New York City to root out illegal hotels

Since May 1, New York City has taken action against 15 illegal hotels.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg is announcing the results of a crackdown on illegal hotels, especially after May 1 when the new state law went into effect. The law targeted at the illegal hotels stiffened rules against them, making it tougher to rent out New York apartments as short-termhotel rooms. The law bans rentals for 30 days or less while allowing longer-term rentals.

On Thursday, May 5, New York City's Department of Buildings issued a partial vacate order for an illegal transient hotel Upper East Side of Manhattan, shutting down the guest rooms. 1370 York Avenue, which had been leased by an entity called MacDougal Street Synagogue, was running as lodgings, while zoned as ordinary apartments. As it was vacated, the hotel rooms in 1372 and 1374 were also shut down, the Huffington Post reported.

More than 3,000 buildings in New York City had residential units turned into rooms for short term rental. As a result, the residents in the same building had to face rowdy crowds and encounters with completestrangers, and the apartment units were not available to renters. Security issues too are at times the company of illegal hotels. One three-family house in Brooklyn was occupied by 44 guests, and had no sprinkler or fire alarm system, City inspectors discovered this month.

The new law signed in July, 2010, points to the online activities in promoting illegal short stays at much cheaper prices than the regular pricey New York hotels. The enforcement is complaint based, and fueled largely by calls to 311. Bloomberg promised the work by city officials to enforce the laws against the illegal hotels to continue, for the improvement of the security and quality of life in New York.