Banned in nyc: Airbnb One Year Later

Local Law 18 hasn’t yet led to a significant amount of additional long-term housing in NYC and hotels are thriving. But small-time hosts have lost a key source of income. Modifications, and a more balanced approach, are needed.

Malaika nearly wiped out her retirement savings a decade ago to make a downpayment on a two-family home in Brooklyn’s Ocean Hill neighborhood.

To make the math work, Malaika planned to rent out the downstairs apartment while living upstairs with her two sisters, one of whom purchased the home with her. But skittish about taking on long-term renters who might turn into hard-to-evict squatters, Malaika (not her real name) put the apartment on Airbnb.

She prided herself on giving her guests, many from foreign countries, an affordable stay in a place filled out with African pillows, masks and mud cloths, and the opportunity to experience an authentic piece of the city. “I say in my listing this is the real Brooklyn. If you don’t want to stay in the real Brooklyn, this is not the place for you,” Malaika says. “New York City is a place of grit and culture, and guests had a real appreciation for that.”

Everything was going well for her — and many other short-term rental hosts. She quit her job in 2022 as a healthcare administrator to focus on real estate investing. “I did that with the idea that my two-family home would support me in doing so,” Malaika says. “Little did I know that on the horizon, New York City, the Office of Special Enforcement, and the mayor had a very different plan for me.”

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