Sentences with phrase «say illegal hotels»

John Fitzpatrick, chairman of the Hotel Association of New York, praised the legislation, saying the illegal hotels cut into legitimate hotel business and evade taxes.

Not exact matches

The state said Airbnb runs afoul of New York's illegal - hotel law, which forbids residents from renting rooms for less than 30 days (and which forced the reasonably priced, centrally located hotel where a certain Canadian business writer always liked to stay to close).

The goal, Mr. Schneidermann said at the time, was to hunt down so - called illegal hotels using the service.

During the hearing, a city official said 681 complaints about illegal hotels have been registered since January.

Airbnb has come under fire from elected officials and affordable housing advocates in New York, who say the company is helping operate illegal hotels and potentially driving up the cost of housing throughout the city.

NEW YORK CITY — Illegal hotel complaints increased 62 percent last year because short - term rental sites such as Airbnb are violating the law, hurting efforts to provide affordable housing and placing the safety of legal tenants at risk, elected officials said Tuesday during a marathon City Council hearing.

De Blasio spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick said, «We look forward to discussing the council's priorities through the budget process,» but she insisted, «We have a strong enforcement apparatus to pursue complaints of illegal hotel activity.»

Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas said, «The facts are simple: Most Airbnb hosts share only the home in which they live, and it's just wrong to lump regular New Yorkers in with large - scale illegal hotels.»

«Every day I hear from New Yorkers who are sick and tired of living in buildings that have been turned into illegal hotels through Airbnb because so many units are rented out to tourists, not permanent residents,» Rosenthal said.

Airbnb officials says a recent poll it commissioned showed that 65 % believe lawmakers «should not penalize middle class families renting out their homes for less than 30 days the same way they penalize people operating illegal hotels and removing housing from the market.»

As Cuomo ponders a bill to curb Airbnb, the online booking service said it's policing its website to remove commercial operators in the city, addressing a chief complaint of critics who say it promotes illegal hotels and effectively takes scarce apartments out of circulation.

In a statement, Airbnb spokesman Nick Papas said the 2010 state law that makes it illegal for people to rent out their homes for less than 30 days if they are not living in the home was «drafted too broadly» and was intended to target illegal hotels.

There were 1,150 complaints about «illegal hotels» to the city's 311 hot line in 2014 — a 62 percent jump over the 712 calls operators fielded in 2013, said Elizabeth Glazer, who heads the Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement.

«There must be zero tolerance for illegal hotels,» said Council Speaker Corey Johnson, whose district includes the property.

That's why he's fought against illegal hotels, which can result in fewer affordable housing options and put renters at risk,» said spokesman Peter Ajemian.

In a statement to Politico, he said the bill would help prevent landlords from renting affordable housing units as illegal hotels, «and those who use the site without breaking the law will have no problem giving their name to the city.

Illegal hotels are particularly common on the Upper West Side, Brewer said, because of the ubiquity of single - room occupancy units catering to low - income residents.

Under state law, it is illegal to turn an apartment into a hotel, even if it's just for a short time, Quinn said.

«Along with proactively removing bad actors from our platform,» he said, «Airbnb is supporting legislation in Albany that would provide for rigorous enforcement against illegal hotel operators, among other things.»

«In the past, ambiguities in the law hindered our ability to take enforcement actions against illegal hotels,» Mayor Bloomberg said.