Proposed Airbnb-Friendly Bill Pits Homeowners Against Tenants and Hotel Workers

Rival rallies over proposed relief of restrictions on Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms faced off at City Hall Park Monday, playing out a live debate in front of the home of the City Council that will ultimately have to pick a side. Homeowners demanding a fresh chance to host visitors confronted tenants and hotel workers in a heated confrontation over who wins and loses in the short-term rental economy.

On one side was the newly launched “Tenants not Tourists” Coalition, made up of groups that included the Crown Heights Tenants Union, Tenants PAC and Make the Road New York, along with the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council. They were there to protest a City Council bill introduced last month that would allow owners of one- and…