“Save Airbnb in New York!” Activist Group Delivers Petition With 230,000+ Signatures

A delegation of thirty-six pro-Airbnb activists dropped by the
office of New
York State Senator Liz Krueger (D) this afternoon to deliver a petition
with over 230,000 signatures asking that she help make it
explicitly legal for New Yorkers to rent out their spare rooms
through the popular short-term
rental site. The group then broke off into groups and met with
Krueger Chief of Staff Brad Usher, who displayed some
“defensiveness,” according to one participant, but said that the
senator would be open to “looking at the law.”

Sen. Krueger sponsored a 2010
bill to make it illegal for landlords to rent their apartments
through sites like Airbnb. The city’s administrative code allows
individuals to rent rooms in their apartments on a short-term
basis, but only if they’re at home at the same time as their
guests. The law is also ambiguous on several points, including
whether Airbnb hosts are responsible for collecting hotel taxes—an
issue that became a cause for alarm when New York State Attorney General Eric
Schneiderman issued a subpoena in October, requiring Airbnb to hand
over a detailed list of all its hosts statewide, their bookings,
and how much money they’ve earned.

Krueger press officer Andrew Goldston says the senator “is
always open to having discussions about improving the law.” 
But recently Krueger took a hard line against Airbnb,
stating that the company is putting New Yorkers “in the line of
fire by recruiting them to feed its business model and participate
in what is essentially a black market.” While “some may call that
‘paradigm-breaking’ or ‘disruptive’,” Krueger said, “ultimately,
it’s just irresponsible and greedy.”

The petition drive is part of
a week of activism aimed at liberalizing the laws governing
short-term rentals in New York City, which is spearheaded by
Peers, a self-described
“member-driven organization that supports the sharing economy
movement.” The group recently played a pivotal role in defeating a
bill in Grand Rapids, Michigan that would have made it a
misdemeanor for residents to advertise on Airbnb.

I wrote about
New York’s Petty War on Airbnb for The Daily Beast in
October, and Naomi Brockwell and I covered the story
for Reason TV: