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.