OpEd By Calvin Thompson, Brooklyn Homeowner – Distributed by NYC Newswire – A Series of OpEds by other homeowners will follow.
New York City homeowners need to read the list below and take names of lawmakers who approved Local Law 18 that basically takes away your ability to rent a part of your own home (that you pay taxes for) as a short-term rental. Hotel lobbyists seem to have convinced the City Council and NYC Mayor Eric Adams that hardworking two-family homeowners are cutting into the multibillion-dollar New York City hotel industry’s profits. (See the List of City Council Members who voted for this law, which absolutely hurts black homeowners)
- 69% of the homeowners renting an apt or room in the homes that they own are from Brooklyn. Although the law was introduced by Ben Kallos who is from the Upper East Side, which is a different world from Brooklyn, where homeowners need the extra money to survive in this city.
- 49% of homeowners impacted are people of color
- 50% are retired, unemployed or self-employed
- 93% of homes are owner occupied
As Jumaane Williams, Public Advocate and a Former City Councilman, has stated, “We were clear our intent is not to go after one- and two-family homeowners… But the administration looks like they’ve opened a can of wild, wild west whoop-ass on them.”
New York City homeowners have been renting out their spare apartments and rooms to earn extra money to pay for high ass NYC taxes, speed camera tickets, high cost of food, increased prices for oil, gas, and other utilities. Make no mistake about it, this new law is going to hurt these hardworking homeowners and will put some into foreclosure. Moreover, many of these same hypocrite lawmakers I can assure you, stay in short term rentals like Airbnb themselves.
Here’s the the exact plain English language for this law, from the NYC website. You will notice that you CANNOT rent your apt in your 1 or 2 family house for less than 30 days. If you rent a room, it cannot be more than 2 people, so no couples with a child, and you must give guests full access to all rooms in the apt, so no locked doors. Yes, people this is what these people voted up. This sounds like a bill written by a hotel lobbyist. See the exact language from the NYC website below:
Hosts – both owners and tenants – cannot rent out an entire apartment or home to visitors for fewer than 30 days, even if the host owns or lives in the building. This applies to all permanent residential buildings regardless of the number of units.
Many New York City hotels have turned into part hotel, part shelter. Maybe that’s their problem. New York City hotels are charging an exorbitant amount of money for rooms that are not properly maintained. The hotel industry is dying, not because of the hardworking homeowners, but because of their bad business practices. Why should homeowners suffer because of their inability to maintain their hotels properly.
New York City Council Members are allowing this war on hardworking homeowners to take place. Once again, elected officials are siding with high priced lobbyists instead of the people who they are supposed to be lobbying for. The price of living in New York City is getting higher and higher, with no end in sight. New York City lawmakers have a way of supporting the hotel industry, developers and every other billion-dollar industry, on the backs of hard-working New Yorkers. For those who do not know, former Governor Cuomo’s family are owners of shelters in New York City, making it profitable to keep shelters alive, which means keeping homelessness alive. New Yorkers must be smart about what is happening in this city and smart when it comes to electing politicians who are either inept at understanding what is happening or in cahoots with the bad actors. Most of them do not even read legislation, which is why we the people suffer at every turn.
According to an article on WPIX, these new rules were set to go into effect on Monday, Jan. 9, but the registration program will now begin 30 days after the final rules are published which will happen after a public hearing this week.
Carolina Medina, a homeowner in Jackson Heights stated, “the city is making it nearly impossible for us to use our home appropriately,” Medina added. “We literally use our home for survival. What we make is what we use to maintain our home and maintain a livelihood and for my dad to be retired in peace.”
Council Members who Voted Yes to this law are listed below. (Some have moved on to other positions, but they should all explain their vote. Either they didn’t read the law, or they read it and just didn’t care. Or they simply supported whatever the hotel lobbyists pushed in front of them. In either case they failed the homeowners whom they are always seeking votes from. Some of these people have moved on to other elected positions or jobs with the city. Remember their names at the voting booth or from whatever rock they crawl from under.
Ben Kallos Affirmative – INTRODUCED THE BILL
Adrienne E. Adams Affirmative
Alicka Ampry-Samuel Affirmative
Diana I. Ayala Affirmative
Inez D. Barron Affirmative
Justin L. Brannan Affirmative
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers Affirmative
Tiffany Cabán Affirmative
Margaret S. Chin Affirmative
Robert E. Cornegy, Jr. Affirmative
Laurie A. Cumbo Affirmative
Darma V. Diaz Affirmative
Eric Dinowitz Affirmative
Daniel Dromm Affirmative
Mathieu Eugene Affirmative
Oswald Feliz Affirmative
James F. Gennaro Affirmative
Vanessa L. Gibson Affirmative
Mark Gjonaj Affirmative
Barry S. Grodenchik Affirmative
Robert F. Holden Affirmative
Peter A. Koo Affirmative
Karen Koslowitz Affirmative
Brad S. Lander Affirmative
Stephen T. Levin Affirmative
Mark Levine Affirmative
Farah N. Louis Affirmative
Alan N. Maisel Affirmative
Carlos Menchaca Affirmative
I. Daneek Miller Affirmative
Francisco P. Moya Affirmative
Keith Powers Affirmative
Antonio Reynoso Affirmative
Kevin C. Riley Affirmative
Carlina Rivera Affirmative
Deborah L. Rose Affirmative
Helen K. Rosenthal Affirmative
Rafael Salamanca, Jr. Affirmative
Mark Treyger Affirmative
Paul A. Vallone Affirmative
James G. Van Bramer Affirmative
Link to the Official Roll Call. (Click “Action Details” under “Result Pass” to see how they all voted to confirm this list.
