The battle to shut down illegal hotels in New York City — which officials say are draining the already dwindling stock of affordable housing — is getting a $10 million budget boost.
The de Blasio administration is giving the money — which will be spread out over the next three years — to its newly beefed-up Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, which goes after illegal hotels that advertise on sites like Airbnb.
The money will go toward hiring five new staffers, state-of-the-art data to find illegal operators and a public awareness campaign to inform people what their rights are under New York’s strict hotel occupancy law.
NEW COALITION TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN-STYLE TACTICS AGAINST AIRBNB
That law forbids most people from renting out their apartments for less then 30 days, but makes exemptions for people who own one- and two-family homes.
The extra revenue is part of the city’s aggressive new approach to cracking down on illegal hotels.
Previously, the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement only went after violators when people complained.
