Airbnb enlists Al Sharpton in fight against Mamdanis short-term rental crackdown in NYC: report

Airbnb is reportedly launching a political war on Mayor Zohran Mamdani over New York City’s crackdown on short-term rentals — enlisting Rev.Al Sharpton and other influential black leaders in a bid to loosen restrictions ahead of next month’s World Cup.The home-sharing giant has hosted town halls and outreach events in Harlem, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and Jamaica, Queens, as part of an aggressive campaign to roll back the city’s strict short-term rental rules, the New York Times reported Monday .Airbnb is framing its services as an economic lifeline for black homeowners who want to rent rooms during major tourism events, especially with more than 1 million visitors expected in the region for the World Cup.The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council repping city hotel workers has long been seen as a key force preventing Airbnb from taking root in the Big Apple.

City law bars short-term rentals of less than 30 days unless the host is on premises — effectively banning Airbnb — though a proposed City Council bill would loosen the regulations.“We have always been supportive of the hotel workers’ union, but there is, in this particular case, unintended consequences, and that is black homeowners,” Sharpton told the Times.“Who are we protecting when the hotels are not sold out and people cannot rent rooms in their homes right there in Southeast Queens?” he added.Sharpton has personally asked Council Speaker Julie Menin to help ease black homeowners’ ability to offer short-term rentals, according to the Times.A coalition of over a dozen black religious leaders reportedly echoed the request in a May 1 letter to the Manhattan Dem, who has clashed with Mamdani several times since he took office.

The hotel workers’ union backed her bid for the speakership, the Times noted.Since a reported $900,000 lobbying effort failed to bear fruit, Airbnb has been going on a charm offensive — sponsoring events, giving away 1,000 free World Cup tickets to young soccer...