The City Council approved Wednesday controversial new hotel regulations critics had called a “nuclear bomb” on the industry — and now hospitality businesses will have to cough up $350 for licenses.
Council member Julie Menin sponsored legislation which would require Big Apple hotels to cough up $350 for licenses for two years.The law requires lodging businesses to staff front desks at all hours and provide panic buttons to employees as well as training for staff to identify human trafficking. Boy, 14, fell in love with 'Game of Thrones' chatbot — then killed himself after AI app told him to 'come home' to 'her': momCouncil member Julie Menin said she sponsored the law after seeing NYPD reports of 39 murders since 2009 and the more than 14,000 criminal complaints between 2019-23.
“There finally was a murder after the neighbors had been complaining for years, the city couldn’t shut it down right away because they didn’t have the legal jurisdiction, this would mean they could,” she said. “This bill will do material damage to the businesses and the tax revenue that hotels generate for the city’s economy and result in higher costs for travelers.”