Author: tourist_yp6g7u

This article was originally published on Sep 5 5:00am EDT by THE CITY

Enforcement starts Tuesday on a New York City law requiring all hosts who rent out housing for less than 30 days to register before collecting any money for bookings on platforms like Airbnb or VRBO.

Imposing hefty fines on hosts and booking websites that run afoul of registration rules, Local Law 18 aims to end listings for full apartments without hosts present during the stay, which are in effect illegal hotels and already banned by law — a ban that has resisted enforcement until now.

A look at existing Airbnb listings shows the scope of the challenge.

Before Labor Day, over 10,000 “entire apartment/home” listings on Airbnb in New York City offered availability for bookings shorter than the one-month threshold, data from InsideAirbnb shows. These illegal rentals accounted for about one-third of active city listings on Airbnb, the most commonly used short-term rental platform, and had rebounded since the pandemic shut down travel in 2020.

Yet the Office of Special Enforcement, charged with rooting out illegal hotels, issued summonses to owners of just 365 properties in 2021. Even at the peak of enforcement, in 2019, the office issued summonses on fewer than 700 buildings — as nearly 14,000 full apartments were listed for rent for less than 30 days.

OSE’s focus so far has been “responding to submitted complaints,” but the enforcement of Local Law 18 “is designed to address the issue at large scale by requiring the platforms to verify registrations,” said Nora Daniel, chief of staff at the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice which oversees OSE. 

As of May, Gothamist reported, the office had just 28 positions filled out of 60 budgeted.

“Our biggest concern is getting OSE staffed up,” said Michael McKee, an organizer with the Coalition Against Illegal Hotels who helped draft the new registration law. “The sooner the city fills these roles the better.” 

Registration rules are strict. Hosts must provide the Office of Special Enforcement with a lease or other proof that they are the legal occupant of an apartment, and the units must be free of serious housing code violations.

The new law is already having an impact on Airbnb, the biggest player in the short-term rental industry. 

As of Aug. 28, the Office of Special Enforcement had approved just 257 short-term rental hosts on the platform, according to Airbnb, which unsuccessfully sued in an attempt to block the registration system. The company informed hosts this summer that any full-unit listing that is not registered will get automatically set to a minimum 30-day stay starting Tuesday.

“The city is sending a clear message to millions of potential visitors who will now have fewer accommodation options when they visit New York City: you are not welcome,” Theo Yedinsky, global policy director for Airbnb, told THE CITY.

What remains to be seen now is how much short-term rental business migrates off the brand-name platforms and onto harder-to-track websites and text chats.

“People will do all sorts of things, including trying to create their own platform,” said McKee.

Freelance Listings

Local Law 18 holds short term rental sites responsible for “transactions” but doesn’t hold them responsible for listings, thanks to federal law that shields online platforms from responsibility for content posted on them. 

Many short-term rental providers already have their own websites that advertise listings, process bookings and initiate transactions between renters and owners — including Elevate Vacation Rentals and Stay & Smile. THE CITY also found over a dozen individuals advertising apartment rentals for as little as a few days on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. 

Small landlords are pushing back, not only against Local Law 18, but also against the city and state laws that prevent them from renting out entire units for less than 30 days.

“We’ve lost autonomy over our homes,” says Jean Brandolini Lamb, who works with a coalition of homeowners who offer short-term rentals named RHOAR. The coalition, which formed a few months ago in response to Local Law 18, believes their members shouldn’t be subject to the same rules as large corporate landlords. They have called for a pause on the registration enforcement for homeowners who live in their one- or two-family houses.  

As Airbnb automatically switches illegal listings to the 30-day minimum, some RHOAR members are wary. 

“There is a risk associated with 30 day and longer rentals, because in New York City, once someone lives on a property for 30 days they can claim right to the property,” Brandolini Lamb said. 

In a memo it’s sending to the City Council Tuesday, the Coalition to End Illegal Hotels criticized the homeowners’ call to change the rules for one- and two-family property owners, calling it “ill-advised” and arguing that an exemption “would make OSE’s job of policing illegal activity significantly harder.”

Some tenant advocates remain skeptical that Local Law 18 will make much of a difference for tenants seeking affordable apartments to rent long term. 

Tenant organizer Hui-Cheng Yung said that while the law addresses the “wild party house problem,” a trend towards temporary medium-term rentals for one month or more “will sadly become the biggest intractable housing problem New York City’s ever seen, even more problematic than short-term rentals.” 

Last month, THE CITY reported on landlords who are vacating rent-stabilized apartment buildings and turning them into medium-term “coliving” spaces leased by the room, reaping far more rent than traditional apartments.

Advocates from the Coalition Against Illegal Hotels remain optimistic that after more than a decade of efforts to control Airbnb, Local Law 18 will significantly rein in illegal rentals.

