Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash
Airbnb Urges New York City to Reconsider Short-Term Rental Rules
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
The American home rental company Airbnb released yesterday a public request to officials of the city of New York in the United States asking to reconsider the regulations for short-term rentals under Local Law 18 (LL18), imposed in September last year.
“One year after passage, New York City’s unprecedented short-term rental regulations have failed to deliver on their promise to combat the housing crisis,” wrote the company’s team and added graphics, data, and quotes from experts to prove that the results with the strict regulations on short term rentals have not achieved the expected improvements.
According to Bloomberg , short-term listings on Airbnb have decreased by 83% in the past year, considerably affecting the company as in 2022 its net revenues from New York City rentals reached $85 million.
As reported by Airbnb, housing prices—one of the main reasons why the LL18 was imposed, to protect affordable housing—have kept rising and hotel prices keep soaring. “Regulators promised that banning Airbnb in New York City would unlock housing. Instead, rent climbed 3.4 percent during the first 11 months of the law,” wrote Airbnb’s team.
In order to rent an apartment, under the LL18, homeowners must get a license and comply with the basic requirements like registration with the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE), rent the property for more than 30 days in buildings and neighborhoods where it is allowed, and provide certificates and valid documents. OSE got over 6,500 applications from homeowners in New York, and around 38% got the license.
“New York City’s short-term rental regulations have backfired—disproportionately impacting outer borough communities, driving up travel costs, and doing nothing to solve the housing crisis,” said Theo Yedinsky, VP of Public Policy at Airbnb, “Instead of improving affordability, these regulations have priced out everyday consumers and left former hosts struggling to make ends meet.”
New York City officers have not yet responded to the short-term rental company’s demand. Airbnb also recently announced new services and luxury experiences for later this year.
Image courtesy of PlayStation
Sony and PlayStation Pull Concord Two Weeks After Launch
- Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
- Fact-Checked by Justyn Newman Former Lead Cybersecurity Editor
Sony and PlayStation announced that the online shooter game Concord will be taken offline on September 6, only two weeks after its release.
The multiplayer game, developed by Firewalk Studios, was launched on August 23 for PlayStation 5 and PC, but the expectations were not met.
Ryan Ellis, Game Director at Firewalk Studios, shared through an official announcement on Playsations’ website, that they will be pulling out the game and that all those who bought Concord —valued at $40—will get a refund.
“ Concord fans — we’ve been listening closely to your feedback since the launch of Concord on PlayStation 5 and PC and want to thank everyone who has joined the journey aboard the Northstar,” wrote Ellis. “However, while many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended.”
According to the BBC, the highest number of users playing the game simultaneously was 660. Other similar games like Counter-Strike 2 have been registering over 1 million players since 2022.
Even though the game developers had been working on Concord for around 8 years, in an effort from Sony to reach a large audience in the multiplayer market, users reported mixed opinions. While many praised the graphics others criticized the character’s design.
“This is honestly crazy. I think this is the first time I’ve seen the gaming community wholly reject an AAA game. Even games like Suicide Squad and Redfall still broke 5k concurrent on release. Granted, both dropped off heavily after their release,” wrote one user on Reddit . “Really shows how character designs can make or break a game. It is all I see anyone talking about when it comes to Concord ,” wrote another.
Sony and PlayStation have recently released more successful games like Helldivers 2 .
