Letterhead.docx

HELEN ROSENTHALCouncil Member, District 6Manhattan

DISTRICT OFFICE563 COLUMBUS AVENUE, AT 87TH STREETNEW YORK, NY 10024(212) 873-0282

CITY HALL OFFICE250 BROADWAY, ROOM 1744NEW YORK, NY 10007(212) 788-6975

www.council.nyc.gov

THE COUNCILOFTHE CITY OF NEW YORK

CHAIRContracts

COMMITTEESFinanceHousing and BuildingsCultural AffairsCommunity Development

September 24, 2014

Eric Braverman, Chief Executive OfficerClinton Foundation1271 Avenue of the Americas42nd FloorNew York, NY 10020

Dear Mr. Braverman,The Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Global Initiative has helped improve millions of lives through its innovative sustainability, global health, womens rights and economic empowerment programs, and we are proud New York City is the headquarters city for the Foundation. Over the years, President Clinton and Secretary Clinton have ensured the Foundations work continues to build on the enormous progress they helped bring about throughout their combined decades of public service. We are all better off because of the work you do.It is because of this body of work that we were disheartened to see that the Foundation was partnering with Airbnb to help provide accommodations for AmeriCorps volunteers. Airbnb has spent over $25 million in New York City attempting to burnish its reputation as a force for good. In New York City, however, that is not the case. Airbnb, sadly, is far from what the company would like us to believe.While Airbnb tries to cast an image of being a harmless home sharing tool, it is actually the leading operator in the illegal hotel industry that is exacerbating the affordable housing crisis in New York City. Airbnb encourages the conversion of residential apartments into commercial properties, a practice that is illegal in New York State. In doing so, it preys on neighborhoods where affordable housing is limited and rents are rising at a record pace. Though Airbnb would like us to believe its services are primarily used by people to rent rooms in their apartments, a recent investigation by the States Attorney General found that two-thirds of Airbnbs listings were, in fact, illegal.At a time when the citys goal is to preserve 120,000 units of affordable housing, Airbnb is incentivizing the loss of nearly 14,000 units.Presently, Airbnb has over 20,000 units listed in New York City, and the implications of turning large swaths of housing units into hotels is frightening. As Mayor De Blasio and other affordable housing activists remind us, New York City is in the midst of an affordable housing crisis that threatens the very fabric of our city. Airbnbs most popular neighborhoods neighborhoods like the Upper West Side, Bed-Stuy, Harlem, and Washington Heights are neighborhoods that are already among the most expensive to live in the city. Taking affordable housing units in these neighborhoods and turning them into hotels is like throwing gasoline on a fire.Nor does Airbnb adequately advise its customers that they are likely breaking the law, and that by doing so they are exposing their customers to fines and possibly evictions.We believe in the Clinton Foundations guiding principle that were all in this together. But it appears Airbnb does not subscribe to this principle, as it is content to flout our laws, put tenants at significant risk, and deal a serious blow to our efforts to make this city more affordable for working New Yorkers. Consistent with your Foundations principles, we strongly urge you to reconsider your partnership with Airbnb.Yours Truly,

Council Member Helen Rosenthal

Council Member Dan Garodnick

Council Member Corey Johnson

Council Member Ben Kallos

Council Member Rose Mendez

Council Member Brad Lander

Council Member Mark Levine

Council Member Antonio Reynoso

Council Member Ritchie Torres