To post your OpEd about this subject send an email to news@nycpolitics.com
It excludes rooms in owner occupied housing. It required registration so that sales taxes are paid. The idea is to prevent permanent housing from being removed from the Rental market.
It’s a poor job by the Council Members. These people
own the houses and pay taxes and they pay taxes on Airbnb income so what are you talking about? It hurts the small homeowner who is trying to make ends meet. There is no explanation that makes sense. NYC says YES to higher taxes, increased transit fare, increased utilities, increase NYC fees but NO to a 1 or 2 family homeowner trying to rent a room to earn extra money to pay for all those increased fees and taxes? You cannot make that make sense. The Council Members screwed this up royally but will swear that they are trying to help seniors and black community members. People are tired of being blindsided and lied to. Enough is enough.You must keep doors unlocked and guests cannot include a couple and a child. This is unsafe for homeowners and unrealistic for people who are visiting family in places like ENY, Brownsville, Canarsie, etc… where there are only crappy motels. This bill no doubt was written by a hotel/motel lobbyist.
You are misinformed. This has nothing to do with sales tax or any tax collection. Anyone hosting short term rental making over a certain amount is already responsible for self reporting their income just like any other profession, barbers, hair stylists, livery drivers, and gig economy self employed, The law does not have any sections regarding tax payment, you obviously have not read it.
You are also misinformed by stating that the law prevents permanent housing from being removed from the rental market. To be clear, in an owner occupied 1 family home – there is NO rental unit. Therefore there is no unit being removed from any rental market. The owner lives there and they may have a spare bedroom or they may want to rent their entire home while they are away, however there is no impact to the rental market because no part of this home was ever available as a rental in the first place. The same goes for owner occupied two family homes where the owner is renting all or part of their space.
With 1-2 family owner occupied homes in mind, those homeowners should not be subject to the requirements of Local Law 18
The investors are actively buying old houses around Brooklyn and then without any minimum repair convert them to AirBnb untill the house will be completely ruined. This is not a poor people who rent their own rooms in own apartment. This is 3 – 4 family buildings with no owner on-site to see what is going on there and how badly a neighborhood is affected. My neighbor is worring now about her teenage daughter because of constant presence of ever changing people, There is parties with smoking drugs, drinking, trash all ever the place,etc. Before 3 longterm renters were living there. Nice peaceful people in retirement. They have to move and pay higher rent price now.
AirBnb is ruining a neighborhood and people lives.
Ok. But we are talking about 1 and 2 family homes where the homeowner lives in the house. Why are they being penalized. They are simply trying to make ends meet. Smart politicians would understand that and adjust the law to allow them to do short term rentals in their rental apartment. Why is that so hard? These same politicians court homeowners every election cycle and lie saying that they are their friends, but then vote up a law that is clearly written by a hotel lobbyist.
Neighborhood residents have the opportunity to come together and invest in property. They don’t want to invest in their own communities,Yet they are quick to blame someone else.
AIr BNB didn’t ruin the community, apathy did. An entire community of renters an not one person said let’s come together
We blame religious groups who move as a group and invest. We blame migrants who come together and invest. We will Blame anyone but ourselves for our own problems.
We blame others when they buy up the community businesses and make a profit yet nobody wants to get together and open a shop. Lmbooo even the Weed shops are being ran by migrants.
Stop blaming people who invested into the economy and the community and now are looking to make ends meet as cost of living rises.
Stop telling people what to do with what they own.
If you want to save a community an offer “affordable rents” please invest form a group, purchase and offer your services at below market rates.
I’m sure you will have a different opinion after your 1st tenant.
Neighborhood residents have the opportunity to come together and invest in property. They don’t want to invest in their own communities,Yet they are quick to blame someone else.
AIr BNB didn’t ruin the community, apathy did. An entire community of renters an not one person said let’s come together
We blame religious groups who move as a group and invest. We blame migrants who come together and invest. We will Blame anyone but ourselves for our own problems.
We blame others when they buy up the community businesses and make a profit yet nobody wants to get together and open a shop. Lmbooo even the Weed shops are being ran by migrants.
Stop blaming people who invested into the economy and the community and now are looking to make ends meet as cost of living rises.
Stop telling people what to do with what they own.
If you want to save a community an offer “affordable rents” please invest form a group, purchase and offer your services at below market rates.
I’m sure you will have a different opinion after your 1st tenant.
Leslie Simmons I get what you’re saying, but what does that have to do with the article?
It certainly seems like it was insufficient for the politicians and other opportunistic vultures to allow Sub-Prime Loans to affect the Blaque Community with ultimate devastation. Now, they are back to ensure that we all live in shelters or forced to live in spaces huddled in cramped spaces without any privacy like chattel slaves.These Sambos and Sambozinas will always be the betrayers of the most vulnerable among us. It is most important that we vote not for the familiar nor popular; rather, we must vote for those who cherish our collective interests & can be held honorably accountable to us.
well, I’m one of those who was directly affected by this law in Brooklyn. I not only lost my only source of income, but also got about $80,000 fine from the department of buildings / department of finance for short term rental, that is in collection now and accumulating 9% interest every day. I’ve been to DOB/DOF offices many times and begged for lieniency, talked to any lawyer and city council I could, and have not been able to get anyone’s attention. I basically have to sell my property in distress and file for banckruptcy to pay off my debt to the department of finance, and lose my primary residence. I’ve worked all my life and put my entire life savings in this property to basically hand it over to the city to pay off my debt. Now, can someone justify this as fair that the New York city mayor Eric Adams / politicians need to collect money from ordinary hard working citizens like me to pay for their shortcomings with transit, housing crisis, etc.