Brooklyn neighbourhood is where Airbnb is being put to the test

New York

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, a historically African-American neighbourhood in Brooklyn, has become one of the latest battlegrounds in the war between New York City and Airbnb.

A study released last week showed that rents had risen fastest in the New York City neighbourhoods where Airbnb, which lets users list their homes for short-term rentals, is the most popular. These include gentrifying, predominately minority neighbourhoods such as Bedford-Stuyvesant. The report, called Short Changing New York City, used 2015 Airbnb data and was commissioned by affordable housing advocates who had long been critics of Airbnb.

The report found that 55 per cent of the 51,000 or so Airbnb listings in New York City violated a state law that prohibits rental of a residential with three or more units for less than 30 days unless the permanent resident is present. It also found that more than one-third of Airbnb listings in New York City were considered commercial, meaning a property that is primarily dedicat…