Alexandria Wojcik knows just about everyone in the village of New Paltz, and that was before she became deputy mayor. So she says it didn’t take long before someone mentioned to her an influx of tourists staying at a building that served as an illegal Airbnb.
“There’s all these different people coming in every couple days, total strangers, tourists; nobody lives there," Wojcik said. "So it just becomes this weird void on a block.”
The village recently passed a law that would ban short-term rentals when the host is not the primary resident. Wojcik says housing is hard to find in the village, and landlords catering to vacationers instead of locals would make it even harder. Despite the law passing, she says it’s easy for wealthy landlords to skirt it.
What You Need To Know
- The Village of New Paltz passed a law that would ban short-term rentals when the host is not the primary resident
- Deputy Mayor Alexandria Wojcik says there's at least one illegal rental skirting this law
- She says that a state law is needed to make it easier to enforce laws like this one
“Laws don’t matter if people don’t care about the reason behind. What’s $1,000 to someone making $1,000 in a week off skirting that law?" Wojcik said.
New Paltz is the first municipality in the area to pass laws regulation Airbnbs in this way. But grassroots group For the Many is pushing for more cities in the Hudson Valley to protect renters.
“We need to open up as much housing options for the people in our cities who are struggling to afford to stay here," said For the Many Political Coordinator Daniel Atonna.
Atonna says that the issues New Paltz is facing gives them a better idea of how to make the law work better.
“In the early stages, when we were first writing our bill, we were regularly talking to Deputy Mayor Wojcik from New Paltz to talk about what things worked and what things didn’t work," Atonna said. "And she gave us advice that definitely made its way into our bills in Newburgh, Kingston and Poughkeepsie.”
Wojcik says what’s ultimately needed is a county-wide law or, at least, a rental registration system.
“The fact that we have one on the books in the village is one of the only things that made it possible for us to find out who the landlord is who’s breaking the law and whatnot," she said. "But having that more on a county-wide level, I think, would really assist in this a lot more in general.”
A spokesperson for Airbnb responded with a statement.
“The vast majority of Hosts in New Paltz share just one home, and we welcome the opportunity to engage with local leaders to help ensure home sharing continues to be an important part of creating economic opportunity for local residents and the small businesses that help support the Hudson Valley’s regional economy," the spokesperson said.