Exclusive | NYers reveal how they feel about Airbnb in new poll

A majority of New Yorkers don’t want to give Airbnb access to the Big Apple’s housing market, a new poll says.The survey, paid for by the Airbnb rival Hotel Gaming and Trades Council and obtained by The Post, found that while the home-share-app giant recently funneled $5 million into a super PAC to influence Big Apple elections, 56% of city residents want nothing to do with the short-term-rental system.“New Yorkers are not falling for Airbnb’s lies,” said Whitney Hu, director of civic engagement and research at Churches United for Fair Housing.“The vast majority of families are struggling to stay in their homes, and they want politicians who will pass legislation that makes our city more affordable, not less,” she said.Of the residents surveyed in the HTC, 38% said they supported Airbnb in the city, while 6% remained unsure.

The numbers appeared to be non-partisan, with 57% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans opposing the short stays.Concerns among the city dwellers centered on the housing crisis — with more than 80% of respondents expressing worry about a diminished regular housing supply with the short-term rentals.Airbnb suffered a major blow in 2023 when the City Council passed Local Law 18 — effectively banning the home-share app involving any apartment where the current tenant or owner wasn’t present.Late last year, a bill aiming to revive the app’s short-term rental market was introduced and sponsored by a slew of City Council members of varying progressive leanings, including Speaker Adrienne Adams.Since then, Airbnb opened a $5 million super PAC — Affordable New York — in which it donated more than $2.1 million to support the campaigns of 13 candidates for public office, including 11 for city council.The tech giant has also spent $1 million on an opposition ad against mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani, Brad Lander and Scott Stringer — all of whom are progressive but want heavy restrictions on Airbnb in the city.Though the ad t...