Day: December 9, 2024

THE NYC DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION HAS ANNOUNCED an expansion of LockerNYC with new locations across Brooklyn.

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THE FAMILY OF 21-YEAR-OLD CHRISTOPHER FERGUSON is calling on the NYPD to release bodycam footage after police fatally shot him on Thursday.

The post Family of 21-year-old killed calls on cops to release bodycam footage appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

A coalition of housing advocates and renters launched on Monday “Tenants Not Tourists,” a campaign to challenge New York City Council’s recent introduction of a bill that critics say threatens to exacerbate the city’s housing crisis.

During a heated rally outside of City Hall on Dec. 9, the coalition of representatives from various housing organizations voiced strong opposition to the measure, urging the City Council to reject it and protect the city’s scarce housing supply.

Intro. 1107, introduced last month, looks to amend current codes surrounding short-term rentals in New York. The bill would permit a permanent occupant with registration under the short-term rental law to host a short-term rental for a maximum of four guests along with their children.

However, members of the coalition view it as a potential catalyst for removing tens of thousands of rental units from the market. Advocates argue that the bill would enable private equity firms to dominate the rental market, fueling rent increases and further destabilizing the city’s housing landscape.

“The City Council can’t claim to be fighting for more housing and against deed theft while carving out loopholes that incentivize private equity vultures and weaken enforcement against bad actors,” said Whitney Hu, director of civic engagement and research for Churches United for Fair Housing. “We know New Yorkers are struggling to find affordable, stable housing in the middle of a crisis that demands immediate action — not giveaways to Airbnb and other corporate interests draining our housing supply.”

The rally coincided with the three-year anniversary of Local Law 18, known as the Short-Term Rental Registration Law, which was designed to regulate the short-term rental market by requiring hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE). This law aimed to bolster enforcement against illegal short-term rentals and protect the availability of affordable housing in the city.

OSE revealed data indicating that at least 55% of Airbnb’s revenue in New York City stems from illegal short-term rentals, a problem exacerbated by the lack of effective enforcement prior to the law’s introduction.

Despite Airbnb’s claims to the contrary, advocates maintained that Local Law 18 was a critical step toward enhancing accountability among landlords and homeowners engaging in illegal short-term rental practices.

“Amid the ongoing housing crisis, it is nonsensical to convert residential homes into short-term rentals for tourists, instead of using this housing stock to help New Yorkers secure permanent housing,” said Robert Desir, staff attorney in the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “Intro 1107 directly contradicts the goals of Local Law 18 of 2022, which sought to expand our housing stock’s availability to low- and middle-income New Yorkers who are increasingly being priced out, and those seeking to move from shelter into permanent housing.”

According to the coalition, there has been a reported decline in listings on short-term rental platforms like Airbnb since Local Law 18 was implemented. 

‘Making things work’

Local homeowners who supported Intro 1107, however, had a lot to say during the rally outside of City Hall — arguing that the bill represents economic opportunity for more New Yorkers rather than hurting renters.

Shortly after the event started, they showed up with signs like “home sharing + home affordability” and “home sharing helps me support my family.”

During conversations with amNewYork Metro, many pro-Intro. 1107 residents asserted the need for the law which would allow for short-term rentals for larger groups.

“I have a legal two-family home that I want to rent in the short term. I want to be able to use my home to meet my financial needs. I want to be able to support my family,” Jeanne Raleigh, a homeowner in support of Intro 1107, told amNewYork Metro at the rally. 

Raleigh, who previously rented part of her home out for short-term rentals, said the rentals were like a stream of income for her family. 

Alex, another homeowner who chose not to share her last name, said that her previous short-term leases made the most sense for her and her family. 

Opponents of Intro 1107 are particularly alarmed by its provisions, which would exempt owners of one- and two-family homes from enforcement and remove the requirement for short-term rental hosts to be present during guest stays. This, they argue, sets a dangerous precedent that could lead to a significant increase in residential properties being used solely as short-term rentals, thereby diminishing the available housing stock for New Yorkers in need.

Alex, who has owned her home in the East Village for 35 years, rejects these claims. 

“I’m not a rich person, so home-sharing has allowed me to continue living in my house,” she said. “If I’m just renting my place out for the week, it doesn’t suddenly go on the market. It’s still my home. I still own it. I’m just making things work.”

Airbnb representatives said that while Local Law 18 looked to protect affordable housing, the housing market has remained unaffected by its provisions.

