New York governor approves short-term apartment rental ban in NYC

Post by jim_h » Sat, Jul 24, 2010, 6:17 AM UTC

rdtsc wrote: post #11

jim_h wrote: post #5

That's one way to make NYC even less affordable and friendly to tourists on a budget. I've met some very interesting and friendly people in 'short-term apartments'. Mostly foreign students/travelers on vacation, people moving to NYC for work and using it as temporary housing until they find a real place, or just regular Americans visiting another city on a budget. They make it seem like these places are unclean or un…

> That's one way to make NYC even less affordable and friendly to tourists on a budget. But that is a valid concern I suppose -- does NYC benefit from tourists on a budget? If it doesn't then it might make sense to keep them out so tourists "not on a budget" can have more space, visit more often, and consequently spend more money. I can see how tourists on a budget would not be welcome in many cities. Some places rel…

Post by fmora » Sat, Jul 24, 2010, 6:21 AM UTC

shykes wrote: post #17

fmora wrote: post #13

The first time I read about something like this I was outraged. "How dare they, the government is blocking people's ability to do business". Then, after some careful thought I started to agree with this ban. Basically I put myself in the shoes of a resident next to a building being used as an illegal hotel. The people do not have the proper permits. Obviously they are not licensed. The fact that there is always new p…

You are missing one important point: most people affected by this ban are individuals, renting out one room at a time, maybe two. I have a hard time believing this generates any kind of noticeable "coming and going". In fact, tolerating the rental of a single room per household strikes me as a good way of separating the wheat from the chaff. Ironically, even Cuba has such an exception: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca…

Post by shykes » Sat, Jul 24, 2010, 6:24 AM UTC

shykes wrote: post #17

fmora wrote: post #13

The first time I read about something like this I was outraged. "How dare they, the government is blocking people's ability to do business". Then, after some careful thought I started to agree with this ban. Basically I put myself in the shoes of a resident next to a building being used as an illegal hotel. The people do not have the proper permits. Obviously they are not licensed. The fact that there is always new p…

You are missing one important point: most people affected by this ban are individuals, renting out one room at a time, maybe two. I have a hard time believing this generates any kind of noticeable "coming and going". In fact, tolerating the rental of a single room per household strikes me as a good way of separating the wheat from the chaff. Ironically, even Cuba has such an exception: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ca…

Post by fmora » Sat, Jul 24, 2010, 6:33 AM UTC

jrockway wrote: post #26

Wow, a law! This will stop the "problem" just like the drug laws solved the drug problem. Nobody wants drugs anymore, and even if they did, it would be impossible to obtain them. Same for short-term rentals, thanks to this!

Post by mrtron » Sat, Jul 24, 2010, 6:34 AM UTC

jim_h wrote: post #21

rdtsc wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That's one way to make NYC even less affordable and friendly to tourists on a budget. But that is a valid concern I suppose -- does NYC benefit from tourists on a budget? If it doesn't then it might make sense to keep them out so tourists "not on a budget" can have more space, visit more often, and consequently spend more money. I can see how tourists on a budget would not be welcome in many cities. Some places rel…

You could spend $100+ on a hotel for the night, or spend around $30 or less on a temp place. The money you save CAN be used for touristy things. That's $70 a day that can thrown somewhere else besides for shelter. They could be out partying, trying out food places, buying things, etc. This is just the savings from not staying at a hotel.. A tourist who stays at a hotel ($100/night) might only have budgeted $50/day to…