Airbnb is Illegal in NYC, But When There Are Dollars to Be Made…

“Last year we made about $90,000 from this business,” said Leslie, who rents out two rooms in her two-family house in Brooklyn through Airbnb.

Leslie, a stay-at-home mother who is married to a teacher, agreed to speak only if her address and last name were withheld. So did Joe, who said his “dedicated Airbnb room,” which brings in about $2,000 per month that he splits with his two roommates, allowed him to start a small technology company. And P., a musician who rents out two apartments in Manhattan and one in Brooklyn.

One man, however, declined to be identified by his extremely common first name, by his profession or even by the state in which he lives. Instead he described himself as “one of the people they really want to get.”

Elizabeth Harris looks at the lucrative, but illegal (in NYC) Airbnb economy in New York, which I’ve talked a little bit about before in regards to some of the lawsuits that have been filed. One woman says she rents out a room only while she is also occupying the apartment, and started doing it after she racked up some high medical bills during the recession — it’s hard not to be sympathetic to that. [Meanwhile, in San Francisco…]

Photo: Tommypjr

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