Thousands of NYC Airbnb listings have vanished, following the implementation of NYC’s Short-Term Rental Registration Law. The ruling had been proposed in the fall of last year, but officially went into effect on Tuesday, September 5th.

The ruling even lead to Airbnb filing a lawsuit against NYC. “It is literally impossible for regular people to comply with the rules,” said Karen Dunn, Airbnb’s attorney, in a press conference earlier this summer. “These are regulations that experts will tell you no regular person could understand unless they had a history of working in building code engineering.” However, a New York judge waved the lawsuit after deeming that the Short-Term Rental Registration Law was “entirely rational.”

So let’s take a moment to get a better look at what this new law means for hosts and those looking to book a short-term stay in NYC…

What is NYC’s new ruling for short-term rentals?

The Short-Term Rental Registration Law, otherwise known as Local Law 18, requires short-term rental hosts to register with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE). Without compliance and registration, transactions will no longer be processed through booking platforms including but not limited to Airbnb, VRBO, and Booking.com.

Booking platforms will work in tandem with Local Law 18 to certify that hosts are properly using the city’s verification system. Unverified transactions will not be processed on any of the platforms.

As of September 1, 2023, only 25% of 3,250 applications had been approved by the city, reported Bloomberg.

What other rules do hosts and guests need to know?

The new law also requires hosts to be physically present in the home while its being rented. Therefore, the host will be staying in the same apartment or home as the guest, simultaneously. Plus, there is a limit of two people staying in the rental at the same time—deterring larger families to ever book on Airbnb in NYC.

What else is there to know about Local Law 18?

In addition to registration, the OSE must maintain a list of buildings across the city in which short-term rentals are prohibited. Buildings may be prohibited for short-term rentals due to laws, leases, or occupancy agreements. Learn more about the Prohibited Buildings list here.

Why did the city pass the Short-Term Rental Registration Law?

The city has argued that the previous regulations surrounding short-term rentals like Airbnbs only compounded NYC’s imminent housing crisis, specifically “pushed up rents and helped fuel New York City’s housing shortage,” outlined The New York Times.

How do hosts register?

Hosts will have to provide one proof of identity and two proofs of permanent occupancy to register. They must apply via NYC’s Short-Term Rental Registration Portal.

Are there any exceptions?

Hosts of short-term rentals in “Class B” multiple dwellings that have already been approved by the city are not required to register under the new law. Additionally, if a unit is being rented for 30 consecutive days or more, registration is not required. Moreover, registration for rent-regulated units will not be approved by the OSE.

What happens to previous Airbnb bookings?

All previous reservations in short-term rentals that are not registered will be valid if they predate a December 1, 2023 check in. Reservations past that date will be canceled and refunded.

The post Good Luck Finding An Airbnb In NYC With This New Registration Law appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

From Japan Fes., NYC’s epic summer-long Japanese food fest, to Dragon Fest, NYC’s largest Chinese food festival, the city is filled with many opportunities to eat your way through some incredibly tasty bites.

And this month Taste of the Seaport is returning to NYC to show New Yorkers just how much of a food destination they’ve become.

Taste of the Seaport began more than twelve years ago with the simple idea of gathering the community around its best restaurants to fundraise for the local public school, and it’s since become a wildly popular NYC culinary event.

And this year the one-day festival is going to be bigger than ever.

On Saturday, September 23rd, more than 50 restaurants and community partners will come together to showcase the culinary diversity of lower Manhattan.

Hungry NYers will get a chance to taste of some of the best restaurants and kitchens Seaport has to offer, including Cafe Patoro, Carne Mare, Industry Kitchen, Keste Pizza, Taïm, Watermark, Malibu Farm, The Fulton, Stout NYC, Cobble Fish, Hole in the Wall, Osteria, and many more.

And, beyond the tasty eats, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy live music and purchase goodies from small businesses and local artists, while children can have fun in the kid play zone.

Tickets are sold in packs of “tastes” from contributing restaurants and are currently available at early-bird prices. Early-bird pricing ends Saturday, September 16.

Proceeds from Taste of the Seaport will benefit PS 343 Peck Slip School and PS 397 Spruce Street School.

Learn more about Taste of the Seaport here.

The post Seaport’s Annual Food Festival Returns This Month, & It’ll Be Bigger Than Ever appeared first on Secret NYC.

