| | | | |  | | By Janaki Chadha | | Presented by |  | | | |  State and city law severely limit Airbnb in New York City — representing lost potential for the $86 billion company. | Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images | HOUSING HOSTILITIES: Tenant groups and homeowners sparred in City Hall Park today over a City Council bill that would make way for Airbnb in one- and two-family homes, with each accusing the other of being a front for powerful special interests — namely, the city’s hotel lobby and the short-term rental giant. Members of the new “Tenants not Tourists” coalition, which is backed by the hotel industry, chanted, “People over profits!” and “Airbnb, you can’t hide, we can see your greedy side!” One- and two-family homeowners with the group Restore Homeowner Autonomy & Rights, or RHOAR — which is backed by Airbnb — shouted back, “Hotels are using you!” and, “We are your neighbors!” “We don’t work for anybody but ourselves as tenants,” said Whitney Hu of Churches United for Fair Housing, a member of the anti-Airbnb coalition. We’re “fighting back against legislation and rhetoric from Airbnb and real estate vultures for eating up housing that could serve families, workers and longtime residents.” State and city law severely limit Airbnb in New York City — representing lost potential for the $86 billion company. It has been trying to break into the lucrative market for years, only to find itself thwarted over and over by the politically influential Hotel and Gaming Trades Council. At issue today is a bill introduced by Brooklyn Council Member Farah Louis and supported by Speaker Adrienne Adams that seeks to exempt one- and two-family homes from the city’s recent Airbnb crackdown. Both Democrats represent districts with a preponderance of single-family homeowners. A 2022 city law required short-term rental hosts to register with the city and severely curtailed Airbnb’s reach in the five boroughs. The rules weeded out listings that were already illegal under state law, which bars short-term rentals under 30 days if a host is not present. Members of the “Tenants not Tourists” coalition, which includes the union, say Louis’ bill would amount to a rollback of that critical enforcement and take much-needed housing off the market. But homeowners like Gia Sharp, who owns a two-family house in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, and is a co-founder of RHOAR, say Airbnb is a key source of income for homeowners struggling with rising costs and offers flexibility that a long-term tenant would not allow. Sharp was one of several homeowners holding up signs across from the Tenants not Tourists gathering today. “The big hotel chains are using scare tactics to exploit one of the biggest social challenges of our time to boost their profits with sky high nightly rates,” Nathan Rotman, Airbnb’s northeast policy lead, said in a statement. “It’s time to fix a broken law that hasn’t helped housing but has padded hotel industry pockets at everyone else’s expense.” — Janaki Chadha
| | | | A message from Uber: Study Reveals Uber Drivers Make More than EMTs: NYC Uber drivers now earn an average of $52,900 annually after expenses, outpacing the salaries of many essential city employees, including EMTs and sanitation workers. Despite delivering vital services, these workers struggle with stagnant wages while Uber drivers have benefited from five TLC-mandated pay hikes since 2020. Read more on the wage disparity impacting NYC’s workforce. Learn More. | | | |  | FROM CITY HALL | | |  Daniel Penny (center) poses for a photo Monday while gathered at a bar with his attorneys Steven Raiser (left) and Thomas Kenniff after being acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in New York. | Jennifer Peltz/AP | PENNY VERDICT: A Manhattan jury’s acquittal of Daniel Penny sharply divided the city along ideological lines. On Monday morning, a jury found Penny did not commit criminally negligent homicide when he placed Jordan Neely in a chokehold on an F train in February 2023. Neely was pronounced dead shortly afterward. Republicans who had cast Penny as a hero for standing up against crime celebrated the outcome, using it as another opportunity to blast Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for bringing the case in the first place. “The only evidence we saw was the clear and convincing evidence of the perverse idea of justice held by Alvin Bragg,” GOP Council Member Joe Borelli said in an interview. “This is someone who, since day one, has had the public interest in his crosshairs and has done nothing but make the borough of Manhattan less safe. He should resign.” Left-leaning organizations like the New York Working Families Party pounced on the verdict as a travesty of justice and criticized Mayor Eric Adams for not condemning Penny’s actions. “Eric Adams and his administration failed to call Neely’s death what it was: a modern-day lynching,” Jasmine Gripper and Ana María Archila, co-directors of the organization, said in a statement. “Today’s news that Daniel Penny was found not guilty of murdering Jordan Neely underscores that our criminal justice system is still beyond broken. This ruling fails to recognize that Jordan Neely’s life mattered.” Last week, during an appearance on "The Rob Astorino Show," the mayor said, “You have someone on that subway who was responding, doing what we should have done as a city.” Asked to clarify those comments Monday, the mayor had a muted view of the case. “We should have been standing up for those passengers,” he said. "[S]tanding up for those passengers means addressing the mental health crisis we have in this city and not just waiting until incidents like this happen.” The question of whether Penny stood up rightfully or wrongfully, he said, was determined by the jurors. — Joe Anuta
