Residents: Don't Ban Airbnb

Democrat Councilmen Mark Cuthbertson & Tracey Edwards introduced legislation to ban the popular home-sharing service Airbnb. At the public hearing last week, there were NO residents speaking in favor of their proposals...and PLENTY speaking out against them.

Read the full article from The Long Islander here.

Cuthbertson said, "“Frankly, the easiest way to draft that legislation was in the most restrictive manner, which is a ban."

There were no speakers in support of the town’s proposed ban during the hearing. Most of the 22 speakers explicitly spoke in favor of the service and asked the board members to reconsider and amend the legislation.

“Far from taking permanent housing off the market, Huntington residents are sharing their own homes to cope with soaring property taxes in an era of stagnant wages,” said Josh Meltzer, head of New York Public Policy for Airbnb. “In fact, the majority of listings in Huntington are for ‘shared spaces’ — meaning an extra bedroom in someone’s home.”