New Jersey Young Americans For Liberty Supports Jersey City Renters Against Airbnb Ban

Jersey City – New Jersey Young Americans for Liberty (YAL) Chairman James Pillion today announced that the state chapter is taking an official stand against the Jersey City municipal Airbnb ban that includes not only onerous regulation, but a prohibition on renters from listing a room in their apartment for short term rental. “Elected leaders talk about fighting institutional corruption, but in the case of the Jersey City Airbnb ban, it’s clear that they are entrenching it by fighting for the hotel lobby against the interests of middle and working class people,” said Pillion. He continued, “it is morally wrong to cut the vast majority of Airbnb hosts from this income and pretend you are doing them a favor while doing so, as Jersey City Mayor Fulop who is for the ban, has done.”

Indeed, as 70% of Airbnb hosts are renters – banning tenants and adding administrative costs not currently in existence to the remaining few short-term rentals will drive up the price dramatically, limiting the tourist flow to Jersey City and the tens of millions they inject into the municipal economy. Short term rentals have enabled Jersey City residents, tenants and longtime local property owners who live in the city, to afford the rising cost of living and taxes and remain very popular with residents.

James Dickerson, Hudson County YAL Vice-Chairman highlighted the danger of the administration backed ban on tenant hosting and extra regulatory burden stating that “there are millions of local, state, and federal, laws which force people to act differently than they would given their personal freedom.” Dickerson continued, “regulations on Airbnb are one but a multitude of the millions of laws which are contributing to, not preventing the next economic downturn, and hurting innocent people in the process.”

YAL is a well-known national grassroots non-partisan freedom movement for a government that is out of everyone’s bedroom, wallet, and personal decisions. The movement has chapters around the country. YAL Assistant North East Director, Matthew Castaneda, himself a New Jersey native, stated that “from the banning of alcohol to the war on drugs, we see that prohibitions don’t work – period. Moreover, they criminalize the actions of regular people just trying to make ends meet and they empower and strengthen economic cartels – which is why the hotel lobby is fighting for this so adamantly.” He continued, “it’s basic corrupt politics, the hotel lobby doesn’t make money off of Airbnb, but rather than out compete them they have bought politicians who they use to kill rather than compete with Airbnb hosts.”