“The bottom line is: we feel really good about where we are right now,” McKee told THE CITY. “People power can sometimes beat money.”

THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.

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* This article was originally published here

This article was originally published on Sep 5 5:00am EDT by THE CITY

In Times Square, the world mecca once again teeming with tourists, the opening of a Van Leeuwen Ice Cream store this month marked a milestone. The area lost 179 businesses during the pandemic. The ice cream outlet is the 180th to open since then.

Tourists are back in New York, with visitors fueling record attendance at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in Queens. Jobs in hotels and restaurants are up almost 10% in the last year. Occupancy at hotels has also jumped from last year and room rates have increased to prices above pre-pandemic levels, partly because the thousands of rooms the city government is renting out to house asylum seekers are squeezing supply.

But the city will not surpass its 2019 record of 66.6 million visitors because once-numerous travelers from China remain few and far between and Americans are flocking to Europe in unprecedented numbers. 

Investors remain unconvinced of the future, with hotels selling at steep discounts from what they commanded before the pandemic.

“We have all these headwinds,” says Vijay Dandapani, president of the New York Hotel Association.

Still, the numbers show a rebound with the official forecast from the tourism agency NYC & Co. still predicting 63.3 million visitors this year, up 12% from last year. So far this year, hotel occupancy has averaged 87.5% of capacity, according to STR, the primary source for data on hotels nationwide. The numbers for Times Square are even more robust, with occupancy nearing 90% for some weeks in August.

Times Square pedestrian traffic topped 400,000 on some days compared with an average of 365,000 in 2019. With office workers still coming in only a few days a week, those tourists have been crucial to a retail rebound. The Times Square Alliance says spending this quarter will be 92% of the pre-pandemic number.

“I think people from the region are rediscovering Times Square,” said Alliance President Tom Harris. “People are coming for long weekends.”

Hotel room rates are up more than would be justified by the increase in occupancy, with the average so far this year $270 a night compared with $246 last year. The reason, says Dandapani, is “rate compression.”

Hotel industry experts say the city has contracted as many as 10,000 hotel rooms for migrants, although the mayor’s press office would not confirm the number.  

While most of the migrant hotels are among the lowest priced and least desirable, they do squeeze supply, allowing other hotels to raise rates.

“If you run a luxury hotel it’s like hitting the Lotto,” he added.

The association has even convinced STR to remove several thousand rooms from its calculations of occupancy and room rates because they are being used for asylum seekers.

Surpassing the 2019 tourism record may depend on the state of U.S.-China relations, since the Biden administration’s efforts to restrict Chinese access to advanced technology has impacted travel to New York. Flights between China and the U.S. are only 10% of pre-pandemic level, group travel has not resumed and individuals have long waits for visas to enter the United States.

In 2019, the 1.1 million China visitors ranked second among international travelers, behind only Canada, and spent almost $3,000 per trip — double that of other international tourists.

Chinese group travel segment is the “missing piece,” New York City Tourism and Conventions president Fred Dixon told the trade publication Skift. (The city tourism bureau declined an interview request from THE CITY.)

One uncertainty is the arrival of new rules Tuesday that will essentially make Airbnb illegal in the city without the presence of the person who owns or rents the residence. The move is expected to largely curb Airbnb and similar platforms as options for travelers.

It remains to be seen whether former Airbnb users will rent hotels or cancel plans to visit.

While city tourism executives and city officials remain optimistic, investors have doubts about the future. The Sheraton New York Times Square, the third largest hotel in the city with almost 1,800 rooms, sold last year for $346 million, less than half the $738 million it sold for in 2006.

With interest rates having more than doubled in the last year, hotels needing to refinance will be especially vulnerable.

“The capital markets are more unfriendly than even during COVID,” said Dandapani. “You will see more sales at depressed prices.”

THE CITY is an independent, nonprofit news outlet dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that serves the people of New York.

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* This article was originally published here

NEW YORK (AP) — The annual West Indian American Day Parade stepped off in New York City on Monday with brightly colored costumes, steel bands, flag waving and street dancing.

The Brooklyn parade is the culmination of carnival week and one of the world’s largest celebrations of Caribbean culture. The parade routinely attracts more than 1 million people for what has become one the city’s most spirited annual events.

A separate street party known as J’Ouvert, commemorating freedom from slavery, began in the early morning hours.

The main parade started later in the morning and featured steel drum players, stilt walkers and dancers wearing flamboyant costumes. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams were among the elected officials who either showed up for the parade or marched in it.

Hundreds of thousands of Caribbean immigrants and their descendants have settled in Brooklyn and have helped turn the Labor Day celebration into a must-see event.

The parade returned last year after a pandemic-induced hiatus.

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* This article was originally published here

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Labor Day, y’all! It is no toil for me to offer up another playlist on this holiday Monday.

