answer. Rather than offering a calibrated fix, they risk reopening the door to the very abuses Local Law 18 was designed to close."

The editorial urges Council Members to consider well-reasoned, data-driven policies instead of rushing these poorly written bills, concluding, "New York cannot afford to undermine its housing supply or revive the abuses that once defined its short-term rental market. The council should slow down, reconsider and craft a smarter, more precise solution." Read the full editorial here.

Background

The editorial follows the Council's Housing Committee hearing on Thursday, where more than 600 advocates rallied against Airbnb's eleventh hour attempt to roll back our housing laws and hundreds of New Yorkers delivered testimony to the Council opposing the bills.

During the hearing, New Yorkers overwhelmingly testified against Airbnb's dangerous bills, including Mayor Adams' administration, unions, the Fire Department of New York, clergy members, state lawmakers, and dozens of the most reputable housing and tenants advocates throughout New York City. Attorney General Letitia James, NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, Comptroller Brad Lander and Comptroller-elect Mark Levine also expressed opposition to Airbnb's measures.

Since the implementation of Local Law 18, Airbnb has unsuccessfully spent millions to fund pro-Airbnb candidates and push legislation that would roll back regulations on short-term rentals and undermine tenant protections. After failing to pass Intro 1107, they are now pivoting to an even more extreme version of the anti-tenant, anti-housing bill the Council already rejected. Airbnb's new bill, Intro 948-A, includes everything in the old bill and goes even further by removing the host requirement for Airbnbs and changing the definition of a family under the city's housing code.