“This bill aims to fix an overly restrictive short-term rental law that, in the last year, has failed to decrease rents in NYC and only increased hotel rates exorbitantly for travelers,” Nathan Rotman, director of Policy for Airbnb, said in a statement. “The bill [Intro 1107] makes common sense and marginal updates to the existing law [Local Law 18] by allowing New Yorkers to share their primary homes and yet, the big hotel chains are using scare tactics to exploit one of the biggest social challenges of our time to boost their profits with sky high nightly rates – it’s time to fix a broken law that hasn’t helped housing but has padded hotel industry pockets at everyone else’s expense.” 

The “Tenants Not Tourists” coalition includes a diverse range of organizations focused on housing rights, including Citizen Action of NY, the Coalition Against Illegal Hotels, Make the Road New York, the Hotel & Gaming Trades Council and others.

Intro. 1107 would make amends Local Law 18 by:

• • raising rentals maximums from two people to four

  • allowing listing to go unhosted at the time of a guest stay; hosts must currently be presents throughout the entire rental

  • allowing the host to restrict guest from areas i.e.closets, offices

 

Mayor Eric Adams and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker announced a pilot program Monday that strategically targets high-crime streets in a multi-agency effort to address longstanding needs and problems. 

The program, dubbed Every Block Counts, was launched in October with a specific focus on residential blocks within two NYPD precincts known for having the highest number of violent crimes, in particular shootings, over the past five years.

The pilot program targets five blocks within the 46th Precinct in the Bronx— which covers the neighborhoods of Fordham, University Heights, Mount Hope and Morris Heights—and several streets in Brooklyn’s 73rd precinct, which covers Brownsville and Ocean Hill.

The blocks in the Bronx include Morris Avenue, Elm Place and Walton Avenue; meanwhile the program covers Bristol Street, Christopher Avenue, Dumont Avenue, Lott Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard in Brooklyn.

The program coordinates efforts among various city agencies, including police, fire, parks, sanitation, transportation, buildings, health and more. In the announcement, Adams pointed to results achieved thus far, including zero shootings in the two targeted areas over the past 56 days, as well as the completion of 111 out of 146 quality-of-life problems identified by the communities.

The 46th precinct has seen a rise in shootings and murders since last year, according to NYPD CompStat data. In 2023, there were 42 shooting incidents, 53 shooting victims and 13 murders in the 46th precinct. So far this year, there have been 49 shooting incidents, 64 shooting victims and 25 murders. 

‘Remarkable’ progress

The mayor spoke from Bean Morris Community Garden near Morris Avenue and Grand Concourse — named for resident Carrie Cuthbertson’s son Devon, nicknamed Bean, who was shot and killed nearby in 2019 at age 24. 

Cuthbertson, who said she has long been active in her community, has now become a “Block CEO” with Every Block Counts, acting as a liaison between the community and city agencies. As part of the program, she has been working with fellow residents on a list of neighborhood safety and quality of life concerns. Recent progress under the program has been tangible to her and her neighbors, she said. 

“For the first time in years, we saw rapid improvement. The transformation was nothing short of remarkable,” said Cuthbertson.

A Halloween event with treats for hundreds of neighborhood kids, funded by donations, was a recent example of how the community has united and improved, she said. “Our streets are now clean, graffiti is gone, trash is picked up, and the area feels brighter and more inviting. Most importantly, we feel safer.”

Council Member Pierina Sanchez, whose district office is nearby, said she has experienced ducking bullets in the area while pregnant with her first child. Just 4% of the city’s blocks are the site of almost all shootings, she said, and the program acknowledges that “the 4-6 [Precinct] is different than the rest of the City of New York.” 

While Sanchez said she does not always agree with Adams, she applauded the pilot program, calling it an example of “partnership despite differences and progress despite obstacles.”

Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia recalled the alarming shooting deaths in September of three people within blocks of each other in the Burnside area. Since the launch of Every Block Counts, she said she has not received any emergency calls from the precinct captain.

“This fight is for us to have, and let’s do it, let’s win it,” she said.

The mayor said given these early positive results across the 10 focus blocks of the pilot, he plans to expand Every Block Counts to more locations. Adams, who has expressed frustration at the lingering perception of a rise in crime in the city, said the program is part of the comprehensive effort to address both crime and quality-of-life concerns, and his office issued a new report on various initiatives aimed at decreasing crime throughout the city. 

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Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes

THE ICONIC MACY’S BUILDING in Downtown Brooklyn was sold, reports The Real Deal.

The post Real estate investors buy Macy’s building on Fulton St. appeared first on Brooklyn Eagle.

“In my view, this is a story about a retailer who knows nothing about their most valuable asset,” a source told The Post.