After June’s AfroBowie collection, our editor-in-chief, Lori Lakin Hutcherson, suggested a few more in a series of collections of rock musicians inspired by and in collaboration with Black artists.

So here is the second offering: AfroZeppelin. While David Bowie championed and collaborated with Black music-makers throughout his long career, Led Zeppelin’s connections were not as overt.

Open in Spotify

Outselling the Beatles and toppling them as icons of a new era of rock and roll, Zeppelin was the perfect combo of the Delta blues, London’s swinging scene and the myriad of cultural influences.

The influence of the street-tough Chicago blues of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf taught them much about swinging boogie. Over the decades many of their famous riffs and lyrics would come under fire. The allegations have brought several lawsuits as well, most of them settled out of court discreetly.

In the case of “Whole Lotta Love”, the song credits were later amended to include Willie Dixon, who claimed Robert Plant used his lyrics from “You Need Love”.

“The Lemon Song” is an expansion of a musical phrase featured in Robert Johnson’s “Traveling Riverside Blues”.

I’ve gathered many of the songs covered and referenced by Led Zeppelin, and their own versions of said tracks. Of course, they have been covered many times themselves.

I’ve included Zeppelin covers by Mary J. Blige, Lizz Wright, and Stanley Jordan. You’ll also find many classic cuts that feature Led Zeppelin samples too.

Here’s Beyoncé, Ice T, Jurassic 5, D12, Dr. Dre, Beastie Boys and many others.

This collection of great tracks stands as another example that no artist creates in a vacuum. Whether the influences are readily acknowledged, each creator makes offerings informed by what came before.

Do enjoy! Until next month! Stay safe, sane, and kind.

* This article was originally published here

Amidst a news cycle that now routinely features wildfires, former president indictments, and extreme weather events, the world is grappling with the resurgence of COVID-19 as a new and concerning variant, BA.2.86, emerges. This variant, informally dubbed “Pirola,” has ignited alarm among public health experts due to its substantial spike protein mutations.

Dr. Scott Roberts, an infectious diseases specialist at Yale Medicine, warned that Pirola exhibits over 30 spike protein mutations compared to the previously dominant XBB.1.5 variant in the United States. The spike protein is critical for the virus’s entry into human cells, and such a high number of mutations raises red flags. In an online Yale Medicine article, Dr. Roberts compared the mutation count to the shift from the Delta to the Omicron variant in 2021, which caused a significant surge in cases due to its immune evasion capabilities.

What’s particularly concerning is that Pirola has been detected in at least six countries, and these cases appear unrelated. Experts said that suggests undetected community transmission and international spread, sparking concerns of a potential resurgence.
According to medical experts, BA.2.86 is a designated variant of Omicron, a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19. BA.2.86 stems from BA.2, a previously circulating Omicron subvariant. The variant was first identified in Denmark in late July and made its way to the United States in August. Knowing that cases aren’t linked indicates broader circulation, significantly as COVID-19 surveillance has waned, medical experts asserted.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that current COVID-19 tests and medications, such as Paxlovid, Veklury, and Lagevrio, seem effective against Pirola. However, Pirola may be more adept at infecting individuals who have had COVID-19 or have been vaccinated. There isn’t any current evidence that it causes more severe illness.

The increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. is attributed to XBB lineage viruses rather than Pirola. The multitude of mutations in Pirola raises concerns about its potential to bypass immunity from natural infection or vaccination.

Dr. Roberts emphasized that ongoing studies would reveal the true nature of Pirola’s threat. The unprecedented number of mutations in Pirola is reminiscent of significant shifts seen in other respiratory viruses, such as the 2009 swine flu. However, he noted that these variants sometimes fade away without causing a significant impact.

The critical question now is whether Pirola will follow the explosive growth pattern of Omicron or fade away, as everyone hopes. As of August 30, the CDC has identified Pirola in at least four U.S. states through samples from individuals or wastewater.

Some regions have reinstated mask mandates in response to the spike in COVID-19 cases. Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York, is among the institutions requiring masks in clinical areas to protect patients and staff. The CDC reports a nearly 19% increase in weekly new COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S., marking the sixth consecutive week of rising admissions.

The arrival of new COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax in mid-September is expected to offer robust protection against variants. Until then, experts stress that masking remains a crucial tool for safeguarding against COVID-19, even for individuals with normal risk levels, depending on their location and contacts.

Dr. Stephen Thomas of the Upstate Medical University in Syracuse told NPR that the facility has reverted to mandating masks.

“We wanted to, No. 1, protect our patients, and, No. 2, protect the men and women who work in our facility, and take care of them,” Thomas told NPR. “So, we implemented universal masking for staff, visitors, and patients only in clinical areas. So, we’re a university. We’re large. We have a lot of non-clinical regions. Universal masking is not being mandated in non-clinical areas.”

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* This article was originally published here