NY officials demand crackdown on Airbnb

Manhattan officials on Tuesday demanded a crackdown on Airbnb, saying the online subletting service is creating chaos by letting users illegally rent out apartments across the city.

“Our neighborhoods are in peril right now,” Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Harlem) said during a morning news conference in front of Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park.

“People should have a right to know that their neighbor in apartment 2A is not running an illegal brothel. They should have a right to know that the folks in apartment 5C are not dealing drugs.

“They should have a right to know that when they come home from work, that the folks in apartment 3B are not indulging in any criminal activity at all.”

“And, quite frankly, Airbnb does not help this situation,” he added.

State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-Upper East Side) blasted the San Francisco-based tech firm for refusing to turn over its records to state authorities for a probe of hotel-tax evasion and zoning violations.

“In general, the rule is: If you are subpoenaed for information, and you have nothing to hide, you turn it over,” Krueger said.

“When you have something to hide, you refuse to cooperate. And that is what we feel is exactly what’s happening.”

The San Francisco-based company is headed to an Albany courtroom this afternoon to try to quash a subpoena from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, who has recent data showing that nearly two-thirds of Airbnb rentals were offered in blatant violation of a law that bars sublets shorter than 30 days if the primary resident isn’t present.

In a statement, Airbnb said it’s “taken action to get bad actors out of the Airbnb community,” and blasted Schneiderman’s “government-sponsored fishing expedition” for information about thousands of its users.

“We’re proud to stand up for New Yorkers who simply want to share their space,” the company added.