In the multiyear fight between the global home-sharing conglomerate Airbnb and a relatively small union representing hotel workers in New York City, Airbnb\u2019s string of losses has iced the company out of the city\u2019s lucrative short-term rental market.<\/p>\n
Now, with over a million tourists expected to flood the region for the World Cup tournament, Airbnb, an $84 billion company, has rekindled its fight to gain a foothold in the city. And central to its multipronged strategy are Black church leaders and property owners \u2014 a key voting bloc in New York \u2014 who say that they deserve the chance to make extra cash.<\/p>\n
The company has hosted town halls and listening sessions in Harlem; Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; and Jamaica, Queens \u2014 neighborhoods where Black homeowners are a significant force \u2014 to bolster support for proposed City Council legislation that would loosen regulations on short-term rentals. It gained the backing of influential Black pastors, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, who met with the City Council speaker, Julie Menin, to argue that allowing more of such rentals would benefit Black homeowners.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have always been supportive of the hotel workers\u2019 union, but there is, in this particular case, unintended consequences, and that is Black homeowners,\u201d Mr. Sharpton said in an interview. \u201cWho are we protecting when the hotels are not sold out and people cannot rent rooms in their homes right there in Southeast Queens?\u201d<\/p>\n
For years, New York politicians have severely restricted the short-term rental company\u2019s growth through at least four pieces of legislation and local enforcement activity. The union, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, has capitalized on its mighty political influence to keep Airbnb at bay. Under state law, short-term rentals in New York for less than 30 days are illegal, unless the host is present at the time of the rental.<\/p>\n
And Airbnb\u2019s nearly $900,000 lobbying effort for more favorable local legislation has failed in the face of politicians who cite the company\u2019s impact on the rental market \u2014 but also are more concerned about running afoul of the savvy hotel workers\u2019 union than enjoying the largess of a well-heeled corporation.<\/p>\n
Chief among them is New York City\u2019s mayor, Zohran Mamdani, who fought off Airbnb\u2019s digital ad campaign attacking him during last year\u2019s primary race \u2014 even though he was not endorsed by the hotel workers\u2019 union.<\/p>\n
Mr. Mamdani, an avid soccer fan, has touted the World Cup\u2019s economic potential for the city. But the mayor declined to heed a request<\/a> aligned with the company\u2019s goals to roll back short-term rental regulations during the tournament.<\/p>\n His stance \u2014 along with the proposal he floated<\/a> and then backed away from to raise property taxes, which angered some Black homeowners \u2014 could exacerbate tensions between him and that Democratic constituency.<\/p>\n In a statement, Joe Calvello, a spokesman for Mr. Mamdani, said that the World Cup should not create an opening for changes to housing policy and that the mayor supports regulating short-term rentals to stave off encroachment from the real estate industry.<\/p>\n \u201cHomes should be for New Yorkers, not investment opportunities for predatory actors looking to cash in,\u201d he said. \u201cThe mayor continues to oppose efforts to weaken these laws at the behest of corporate interests.\u201d<\/p>\n To counter Airbnb\u2019s appeal to Black New Yorkers, the hotel workers\u2019 union has also sought out Black pastors to denounce the home-sharing company.<\/p>\n \u201cShort-term rentals are driving up housing costs and contributing to displacement in Black communities that have already endured generations of disinvestment,\u201d the Rev. Robert Waterman, lead pastor of a church in Brooklyn and president of the African American Clergy and Elected Officials organization, said in a statement.<\/p>\n In an interview, he added that he was approached to back Airbnb, but would not until the company or its allies provide more assurances that the company\u2019s presence would not harm Black communities.<\/p>\n Corporations seeking to make political headway have relied on influential Black leaders in the past, as with a 2023 proposed ban on menthol cigarettes<\/a> and before that, a proposed ban on the sale of fur products<\/a>. But Airbnb\u2019s fight comes against the backdrop of an enduring debate over how to keep longtime Black New Yorkers economically stable enough to remain in the city as rising prices and gentrification fuel their exodus<\/a>.<\/p>\n