* This article was originally published here

The pandemic, racial reckoning of 2020, a shifting political climate, and the rising cost of living have tested our collective mental health limitations. Then there’s the adage in the Black American community that when white America catches a cold, Black America has pneumonia. 

BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) need mental health support and interventions, and suffer disproportionate negative consequences from not getting treatment. We have more obstacles to obtaining therapy than our white counterparts. 

The American Psychiatric Association has said that some barriers to BIPOC accessing care include lack of insurance, mental illness stigma, distrust of the healthcare system, and lack of diversity among mental health care providers. 

However, attitudes are changing, and many options exist for those seeking compatible, culturally competent BIPOC therapists. 

More BIPOC are open to receiving mental health support and treatment, decreasing the stigma and distrust of mental health care providers. Many exceptional and engaging BIPOC therapists on social media are popularizing the benefits and availability of culturally informed therapy and discussing various mental health topics. We are becoming more aware of our complex inner lives thanks to Black mental health podcasts discussing breaking generational trauma, overcoming troubled childhoods, recognizing deregulation, and intentional parenting. 

In my own life, I’ve observed my friends and family members becoming more open about seeking professional help. The standard approach to mental and emotional challenges was “just pray.” We now know that accepting professional mental health support is okay. It’s not either/or, but both/and. BIPOC are more informed about how improving our mental health improves our physical health and quality of life. 

Most therapists see clients virtually, eliminating transportation challenges and making seeing a BIPOC therapist more accessible. It’s a matter of knowing what conversations to have and where to look. 

According to Psychology Today, “The advantages of seeing a Black therapist are that it may help Black patients feel more confident [about] beginning therapy, feel more easily understood, and feel a stronger connection to the therapist.” A culturally competent mental health care provider is more effective because there is less to explain, and this added ease lets people feel safe enough to allow vulnerability. 

There are compassionate, masterful Black therapists of every specialty, gender, sexual orientation, spiritual background, insurance status, and approach ready to serve the community. We have to start asking for BIPOC therapists. The benefits of finding one are well-known and documented. Therefore, it is time to normalize having this conversation. 

Ask your primary care practitioner and insurance provider for a referral to a BIPOC therapist. Many companies have Employee Assistant Programs (EAPs) that offer counseling services. Ask for a BIPOC counselor. The more we ask, the more we will see.

Our racial and cultural experience intersects with all other areas of our lives, including our

mental health. As we become knowledgeable about the benefits of tending to our mental

health, we must find the appropriate solutions. 

National and NYC-based referral resources 

Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective (BEAM)—virtual black therapist

referral service: https://beam.community/

Black Mental Health Alliance—culturally relevant mental health referral service:

MPG Consulting; Mary Pender Greene, LCSW-R, CGP, president & CEO—

NYC-based company with a vast network of BIPOC therapists in an

extensive array of specialties; each referral vetted based on specific needs:

NYC Affirmative Psychotherapy—NYC-based Queer and Trans People of

Color (QTPOC) practice with many mental health professionals: 

https://www.nycaffirmativepsychotherapy.com/

Therapy for Black Girls—has an extensive directory of BIPOC therapists and a

podcast that explores Black women’s mental health issues: 

Therapy for Black Men—organization with an extensive national directory of therapists

for Black men: https://therapyforblackmen.org/therapists/

Psychology Today—national media organization with Find a Black and

African-American Therapist referral service: 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/african-american
Claire Julian is the learning & branding coordinator for MPG Consulting, a company committed to eliminating bias and structural racism in the workplace that supports leaders and organizations serving diverse populations by ensuring they are prepared to provide transformative, culturally and racially attuned programmatic, clinical, and administrative services.

The post BIPOC mental health resources are available appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here

This Labor Day was a moment to step back and look at the forces that have led to the decline in labor union membership. Currently, only 6% of private sector employees belong to a union. They are concentrated in motor vehicle-related manufacturing, oil and gas, and mining. We also want to acknowledge the successes of SEIU 32BJ, the hospital workers’ unions, and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). 

A recent Gallup poll survey reported that 70% of people in the United States had a favorable opinion of unions—60% percent would join a union if the option was available at work. Yet, there is a strong anti-union sentiment among Republicans and near-fanatical opposition by corporations. 

