As one of New York City’s last Irish enclaves, Woodlawn in the northernmost part of The Bronx has drawn large numbers of Irish visitors for generations. Indeed, for many Irish visitors, Woodlawn serves as an affordable gateway to New York City.
For Woodlawn residents, Irish visitors, many of whom look to stay with relatives or friends in the neighborhood, are vital to local businesses and help to reinvigorate the neighborhood’s unique character.
However, a two-year old law limiting short-term rentals is having unintended consequences, making it more difficult for visitors to find accommodation in Woodlawn and in other neighborhoods, Irish and otherwise, across the Big Apple.
Thankfully, there is a proposal before the New York City Council to fix this. At a time when our city continues to become increasingly expensive, it’s never been more crucial to communities like ours to ensure that we can expand tourism and short-term accommodation opportunities at the local level.
This will mean that more overseas visitors, both from Ireland and elsewhere, will be able to experience the unique neighborhoods that continue to make New York City special.
Affordable short-term accommodation helps make Woodlawn a lens through which many of our Irish relatives and friends first see the rest of New York.
So what brought us to this point? In 2022, the City of New York enacted Local Law 18. This legislation all but put a ban on short-term rentals in New York City with the goal of preventing large-scale landlords from using their properties for these kinds of accommodations instead of providing long-term housing for those in need. While that might have seemed like an important and necessary step, it unintentionally had adverse effects on one- and two-family homeowners.
As a result of this legislation, there are prohibitions for homeowners in residential neighborhood like Woodlawn who might want to do a short-term rental. As is often the case, well-intended general policies that derive from Local Law 18 are unduly burdensome and fail the common-sense test for neighborhoods like mine. TAPPING SUPPORT: Matthew and son Éamon
Hosts, for example, are not allowed to place locks on their private rooms, creating safety concerns for their property and themselves. Most importantly, the limitation on two guests at a time means that a family of four has limited options for staying in the outer boroughs, close to the family, friends, or community with which they identify.
Irish family members, for example, who want to attend a wedding at St. Barnabas parish in Woodlawn or visit their loved ones on holiday bear the financial brunt of policies intended to curb large-scale landlordism.
New York City is the most sought after destination for Irish citizens coming to the United States, with NYC & Company reporting more than 250,000 visitors in 2023. Those numbers have only grown since the pandemic, underscoring the need to offer them more options outside Manhattan — especially as nightly hotel rates continue to rise. Their options due to Local Law 18 have consigned them to arduous 4 or 7 train rides from Midtown to visit friends or family in Woodlawn or Queens.
For New Yorkers, rents have ticked up since Local Law 18 came into effect, even though its intent was to drive them down. Vacancy rates have remained flat. All the while, the cost of living in New York City has climbed to sit at 72 per cent higher than the rest of the United States. In the outer boroughs, this has made it harder for homeowners to keep their properties.
With the cost of living soaring, it has become harder for the for hardworking, blue-collar Woodlawn families who literally build New York to pay mortgages, property taxes, and utility bills. This in turn threatens their ability to stay in homes that they inherited as a form of generational wealth or worked decades to afford.
That can all change under a proposed law, Intro. 948A, which would make simple fixes to the law but make a major difference for homeowners and overseas visitors alike. First, it would allow one- or two-family homeowners to host up to four guests (not including children), even if they are not present. Then, it would allow them to put locks on private bedrooms, home offices, or other spaces to ensure a reasonable level of security and access for all parties.
As someone who worked in civil-military relations for years, I know how often broad-brush policies can place unintended burdens on local communities and families. As a proud owner of one of Woodlawn’s larger pubs, I also understand how vital short-term accommodation is to the vitality, growth, and unique character of the community where I also live and raise my children. As I anticipate the important milestones in their lives, the importance of easing short-term accommodation rules for Irish visitors is not only a publican’s concern, it is a father’s.
If we want New York City’s remaining Irish communities to remain strong for longtime residents and overseas visitors alike, there are simple steps like these that we can take now. The City Council must act to deliver for communities like mine by passing this bill, fix the unintended consequences of Local Law 18, and make the New York City more affordable for New Yorkers.
Matthew Carey Salyer is the proprietor of The Burren Public House in Woodlawn.
