Apologies to Joshua and Karen for questioning their validity and identity. As an eagle-eyed reader points out, not only were they the poster children for an AirBnB ad in the Times mentioning Lefferts Gardens, but today they're quoted in the Old Gray Lady herself:
Oh, and people should absolutely have to pay hotel tax. It's not fair to those who do.
And shouldn't Airbnb capitalize the b's? I found it difficult to pronounce and comprehend at first.
Comments?
But just as distressed over the skyrocketing cost of housing in the city were residents who said the money they made from renting spare bedrooms on Airbnb has become indispensable. Joshua Greenberg, 39, a freelance writer, said that housing costs had chased him from Manhattan to Carroll Gardens, to Crown Heights, and finally to Flatbush, Brooklyn, where he now lives with his wife, Karen Wight-Greenberg, and two young children.I have to say that despite my populist leanings I'm really only in support of this being legal if you own your apartment or house. If you're a renter, I think you should get some sort of permission from the landlord, unless short-stay rentals are specifically allowed. I do NOT think landlords should be saving apartments for the purpose though. In a housing crisis, that's just nasty to withhold (probably stabilized) apartments. And while I got no problem with it legally, the same is true for people withholding their legal apartments from the market generally. Though in a private house, I don't think the City should be in the biz of telling you what to do.
Oh, and people should absolutely have to pay hotel tax. It's not fair to those who do.
And shouldn't Airbnb capitalize the b's? I found it difficult to pronounce and comprehend at first.
Comments?