First off, Jameelah's apartment is not a legal Airbnb according to NY City law. First, she is not the building owner (according to NY state records, a male family member is the apartment owner, but Jameelah is not). According to NYC law, all Airbnbs in buildings with 3 or more units must have 1 unit occupied by the owner to be legal Airbnbs. In this building, the owner is not an occupant. Aside from that, the unit had NO smoke/carbon monoxide detector.
I would have been fine to let the legality of Jameelah's Airbnb be her business, except that she began harassing my family over a dispute which she created, and was legally speaking in the wrong. Even when Ishowed her how she was wrong, she became more aggressive. Because I was living with my dependent children (ages 3-11), Jameelah falsely claimed that I would need to pay more for them. BUT, according to NYC law, families renting Airbnbs for 30+ nights are considered legal long-term tenants (NOT short-term Airbnb guests), and as such cannot be inhibited from dwelling with their dependent children or made to pay higher fees as per RPP § 235-f. Obviously this law was made to prevent Airbnb owners from price gouging families- essentially to stop people like Jameelah. She demanded I pay an additional 65% fee for my children to live in the unit with me, despite my informing her of what RPP § 235-f says, regards the illegality of charging tenants who rent units for 30+ nights extra fees for their children. She knew she couldn't legally do that because I rented the unit for 30+ nights, but she was going to try anyways. That she disregarded the law there is unsurprising, considering that she doesn't install smoke/carbon monoxide detectors and the owner doesn't live in the building, both of which make her Airbnb illegal.
At that point Jameelah began making it known that she would use the security camera to record our comings and goings. A veiled threat, and she was very hostile. Ultimately we left the unit, because it wasn't worth putting my family's safety in jeopardy.
In the end, Airbnb ruled that I am correct according to RPP § 235-f and that I could stay in the unit with my family. They apologized profusely for Jameelah's actions. Whether they allow her to continue to operate an illegal Airbnb, that's anyone's guess... But in any case, I would avoid this place if you're looking for a legal Airbnb and to avoid extra drama in your life.