Thursday, January 13, 2022

Ear to the Ground

Earlier this week, a listing appeared for a short-term rental apartment on lower Union Street. The rent for the three-bedroom flat was given as $3,000 a month. The apartment is described in this way:
Adorable sunny short term rental apartment on Union, the chicest street in Hudson. One block from the train station and the Hudson river. Three bedrooms, a huge eat in country kitchen with a gas fire burning stove makes these cold winter days cozy and warm. The Master bedroom has a club chair nook as well as a lounge with a backyard view. Each bedroom has a desk/sitting area. Living room has a record player and comfy sectional sofa. Charming with original wood floors throughout. Kitchen door leads to the outdoor deck and gives direct access to the backyard. Immediately available. 
The apartment is also being offered on AirBnB for $200 a night, with a two-night minimum.

What's interesting is that the apartment is located in a house owned by former First Ward alder Rebecca Wolff, the great critic of gentrification and tourism, an advocate for affordable housing, and the architect of the law restricting short-term rentals in Hudson.
COPYRIGHT 2022 CAROLE OSTERINK

23 comments:

  1. WoW! I guess Rebecca is among douche-bags Landlords that are trying to rape and pillage the locals. Do as I say, not as I do. The hypocrisy is palpable!!

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  2. Notice she listed with a Dutchess county broker — no local business support from Comrade Wolff. Must be a new form of war communism.

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  3. Did she register the property for short term rental?

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    1. AND did she also file lodging tax forms thru localgov every quarter since registration? That is required (by the law she can largely credit to herself) whether or not the unit was rented as an STR... in any case this is like AOC joining the Oath Keepers.

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    2. John Kane and DB are right, she should be penalized to the full extent of the law if she didn't follow the rules. There is precious little room for error in Hudson's Short Term Rental Law. The only remedy for AirBnB owners who don't register, don't display the certificate, and don't pay their quarterly taxes, is to pay 100% of the taxes, fees, and penalties outlined in the law, which are pretty steep. There is no amnesty. There is no on-ramp for AirBnB owners out of compliance except to pay 100% of what's owed, plus penalties as determined by the Treasurer, which could be pretty draconian. Of course, the law has as its real purpose to drive AirBnB owners out of business or force them to sell, especially if they live out of town.

      Maybe this is a good time for our new Common Council to re-visit Hudson's Short Term Rental Law and its draconian penalties to make certain this law is what's needed for a tourism-heavy economy?

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  4. This story writes itself. She’s been lying from day 1. She’s a hypocrite and should have never been in a seat of power to begin with; the system allowing people to run unopposed needs to be addressed. Don’t hold your breath for an answer from her either.

    - The “douche” whose head she threatened to rip off and feed to lions.

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  5. She created her Airbnb profile in Dec 2021.
    Would she have had the time to beat the moratorium on new short term rentals she passed? Is this an illegal rental?

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    1. We should follow with all the force of the law, she need to traste her own sh…..

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  6. The level of narcissism in the description alone says it all...
    "About this space...If you had an aunt who was a smart professor and had a low-key, communitarian elegance, this would be her apartment...."

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  7. WoW! When we make money, we say were heroes saving your town. When the woke people make money, we get mad. Who cares if following the laws, we say she is joining the Oath Keepers or communism. The hypocrisy is palpable!!

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  8. The furnishings and ambiance aren't as chic as she describes. Yes, nonchalant, worn but missing that shabby chic aesthetic. But, then again, she is a writer and embellishment comes easy. It's a steep price for what you get. Let's not forget, in the one bath, the tub is off limits.

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  9. Rebecca Wolff and most of Hudson are what used to be called "limo liberals".

    yes, they all want to help the poor, but just they want to make sure to have a latte, go out to dinner often, and that they live on the chicest street in "progressive" Hudson.


    It is the New York Times editorial position. Co-opt the left, but sell tons of advertising to Tiffanys, Dior, etc. and push those 10 million dollar listings, while pretending to be simple people who are holier than thou.

    And please, let me figure out how to create a foundation so i do not have to pay real estate taxes in the town i live in.

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    1. It's trust fund kids trying to justify their own privilege by advocating for the poor, but without any of the policy chops to actually understand which tools might eradicate poverty.

      Instead, they prefer short-term solutions that overtax the middle class and perpetuate generational poverty by promoting ineffectual handouts that do nothing to improve social mobility.

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    2. eradicating poverty usually means providing jobs for working people. i think that Hudson's STRs, hotels, restaurants, Digifab, constructions trades etc does that. what we further need is more investment in really productive work environments.

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  10. Wow.
    My partner and I have run one unit of our two-unit row house on State St as an AirBNB since 2016. It’s easily generated a few grand in lodging taxes for Hudson, and it’s let us maintain and improve the place - we’ve followed all the rules. If Rebecca’s bending or breaking any of the laws she helped write, she should be fined and removed as Alderman.
    “Hosted by Rebecca” - duh. How stupid can you be?
    Thanks for the coverage as always.

    Michael on State St (3rd Ward)

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    1. Sadly, the significant portion of those tax funds that went to the Tourism Board were wasted by board members..

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  11. The hypocrisy here -- the architect of Hudson's law restricting short-term rentals renting out her OWN home as a short-term rental -- is really startling and should provoke the current city council to repeal the STR law. The law is bad for business and tourism, does nothing to alleviate any financial stress faced by low-income tenants in the city, and is really hurting people who have put a lot of time, money, love and dedication into Hudson.

    But it is also jarring for another important reason: Rebecca Wolff created the law to restrict how long non-"full-time-resident" homeowners can rent out their homes, but not full-time residents. Then, just months after she gets the law passed, she rents out her own home as a STR, having succeeded in eliminating much of her competition in the STR market. She benefits financially from her own law. That kind of self-dealing and profiting off her own legislation is really abhorrent.

    By the way, this is the Airbnb listing itself: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/54177158?adults=2&location=Hudson%2C%20NY%2C%20United%20States&check_in=2022-03-04&check_out=2022-03-06&federated_search_id=ec0823f4-a4cd-4160-8b6d-1990fd8cf671&source_impression_id=p3_1642096319_R%2Fj4T9MtBjoo5S72&guests=1

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  12. Jaw-dropping. Outrageous. Appalling. (I honestly feel sick to my stomach right now.)

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  13. Wow. Saving Hudson from itself is apparently very complicated. Will her AirBnB be honoring vouchers for the homeless?

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  14. Honestly, I don't know how Rebecca Wolff will be able to hold her head up while walking down Warren Street after this.

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  15. 1.> That's not a club-chair nook, it's a random sectional-sofa corner in a corner. 2.> The place ain't all that.

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