The fight over Airbnb rages on in a five-story apartment building in Lincoln Square.
An LLC tied to Canvas Property Group registered its building at 207 Columbus Avenue on the city’s “Prohibited Building List,” making it off limits to short-term rentals, such as those offered on Airbnb. But a tenant allegedly rented out her unit on Airbnb anyway.
The list was created by Local Law 18, which requires short-term rental hosts to register their listings with the city. Platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo are supposed to verify the listings before posting them.
Airbnb fought the law, which the City Council passed in December 2021. The platform argued that the law was tantamount to a ban on short-term rental companies.
Last year, Canvas filed a lawsuit against Airbnb and tenant Carmen Magarin de Dominguez, alleging the tenant has rented out her apartment on Airbnb although the property is on the Prohibited Building List and not registered for short-term rentals.
Airbnb filed a motion to dismiss Canvas’ lawsuit but it was denied in August. In her decision, state Supreme Court Judge Suzanne Adams agreed that a lawsuit was a proper way for the landlords to seek justice. “It is reasonable to infer from these facts alleged that Airbnb is collecting fees from the subject premises in violation of Local Law 18,” she wrote.
The decision means the landlord can move forward with its lawsuit.
“This is a precedent-setting decision that cements the validity and intent of Local Law 18, which Airbnb cannot evade, despite its stringent efforts,” Michael Pensabene, an attorney with Rosenberg & Estis who represented the landlord, said in a statement Thursday.
Airbnb appealed that decision late last month. The company declined to comment on active litigation.
Since the city began enforcing Local Law 18 last September, the number of Airbnb listings in New York City has dropped 80 percent, Business Insider reported in June.
What we’re thinking about: What is Extell Development planning at 655 Madison Avenue? Send a note to kathryn@therealdeal.com.
A thing we’ve learned: Fatberg is the horrible (but also kind of fantastic?) term given to a solid mass formed by cooking fat, sanitary products and other things you are not supposed to pour down the drain or flush down the toilet. The largest recorded fatberg weighed nearly 290,000 pounds, according to Guinness World Records. It wreaked havoc on London’s sewer system in 2017.
Elsewhere in New York…
— An audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that the state Division of Human Rights mishandled housing discrimination complaints between April 2019 to October 2023, Gothamist reports. Flaws included complaints never being entered into the division’s computer system, delayed investigations and poor documentation of complaints.
— Peter Kauffman, a former campaign strategist for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is now working with an organization that is running ads criticizing Cuomo’s handling of the pandemic, Politico New York reports. “We will be educating New Yorkers about the impact that mismanagement, bullying, petty feuds, sexual harassment — how all those things have a direct impact on the ability of government to deliver for the people it represents,” Kauffmann told Politico.
It is unclear how much his group, New Yorkers for Better Government, is spending on the anti-Cuomo campaign, which aims to deter him from running for mayor. A spokesperson for Cuomo said the former governor is focused on key congressional races and the presidential election. “Gov. Cuomo believes these are the issues that need to be focused on and will leave the silliness and pettiness to others,” he told the publication.
Closing Time
Residential: The priciest residential sale Thursday was $10 million for a 3,667-square-foot condominium at 1 Morton Square in the West Village. Adam Modlin of the Modlin Group had the listing.
Commercial: The largest commercial sale of the day was $48.5 million for a 70,642-square-foot office building at 88 University in Greenwich Village.New to the Market: The highest price for a residential property hitting the market was $33.3 million for a 9,275-square-foot condominium at 20 West 53rd Street in Midtown. Norma-Jean Callahan of Douglas Elliman has the listing. — Matthew Elo