The deeper answer to the question is: Yes, unions work, just not for businesses and corporations. In the traditional economic science of efficiency, unions create inefficiency: They increase costs and someone else pays. They misallocate resources. 

Unions are different from corporations and consumers. They are a third power group representing workers. Consumers want the cheapest price, businesses want the cheapest labor cost, and unions want higher pay and benefits. It’s an inherent conflict. But the ultimate power broker in the U.S. economy—the consumer—has decided in favor of cheaper prices. 

What is the actual cost to the economy of labor unions? Estimates are in the 3/10 of 1% or 0.3% range.

But the question of whether unions are good is really a trap. It might be the wrong question to ask. To understand why, you have to take a step back—a big step back. You have to look at how the U.S. political economy is organized. 

Power in the U.S. economy is organized into five basic groups: consumers, corporations and small businesses, government, finance and capital, and labor (workers). Since 1980, each group in the U.S. economy has performed differently: Consumers, business, and finance have done well; government has modestly shrunk; and unions––which represent the bargaining power of workers––have been crushed. 

To judge the power of each group over the past 60 years, let’s look at the success and failure of each. 

The same way there is inefficiency in any business, like CEO pay being 600 times average worker pay, there are economic inefficacies in unions, like higher wages and bargaining power. 

That is the playing field that unions confront. 

The U.S. economy has been through three dramatic changes: the shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy, and then industrial to service during the 1970s, and finally the growth of high-skilled service workers during the 1990s. 

What can unions offer high-skilled workers? To start, unions offer decent working conditions and overtime pay; vacations; job stability; and protections against unfair employment practices. They help balance the power of corporations and promote social justice and worker rights. Their benefits spill over into the larger economy for non-union workers. They promote stability, trust, and productivity in the workplace.

Union myths and facts

Ongoing myths about unions claim they are all corrupt. In the past, unions were corrupt, but union corruption is mostly a thing of the past. Unions are governed by democratic principles, unlike businesses. They elect their leaders in elections that are monitored by the NLRB. 

Another myth is that union workers do not work hard. Again, this is far from the truth. They do their job: They are skillful and knowledgeable workers who get the job done safely and on time. In many cases, the real issue is poor management. Corporations often limit overtime, but when problems arise, they blame unions for asking for overtime. They say that unions are inflexible and against bonuses or merit pay. 

Corporations also say that unions do not care about the companies they work for. Nothing could be further from the truth. Unions know who is paying their salaries; they simply want to share in the success. During the 1990s, there was a record number of givebacks by unions. 

The facts are, though, that some unions were and still are racist. Until recently, many construction unions, police, and fire unions restricted Black membership. Many unions have no Black leadership, and Black people and other minorities have had difficulty with enrolling in apprenticeship programs. 

Unions have been known to inflate the cost of infrastructure projects. Over-specialization has hampered projects like the Second Avenue Subway and East Side access. Teacher unions have resisted educational reforms; police unions have resisted reforms like wearing bodycams; and some public sector unions, like fire services, EMS, and government employees, could be more efficient.

Corporation myths and facts

Corporations reportedly hate unions. But it’s only U.S. companies that hate unions. Mercedes Benz and other companies that are not based here are all unionized in their home countries. 

Sadly, U.S. corporations have waged a long, vigorous, and successful campaign against private sector unions. They view it as a cost of doing business to hire the best anti-union consultants and lawyers to fight unions tooth and nail. 

They have positioned themselves as taking over the moral high ground in the media ever since Ronald Reagan broke the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Association when he fired striking air traffic controllers in 1981. Today they use Fox News to promote anti-union views. They have lobbied for and promoted an anti-union stance under “right-to-work” laws which allow free riders on union contracts. They have used corporate lobbying power to weaken union organizing laws, and they have labeled unions as anti-competitive while they seek monopolies themselves.

Interestingly, some corporations like unions. They like the rules, stability, and predictability of a union contract. 

In summary, unions are good for society and the economy. The decline in union power or worker power relative to corporations is not good for society. There has to be some balance or it’s a race to the bottom.
Chris Lee is founder of the Black Economics and Business (BEBN) website, https://blackeconbiz.com, which is designed to promote Black economic success and happiness.

The post Are unions good for corporations, the economy, and society? appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.

* This article was originally published here