A Brooklyn lawmaker wants to reopen the city’s door to Airbnb — at least partway.
Councilmember Mercedes Narcisse introduced a bill last week that would let owners of one- and two-family homes rent out their properties short-term without being present, Crain’s reported. The deal would be a partial rollback of New York City’s 2023 crackdown that effectively banned most Airbnb listings.
The proposal would allow up to four adult guests for stays shorter than 30 days.
Narcisse’s bill revives familiar political lines: support from lawmakers representing middle-class Black neighborhoods that rely on rental income and opposition from housing advocates who see Airbnb as deepening the housing crisis.
The bill’s journey — introduced under one lawmaker, expanded by another, and now repackaged under a new number — underscores the tangled politics around short-term rentals in a city still grappling with affordability and tourism recovery.
The proposal mirrors a similar effort last year that was gutted after fierce opposition from the hotel industry, tenant advocates and the influential Hotel and Gaming Trades Council.
Airbnb’s listings plunged by about 90 percent after the 2023 law took effect, decimating what had been one of its largest U.S. markets.
Airbnb is not giving up on New York. The company spent nearly $4 million this
election cycle to back City Council candidates and other political allies, though its influence may wane as new city leadership takes over in 2026.
Michael Blaustein, Airbnb’s Northeast Atlantic policy lead, called Narcisse’s bill “the answer that countless outer-borough New Yorkers” have sought, arguing it would help homeowners without hurting housing supply.
Opponents, led by the hotel workers’ union and tenant groups like Tenants Not Tourists, say any rollback risks siphoning apartments from the long-term rental market.
“Airbnb is once again trying to disguise their corporate greed as concern for New York families,” said activist Whitney Hu, whose group receives HTC funding. The union rallied outside City Hall this month in anticipation of the legislative push.
— Holden Walter-Warner
Read more
The Daily Dirt: Airbnb, hotel union face off (again)
Airbnb’s push for a revival gutted by changes in legislation
Airbnb to spend millions in NYC local elections
