When the City Council took the bold step to pass what is today Local Law 18 several years ago, there was nothing but good intent. Past and present members, faced with a historic affordability and housing crisis, enacted regulations on short-term rentals to curb illegal hotels and investors who took much needed housing off the market for hardworking New Yorkers.

Yet, with any legislation, Local Law 18 has presented unintended consequences that have actually made the city less affordable for New Yorkers. That’s because New Yorkers have lost a vital tool that allows them to supplement the growing costs of homeownership. This current Council has a historic opportunity, however, to make minor changes to the existing law — not wipe it out or even water it down — that will put this tool back in

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