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New Airbnb Fines Could Hit These Neighborhoods Hardest, Study Says

By Amy Zimmer | October 28, 2016 4:14pm | Updated on October 30, 2016 1:10pm
 This map, from ValuePenguin, shows which areas are home to the most listings of entire apartments on Airbnb. It's illegal to rent a unit out for under 30 days when a tenant is not present.
This map, from ValuePenguin, shows which areas are home to the most listings of entire apartments on Airbnb. It's illegal to rent a unit out for under 30 days when a tenant is not present.
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ValuePenguin

BROOKLYN —  Though enforcement of New York’s law against advertising illegal short-term rentals is on hold after Airbnb filed a lawsuit challenging it just hours after Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it into law, data crunchers have already figured out which neighborhoods would be hit hardest if and when the fines take effect.

Renting out an apartment for less than 30 days is illegal if a tenant isn’t there. The new law would apply to anyone advertising an entire apartment as a short-term rental in a building with three or more units. Fines range from $1,000 to $7,500 per violation.

The neighborhood that would see the biggest impact under the law would be East Williamsburg — specifically the 11211 zip code, according to an analysis released Friday by ValuePenguin, a personal finance website that aims to help consumers make smart spending decisions.

The area had 314 full apartment rentals listed on Airbnb, according to the analysis that used data from Oct. 1 found on InsideAirbnb.com, which collects information on every listing on the home share platform.

East Williamsburg could face up to $2.355 million in fines, the study posited.

Overall, roughly 57 percent of Airbnb listings in New York City — which is the company's second largest market behind Paris — are for full apartment listings as opposed to those renting a spare room, the report noted.

The areas that ranked next on its top 10 list included Gramercy/Greenwich Village (10003), the Lower East Side (10002), Chelsea (10011), the East Village (10009) and West Village (10014) — all of which had just over 200 full apartment listings on Airbnb.

Greenwich Village/Soho (10012), Prospect Heights (11238), Hell’s Kitchen/Central Park South (10019) and Bedford-Stuyvesant (11216) rounded out the list.

“There definitely seems to be a correlation with higher incidence of Millennials living in these neighborhoods,” said Craig Casazza, who authored the study. Though this analysis doesn’t include demographic data, he said, he has looked at Census numbers previously and saw the connection.

He wondered whether some of the areas, East Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant in particular, were seeing its micro-economies blossom because of the tourism.

“Bed-Stuy has seen an incredible renaissance,” Casazza said. “You wonder if it’s in part because of all the people who stay in these homes.”

Airbnb often touts how its home-sharing platform brings tourists to neighborhoods and has a positive economic impact on local businesses and on the people who rent out their units.

But many housing advocates have criticized the company for making it easier to take much-needed affordable housing off the market for New Yorkers to use instead for short-term rentals — which only exacerbates an existing housing crisis. Also, many residents have complained about the stream of tourists in their buildings compromising their quality-of-life.

Casazza was surprised at how many fewer whole apartments were being rented out per zip code in Queens and Bronx neighborhoods, he said.

“Queens [areas] had less than 100. Every part of The Bronx had less than 100, and some parts of the Bronx didn’t have a single full apartment listing,” he said.