Airbnb’s Nathan Blecharczyk, Joe Gebbia and Brian Chesky

Principals of the hospitality website Airbnb, which allows homeowners or renters to lease their spaces to visitors on a short-term basis while out of town, are working to change local laws which make it difficult to use the site in New York, WNYC reported.

New York’s multiple dwelling law, which serves to make short-term rentals in large buildings illegal, was tightened in 2011 to curb the spread of illegal hotels in the city. Instead, it’s led to users of Airbnb being slapped with violations by city authorities for hosting strangers in their homes for short periods. In one instance, a man who rented his East Village walk-up to tourists last year for three nights is being fined $30,000. [more]

Despite a decidedly active August, New York City’s volume of multi-family transactions tailed off a little in September, according to a report released today by Ariel Property Advisors.

Only 45 multi-family transactions took place in the city in September, compared with 62 in August; that’s a 27 percent decrease in deals. Dollar volume dropped more dramatically month-over-month, falling 48 percent, from $595.19 million to $308.92 million. Year-over-year, the numbers took a more modest hit. There were 50 transactions in September 2011 totaling $467 million. [more]

Landlords of multi-family apartment buildings say they are victims of  the city’s poor system for property valuation, the New York Observer reported. While co-ops and condos pay approximately $10 to $12 per square foot in taxes, landlords of rental buildings pay more than $20 per square foot to the city.

Some landlords say the city officials’ reluctance to raise taxes on condo and single-family homeowners may be politically motivated: “If you started raising taxes on co-op and single-family homes there would be tremendous political repercussions,” one residential landlord said. “So instead, the city puts it unfairly on rental buildings where tenants don’t know what the taxes are. It’s gotten to the point where taxes account for 30 percent of rent.” [more]

Which residential brokerages offer the best perks? Whose managers reign supreme? And where can a broker go to get the best commission splits?

This September, The Real Deal will attempt to answer these questions, with our first-ever look at New York City’s best residential brokerages to work for. We’ll be evaluating companies in about a dozen different categories, from splits to training programs to office facilities.

This week, TRD will start sending out detailed questionnaires to a slew of brokerages. We’ll also be conducting additional research, including surveying randomly selected brokers at each firm. Decisions will be made by TRD’s editorial staff.

The deadline for survey responses is August 1, 2012. For more information, or if you do not receive a questionnaire by Friday, please contact Leigh Kamping-Carder at lkc@therealdeal.com or 212-991-5026.

BP station on Houston Street

More than 50,000 gas stations have closed across the country since 1991. And while rural communities have problems filling the spaces with new tenants, due to potential petroleum contamination, New York City has the opposite problem. The New York Times reported that due to the city’s high property values, gas stations are frequently being converted into more profitable enterprises, such as high-rises. This gives city drivers fewer locations to fill up. [more]

From left: interior shots of the St. Regis, the Crosby Street Hotel and the Setai Fifth Avenue

New York may have some great hotels, such as the Ace (known for its social scene), the Standard (known for its High Line views) and Le Parker Meridien (known for its Burger Joint). Fabulous amenities aside, a hotel is all about the rooms. And this month, Departures magazine provides its picks for the city’s best hotel rooms. [more]

A rendering of the Cornell-Technion campus

Not only did Google’s purchase of a Chelsea headquarters affirm the neighborhood’s tech sector appeal, but the Silicon Valley giant is also using the neighborhood to draw the next wave of start-up entrepreneurs. DNAinfo reported that Google’s headquarters on Eighth Avenue will house the Cornell-Technion applied science graduate school while the permanent campus gets built on Roosevelt Island. Classes are set to begin this fall. [more]

A screenshot of an online map

It might be hard for some to believe that their high-rises sit atop former farmland, but a new set of online maps are meant to show city dwellers the history of the land on which they live. The New York Times reported that the Museum of the City of New York and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office put the 92 maps online, which date back to the early 1800s. [more]

New York City renters pay a greater share of property taxes than homeowners, Crain’s reported, citing a new study conducted by the Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy. “It’s not apparent because the property tax is hidden to renters,” Ingrid Gould Ellen, co-director of the Furman Center, told Crain’s. “Most [renters] don’t have a sense how much they are paying toward taxes.” [more]

From left: Robert Fried, an attorney with Jack Jaffa & Associates, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and 2610 Frederick Douglass Boulevard

The number of violations issued against residential landlords who illegally house temporary occupants in their apartment buildings has more than doubled in the wake of 2011 state legislation curbing illegal hotels, according to data provided to The Real Deal today by the office of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The administration’s Office of Special Enforcement task force issued 1,897 transient occupancy violations in 2011 – almost two-and-a-half times more than in 2010 – and about 96 percent, or 1,820 violations, have been issued since the law took effect in May 2011, the data through Dec. 31, 2011 show. [more]