> But the attorney general’s report says rentals in three areas in Manhattan — Lower East Side/Chinatown, Chelsea/Hell’s Kitchen and Greenwich Village/SoHo — accounted for 40 percent of private stay revenue, or $187 million.
This surprised me not at all. I live in the Lower East Side and see an almost non-stop parade of groups of tourists with suitcases waiting to get let into apartments here. I know friends-of-friends who have four or five apartments that they rent out for this purpose.
People who operate these illegal hotels are attracted to neighborhoods like LES/EV/Chinatown, aside from them being trendy, is because there are a lot of non-doorman buildings that have relatively inexpensive rent. Unfortunately, those buildings are a critical source of semi-affordable housing in Manhattan, and more and more of it is getting snatched up by hoteliers.
I'm glad that NY is not taking the same approach as SF. People should absolutely be allowed to rent out a room or a couch, but the illegal full-time, full-apartment listings are terrible for residents who aren't aspiring hoteliers.
This surprised me not at all. I live in the Lower East Side and see an almost non-stop parade of groups of tourists with suitcases waiting to get let into apartments here. I know friends-of-friends who have four or five apartments that they rent out for this purpose.
People who operate these illegal hotels are attracted to neighborhoods like LES/EV/Chinatown, aside from them being trendy, is because there are a lot of non-doorman buildings that have relatively inexpensive rent. Unfortunately, those buildings are a critical source of semi-affordable housing in Manhattan, and more and more of it is getting snatched up by hoteliers.
I'm glad that NY is not taking the same approach as SF. People should absolutely be allowed to rent out a room or a couch, but the illegal full-time, full-apartment listings are terrible for residents who aren't aspiring hoteliers.