318 W. 75th St. (credit: PropertyShark)

An illegal hotel operating out of the Upper West Side last week became the latest victim of a new state law that’s cracking down on these facilities, the New York Press reported. Located at 318 West 75th Street, the landmarked five-story, 11-unit building had four of its units used as hotel rooms.

The rooms were advertised online at Airbnb.com, a travel site where owners can rent out their rooms or homes for short-term stays at a lower price than general hotel rates. [more]

70 Lefferts Place (credit: PropertyShark)

A Civil War-era landmarked house at 70 Lefferts Place in Clinton Hill that was operating as a hostel earlier this year has since been vacated. The Department of Buildings issued a partial vacate order and full stop work order for “illegally convert[ing] rooms into transient hostel without providing required means of egress, fire alarm,” Brownstoner reported. Earlier this week, the owners of two Upper West Side single-room occupancy buildings — Dexter House and Hotel Alexander — that also serve as hotels filed suit to block a state law which would ban apartment rentals of less than 30 days. The law was passed last summer and is set to go into effect May 1, amid complaints from hotel operators. [Brownstoner]
[more]

A law intended to stamp out illegal hotels will also prohibit tenants from renting out their apartments while they’re on vacation, DNAinfo reported. The law — to take effect in May 2011 — bans apartment rentals for less than 30 days, making a subculture of short-term subletting that has been operating under the radar for years explicitly illegal. People like Zach Geller — who in the past has subleased his Upper East Side apartment for $100 a night while on a two-week vacation — are upset with the new restrictions. While losing the revenue wouldn’t be a huge blow for him, Geller said he finds fault with the government for telling him what to do. “New York’s full of tourists, so why should the government not let me do what I want?” he said. Joe Gebbia, the president of AirBnB.com, an EBay-like site for renting apartments, told Curbed that the company has received more than 300 letters from New Yorkers in protest of the legislation. Others have begun websites, like Protect-vacation-rentals.com, which argue that the bill infringes on the rights of homeowners, some of whom rely on the extra income to stave off foreclosure. But legislators behind the bill — sponsored by Assembly Member Richard Gottfried — say that, regardless of whether apartments are rented by tenants or landlords, opening the doors to strangers poses a risk. [DNAinfo]

[more]

Gottfried and Dexter House, an alleged illegal hotel The Real Deal uncovered

The state legislature may pass a bill that would sharpen the language for laws relating to transient and permanent housing, cracking down on the so-called illegal hotels that flourish on the Upper West Side,

the West Side Spirit reported. The Democrat-supported bill — which
already passed in the House — would affect the many landlords who own
buildings with single room occupancy units and prefer to rent them out
to tourists rather than low-income New Yorkers. The bill’s sponsor,
Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, believes that “it’s harassment and
dangerous for tenants to share their apartment buildings with
transients trooping in and out at all hours,” he told the West Side Spirit. The Real Deal reported last February that Cardinal Investments, the developer of M127 in Murray Hill, illegally listed its unsold apartments on its website. The
city has unsuccessfully tried to rein in these hotels in the past, sometimes
through building code violations. [West Side Spirit]

[more]

Gottfried and Dexter House, an alleged illegal hotel The Real Deal uncovered

The state legislature may pass a bill that would sharpen the language for laws relating to transient and permanent housing, cracking down on the so-called illegal hotels that flourish on the Upper West Side,

the West Side Spirit reported. The Democrat-supported bill — which
already passed in the House — would affect the many landlords who own
buildings with single room occupancy units and prefer to rent them out
to tourists rather than low-income New Yorkers. The bill’s sponsor,
Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, believes that “it’s harassment and
dangerous for tenants to share their apartment buildings with
transients trooping in and out at all hours,” he told the West Side Spirit. The Real Deal reported last February that Cardinal Investments, the developer of M127 in Murray Hill, illegally listed its unsold apartments on its website. The
city has unsuccessfully tried to rein in these hotels in the past, sometimes
through building code violations. [West Side Spirit]

[more]

 Units at Rector Square allegedly available per night and for students

Nearly a year after gaining regulatory approval, Rector Square
developer Yair Levy failed to disclose the building’s financial records
to buyers at the troubled condominium, offered vacant apartments for
extended-stay hotel guests and sold at least 10 apartments for use as
college dorm rooms, according to attorneys and complaints filed with
state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Anglo Irish Bank filed suit in New York State Supreme Court earlier
this month to foreclose on the 304-unit building after Levy defaulted
on a $165 million loan to the lender, on payments to the Battery Park
City Authority and failed to meet construction deadlines. [more]