February 25, 2016
ALBANY — Airbnb sent a letter Wednesday to state legislators defending its removal of 1,500 listings just before it opened their books to lawmakers and the public — and is committing to removing questionable listings moving forward. In admitting its actions, the online home-sharing company said that the listings removed from its platform in New York City “were controlled by commercial operators and did not reflect Airbnb’s vision for our community.”
Assembly bill sponsor Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) blasted Airbnb for facilitating the renting of illegal hotel rooms in the city and depleting the city’s stock of affordable housing. “Airbnb is a marauding army invading a city with no regard for the law or the consequences,” she said. “We are losing affordable housing, hand over fist. We are just losing them daily.”
Rosenthal scoffed at the letter Airbnb sent to lawmakers and predicted her legislation would pass this session. “They are fighting back because they realize we’re succeeding,” Rosenthal said. “People are starting to realize that much of what Airbnb does and promotes is illegal.”…