| | | | REGISTER NOW: As the 118th Congress ends, major decisions loom, including healthcare appropriations. Key focus: site neutrality. Can aligning hospital and clinic costs cut federal spending, reflect physician costs, and lower patient expenses? Join policymakers and providers to discuss. | | | | | BLOCK WATCH: Mayor Adams today unveiled a public safety program that will coordinate agencies' outreach to city blocks where an outsize amount of crime occurs. It comes as he gears up to run for reelection, a race in which the indicted mayor faces several challengers to his left and possibly former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Called “Every Block Counts,” the initiative appoints a “CEO” to monitor quality-of-life issues for residents of their respective communities. “The ‘Every Block Counts’ partnership is a strategy that is laser-focused on a small number of blocks that have had to endure high levels of crime, particularly violent crime, and disorder for many years,” said Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chauncey Parker. The pilot program focuses on five blocks in two police precincts in the Bronx and Brooklyn, with high levels of violent crimes. The agencies working in tandem on the program include the Department of Buildings, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Housing Preservation and Development, the New York City Housing Authority, the New York City Police Department and the Fire Department of the City of New York. Later in the day, Adams hewed to his public safety focus with the release of a blueprint titled “Safer Together: The Adams Administration’s Approach to Community-Driven Public Safety,” meant to show City Hall’s success rate in a multiagency effort to address quality-of-life concerns. — Timmy Facciola
| | | | Billions in spending. Critical foreign aid. Immigration reform. The final weeks of 2024 could bring major policy changes. Inside Congress provides daily insights into how Congressional leaders are navigating these high-stakes issues. Subscribe today. | | | | | | | FROM THE CAPITOL | | | | 
Gov. Kathey Hochul unveiled a proposal Monday to send one-time “inflation rebates" to New Yorkers. | Paul Sancya/AP | CASH BACK: Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to give New Yorkers a piece of a $3 billion sales tax surplus built on the backs of inflation. Hochul unveiled a proposal Monday to send one-time “inflation rebates” of $300 to individuals earning less than $150,000 and $500 to families earning under $300,000. An estimated 8.6 million New Yorkers would qualify, including more than 3.6 million across the five boroughs. It’s the governor's latest effort to zoom in on economic concerns that haunted the Democratic Party in last month’s presidential election. Hochul is up for reelection in 2026 and is facing early and aggressive attacks from potential challengers Ritchie Torres and Mike Lawler, both New York House members. “Here’s my message: I’m on your side,” Hochul said during a press conference at Co-op City in the Bronx. “I believe that this extra inflation-driven sales tax revenue shouldn’t be spent by the state. It’s your money, and it should be back in your pockets.” Also on hand at Co-op City was Democratic Rep.-elect George Latimer, who praised the proposal as “the exact right way to do something concrete.” “It’s simple and it’s brilliant, governor,” Latimer said. “It’s substantive. It’s not just political rhetoric.” Monday’s announcement previews Hochul’s 2025 State of the State address and signals a focus on affordability in her upcoming budget proposal. But New Yorkers shouldn’t rush to their mailboxes just yet: The proposal will require the state Legislature’s approval. If it gets the green light, payments will start going out next fall. — Maya Kaufman
| | | | A message from Uber:   | | | | | IN OTHER NEWS | | — CAUGHT WITH MANIFESTO: A person of interest, Luigi Mangione, 26, was nabbed in the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — busted possibly trying to use a fake ID in a McDonald’s. (New York Post) — SEE-THROUGH MOVE: Potential Hochul challenger Rep. Ritchie Torres pressures the governor to sign a spending transparency bill. (Times Union) — BIG BUMP IN SMALL MONEY: Small-donor campaign contributions to New York state legislative races doubled after the state introduced a new public campaign finance system. (POLITICO Pro) — SHAPIRO’S TRANSIT PATH: Could New York adapt a plan by Pennsylvania to use highway money to save public transit? (New York Focus) Missed this morning’s New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
| | | | A message from Uber: Study Shows Uber Drivers making over $52k while NYC Heroes Get Left Behind
A new study reveals a growing wage divide in New York City: Uber drivers are making an average of $52,900 a year after expenses, while city employees like EMTs and sanitation workers starting salaries are below $44,000. Since 2020, rideshare drivers have received five pay increases through TLC mandates while many frontline city workers face stagnant wages amid rising living costs. This gap underscores an evolving dynamic in NYC’s workforce, where gig workers see consistent earnings growth while essential city roles lag behind. This pay disparity is raising questions about the city’s priorities and the need for equitable wages in public service amidst the affordability crisis.
Read the full story to see how gig work earnings are reshaping NYC’s labor landscape. Learn More. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
