I'm Brian Blair on WNYC, and now we turn our attention to a topic that's top of mind

for many homeowners in New York City, the pending regulation of the short term rental

market or what we commonly think of as Airbnb.

We know this is top of mind because remember a few weeks ago when one of our guests was

late, we opened the phones for a little while for people to call in on anything. And the

first call we took was from Ellie and Brooklyn who wanted to say this.

Yes, I'd like to discuss the Airbnb suit against the city. I find that the city has made

a blanket, blanket decision to make it difficult for homeowners to, you know, use their homes

as a means to generate income to support their families, as well as support mortgages

and things of that nature, whereas, and, and, and done this in a means to target it, target

large industries that have a running like Airbnb hotels, but the little guys you adversely

affected by this. But the little guys are adversely affected by this. Well, Ellie, we heard

you I said at the time during that phone call that we'd follow up. And now we're doing

so. So joining us now to explain and help discuss the lawsuits Airbnb and local hosts have

put forth against the city's efforts to clamp down on short term rentals, as well as

give us a look at how short term rentals affect the broader New York City housing market

during this crisis of affordability. And in what neighborhoods most of all is Jacqueline

Jeffrey Wolensky, data reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. She's recently published a string

of pieces on the topic stemming from her from her investigation that you can read for

yourself at Gothamist.com. Jacqueline, thanks for joining us. Hi there. Hi, thanks for having

me. So I heard the caller and what he said was consistent, I think, with your reporting

that Airbnb claims it faces an existential threat in New York City. What is that existential

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