The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 October 18, 2016 Dear Governor Cuomo, There is a great debate about how to make New York more affordable for working families, and at the heart of that debate is our ability to protect, preserve, and expand access to affordable housing. Without this, we are a village without a home. That is why we respectfully urge you to sign into law A8704-C (Rosenthal)/ S6340-A (Lanza), a bill that passed with overwhelming bi-partisan support, which would prohibit the advertising of illegal short-term rentals that deplete our stock of affordable housing and drive up rent in our neighborhoods. It is no secret that we are facing an affordable housing crisis with more than a third of New Yorkers spending over 50% of their income on rent and a vacancy rate that’s been below 5% for decades, officially constituting a housing emergency. In this type of environment, each residential housing unit that is converted into a transient short-term rental on online platforms (such as Airbnb) is an acute loss that further exacerbates this chronic housing shortage. Six years ago, New York had the foresight to pass an amendment to the Multiple Dwelling Law intended to protect our housing stock by making it illegal in New York City to rent an entire unoccupied home or apartment (in buildings with three or more units) for fewer than 30 days. This law did not affect one or two family homes, and it did not apply to anyone who wanted to rent a spare room while present. It was a sensible and reasonable protection for a growing problem that was plaguing our communities, especially throughout Manhattan, where Single Resident Occupancy (SRO) buildings were being quickly converted into defacto hotels. Fast forward a few years, and we have now documented tens of thousands of illegal hotel listings on several platforms across all five boroughs, expanding at an alarming rate with devastating consequences. In fact, we now hear complaints from other counties around the state with the negative impacts being felt in summer and weekend vacation communities. According to an investigation by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, nearly 75% of Airbnb’s listings are in violation of the law. His report also found that 36% of listings were controlled by commercial operators who generated 37% of all revenue, with the top 12 commercial hosts having earned more than $1 million each off illegal listings. That’s a far cry from the “middle class” families that corporate advertisements claim. The Attorney General’s investigation could even have uncovered more illegality, but Airbnb took the State to court to block the release of listing data subpoenaed by Attorney General Schneiderman. This is a prime example of the extent to which Airbnb has gone to avoid compliance with the law, and in opposing this new legislation they have doubled down on their law-breaking ways. Instead of working with government officials to follow a law that protects our housing stock, the platform operators are spending millions to protect their worst illegal abusers. One must only follow the money to see why they would so vociferously side with professional lawbreakers over New York City residents. Their model is a based on maximizing profits with no penalty for violating law and no actual liability or responsibility for when things go wrong. Since the release of the Attorney General’s report, the illegal commercial listings on Airbnb and other online platforms has continued to proliferate, and so has the negative impact on our housing market. In just one of the companies, with nearly 30,000 illegal units as of 2015 – over 55% of their total listings – commercial hosts generated over $300 million renting apartments that could have been used by local residents. A recent study conducted by BJH Advisors revealed that recapturing these illegal commercial listings and bringing them back into the housing market would increase the vacancy rate by 10% - a game-changer for a city that is starved for affordable housing. And the attendant impact on rising rents would also bring relief to New York families, as we have seen rent increase 7% higher than the citywide average in this one company’s top 20 NYC neighborhoods. Even with the 2010 amendments to Multiple Dwelling Law in place, consistent enforcement has proven to be a significant challenge. And that’s where this new legislation comes in. The act of advertising what are already illegal short-term rentals – the only way that transaction can occur – is not currently illegal. That’s a loophole that online platforms have thoroughly exploited. Their opposition to the new law isn’t about protecting the occasional renter, but rather providing cover for the commercial operator who have turned our residential housing units into a very profitable business at the expense of real New Yorkers and their communities The new law will provide an effective deterrent, and give law enforcement a strong tool to better identify, track and penalize serial lawbreakers who are destabilizing our housing stock for their own financial gain. We all appreciate the importance of embracing new technologies. This bill is not anti-technology. It is pro-affordable housing, and it is a measured and common sense approach that will simply add an additional tool for enforcing an existing law to better protect our affordable housing stock. We sincerely hope you will take these facts into consideration, and sign the bill into law. New York City Public Advocate Letitia James New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer Queens Borough President Melinda Katz New York City Council Member Margaret Chin New York City Council Member Costa Constantinides New York City Council Member Elizabeth Crowley New York City Council Member Laurie Cumbo New York City Council Member Daniel Dromm New York City Council Member Rafael Espinal New York City Council Member Julissa Ferreras New York City Council Member Daniel Garodnick New York City Council Member Vanessa Gibson New York City Council Member Barry Grodenchik New York City Council Member Corey Johnson New York City Council Member Ben Kallos New York City Council Member Brad Lander New York City Council Member Stephen Levin New York City Council Member Mark Levine New York City Council Member Carlos Menchaca New York City Council Member I. Daneek Miller New York City Council Member Antonio Reynoso New York City Council Member Donovan Richards New York City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez New York City Council Member Deborah Rose New York City Council Member Helen Rosenthal New York City Council Member Rafael Salamanca New York City Council Member Ritchie Torres New York City Council Member James Van Bramer New York City Council Member Jumaane Williams New York State Senator Tony Avella New York State Senator Martin Malave Dilan New York State Senator Adriano Espaillat New York State Senator Michael Gianaris New York State Senator Brad Hoylman New York State Senator Timothy Kennedy New York State Senator Jeffrey Klein New York State Senator Liz Krueger New York State Senator Kevin Parker New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera New York State Senator James Sanders, Jr. New York State Senator Diane Savino New York State Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal New York State Assembly Member William Colton New York State Assembly Member Maritza Davila New York State Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz New York State Assembly Member Deborah Glick New York State Assembly Member Richard Gottfried New York State Assembly Member Ron Kim New York State Assembly Member Margaret Markey New York State Assembly Member Walter Mosley New York State Assembly Member Francisco Moya New York State Assembly Member Victor Pichardo New York State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright New York State Assembly Member Jaime Williams