Seeing as there are no actual jobs available any more, New Yorkers have turned to the tried and true method of enriching themselves using the sheer brilliance of the city: real estate. Specifically, renting out their apartments as illegal hotels to tourists. "I'm an entrepreneur, and I saw this as another opportunity," a woman who rents out her Brooklyn apartment for $100/night tells the Post. "I've been booked for the past month and a half, save for a few nights." We'd like to take this opportunity to announce that a lovely broom closet in the Lower East Side that is available for $30/hour.
A 26-year-old former hedge fund employee who lost his job says that he clears $60K annually by renting out his three bedroom apartment in the Lower East Side, and he's since moved elsewhere so he can take full advantage of his relatively inexpensive $2,500/month rent.
But because the majority of apartments in the city are designated as "Class A" most of these "hoteliers" are breaking the law: Class A apartments may not be subletted for less than a month, and subletters aren't allowed to charge more than 10% above the price they're rented for. "You have to be concerned about the comings and goings of in the building, and you need to know who you're renting to," councilmember Gail Brewer says. "If people need help making ends meet, they should work on getting a roommate."
The city has recently cracked down on illegal hotels, but those were more comparable to hostels, where several bunk beds would be placed in a single room and too few exits were available to boarders in the event of a fire. You know the economy is rough when New Yorkers deem paying the rent as more important than the fear of catching bedbugs.
