Tenants Not Tourists Coalition Expand Campaign To Fight Airbnb Bill Threatening Tens-of-Thousands of NYC Homes

NEW YORK, NY (01/07/2025) (readMedia)-- Housing and tenant advocates are stepping up efforts to fight against Intro 1107, a new bill backed by Airbnb that would eliminate thousands of units of housing and weaken enforcement against illegal short-term rentals. This week, the Tenants Not Tourists coalition is launching a new television ad urging city council members to reject the bill and deploying hundreds of canvassers across the city to educate New Yorkers about Airbnb's plan. The bill, which was quietly introduced in November, would take tens of thousands of apartments off the rental market - driving rents up and deepening the city's worst housing crisis in decades.

500,000 New Yorkers pay at least half of their income on rent, with over 80% of them being Black, Hispanic, and Asian. New York needs hundreds of thousands of units in order to address the housing crisis, and Airbnb is looking to take advantage and turn thousands of homes into tourist rentals.

View the new television spot here.

"New Yorkers are already struggling to find affordable housing amid the worst shortage in decades - and now Airbnb is trying to quietly make it even harder," said Whitney Hu, Director of Civic Engagement and Research for Churches United for Fair Housing, a member of the Tenants Not Tourists coalition. "Intro 1107 would take tens-of-thousands of homes away from renters and roll back protections that stop private equity companies from buying up the rest. But we're not going to let them pull the rug out from under us without a fight, which is why we're warning New Yorkers about what's at stake and urging the Council to stand up to greedy companies trying to get rich off our homes."

The six-figure television ad buy will air with heavy frequency on political news and entertainment networks across the five boroughs. The coalition has been running ads on social media and online news outlets since December.

The ads are part of an ongoing effort by housing and tenant activists to raise awareness about Airbnb's bill and urge Councilmembers to reject the company's scheme to deregulate NYC's housing market. Advocates convened by the Tenants Not Tourists coalition have canvassed since mid-December throughout Brooklyn and Queens to educate New Yorkers and help them contact Councilmembers about the bill. This week's on-the-ground canvassing will continue in Flatbush and Southeast Queens.

Background

Intro 1107 would effectively deregulate the entire short-term rental industry by rolling back existing housing regulations and weakening any enforcement against illegal short-term rentals. Intro 1107 threatens to jeopardize housing stability and open the door for private equity firms to flood the market, driving up costs and making future homeownership even harder for working families.

Last month, hundreds of housing advocates and New York City tenants launched "Tenants Not Tourists," a new coalition demanding NYC Council Members reject Intro 1107 and reject efforts from Airbnb and other private investors to eliminate thousands of units of housing and deregulate the entire housing industry.

Members of the Tenants Not Tourists coalition include Astoria Tenants Union, Carroll Gardens Association, Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH), Citizen Action of NY, Coalition Against Illegal Hotels, Communities Resist, Community Service Society, Crown Heights Tenant Union, El Puente, Housing Conservation Coordinators, Housing Justice for All, Housing Organizers for People Empowerment (HOPE), IMPACCT Brooklyn, Inside Airbnb, Make the Road, Met Council on Housing, National Organization for Women at Hunter College, New York Communities for Change (NYCC), Pratt Center for Community Development, Ridgewood Tenants Union, Save 63 Tiffany, Southwest Brooklyn Tenant Union, Sunset Park Votes, TenantsPAC, The Action Lab, The Legal Aid Society, VOCAL-NY, Young Invincibles, and others. The coalition is also supported by the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council (HTC).

About Tenants Not Tourists

Tenants Not Tourists is a coalition committed to protecting New York City's housing stock for the people who live here - not for the short-term profits of multi-billion-dollar tech companies and real estate speculators. Our name reflects our belief that housing should serve tenants and communities, not be transformed into transient accommodations at the expense of long-term stability. We strongly oppose Intro 1107, a bill introduced in the New York City Council that threatens to dismantle key tenant protections and exacerbate the housing crisis in New York City. This proposed legislation undermines the progress made by Local Law 18 of 2022, which was enacted to address illegal short-term rentals (STRs) and protect the city's housing for long-term residents. To learn more, visit the coalition's website.