Airbnb sued New York City on Thursday over an ordinance that the company says imposes arbitrary restrictions that would greatly reduce the local supply of short-term rentals.
The 2022 ordinance, which the city plans to begin enforcing next month, would require owners to register with the mayor’s office, disclose who else lives in the property, and promise to comply with zoning, construction and maintenance ordinances.
Airbnb said called the restrictions “extreme and oppressive” and a de facto ban against short-term rentals that left the company no choice but to sue.
“Taken together, these features of the registration scheme appear intended to drive the short-term rental trade out of New York City once and for all,” Airbnb said. The company said the mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement “failed to consider reasonable alternatives.”
A spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams said city hall will review the lawsuit.
“This administration is committed to protecting safety and community livability for residents, preserving permanent housing stock, and ensuring our hospitality sector can continue to recover and thrive," said the spokesman, Jonah Allon. “The rules governing short-term rentals ... have been clear for years,” and the 2022 registration law was properly adopted by the city council, he added.
San Francisco-based Airbnb filed the lawsuit in state court in Manhattan. Three Airbnb hosts filed a companion lawsuit against the city.
Airbnb sued New York state in 2016 over a ban on advertising short-term rentals. It dropped that lawsuit when the city promised not to enforce it. In 2020, Airbnb settled a lawsuit against the city over monthly reporting requirements for its listings. Airbnb said the 2022 ordinance violates both settlements.
The New York restrictions are among many efforts by local communities to regulate short-term rentals without banning them. New Orleans is among cities taking on the rental giant, after a court struck down a previous law.
In some places, opponents have raised concerns about noise and safety. Critics also say the growth of short-term rentals pioneered by Airbnb has contributed to a shortage of affordable housing for residents, particularly in vacation towns. Those complaints extend far beyond U.S. borders.
On Thursday in Italy, the popular tourist destination of Florence announced an immediate ban on new vacation rentals in the city’s historic center.
Miami's real estate market has boomed since early 2020, thanks to an overall strong housing market, remote work, and no income tax as incentives. The city is preparing to welcome even more residents as people relocate to warmer climates to work from home. Garrett Derderian, director of market intelligence at SERHANT, joined Cheddar to discuss the Magic City's red hot market.
Rockstar Energy, a subsidiary of Pepsico, unveiled its new beverage brand, Rockstar Unplugged, changing up the energy drink formula with hemp seed oil as an ingredient. PepsiCo Energy CMO Fabiola Torres joined Cheddar News to talk about how the product promotes “good vibes” and allows consumers to unwind and discuss partnering with "MTV Unplugged" for a concert series. "We couldn't find a better partnership that MTV," she said. "MTV Unplugged has been such an iconic proposition … and we believe that we're the right partners because the insight of our proposition for Rockstar Unplugged comes from music.
Eight months after the National Football League announced $1 million in research into cannabinoids, the NFL-NFLPA Joint Pain Management Committee has awarded the funding to two teams of medical researchers at the University of California San Diego and the University of Regina. The NFL says the studies will investigate the effects of cannabinoids on pain management and neuroprotection from concussion in elite football players, respectively. Cheddar correspondent Chloe Ailello spoke with Jeff Miller, the executive vice president of communications, public affairs, and policy for the NFL, about the studies, as well as the recent lawsuit filed against the NFL by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. "Maybe we can learn things from other alternative pain approaches that are going to benefit our player population and then sports medicine as a whole," Miller said.
All Hands celebrates Black History Month by highlighting achievements in inclusivity and paying homage to those who have fought for equal rights. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) joins Cheddar News to discuss voter suppression; Damali Peterman, CEO of Breakthrough ADR, elaborates on the biggest barriers for Black professionals; Andre Perry, senior fellow of Brookings Institution, dives into student loans and the racial wealth divide; and lastly, BET CEO Scott Mills discusses the company's initiatives for 2022.
Hinge users who have children can opt-in to a $100 stipend up to $25,000 for childcare. Logan Ury, the director of relationship science for the online dating platform, noted the issue as an obstacle for single parents who want to go out on dates. "We have heard that singles with children have a hard time going on dates for one of the reasons being that it's just hard to find childcare and it's hard to be able to afford it," she said. Ury also said that the hot topic among Hinge's users is mental health and the prioritizing of mental health.
According to the Federal Reserve, the investment gap between Black and white Americans has remained substantial, with only 34 percent of Black households joining in on the historic rise in the markets. Stacey Tisdale, the first Black woman to have reported from the NYSE and the CEO and president of Mind Money Media Inc., said that the data might not be as disheartening as it seems. "I think that number is very deceiving. That Federal Reserve study is actually from 2019, and it's very important that we all look beneath that number and look beneath the surface because there is nothing short of an investing revolution going on in the Black community," Tisdale said.
