The Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) today announced a lawsuit against landlord Mark David Militana, alleging unregistered short-term rentals and violations related to nine apartments in two rent-stabilized brownstones he owns on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. The lawsuit seeks penalties that could exceed $4 million, a court order prohibiting the ongoing illegal activity, and a court-appointed receiver to take control of the building.
Designed to protect the city’s housing stock and preserve affordability, New York City’s short-term rental laws explicitly prohibit short-term rentals in units where the rent is regulated.
The lawsuit details Militana’s illegal advertisements, which were switched to long-term rentals on Airbnb when the major online platform came into compliance with the verification requirements of Local Law 18. Militana then built his own booking website to conduct short-term rentals. Despite a cease-and-desist letter from OSE in November 2024, Militana refused to cease illegal activity.
“New York City’s rent-regulated buildings exist to house New Yorkers — period,” said Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “My administration is committed to enforcing short-term rental laws and holding bad actors accountable when they take indispensable housing off the market. We will pursue enforcement actions like this aggressively to directly and swiftly confront our city’s housing affordability crisis.”
“Local Law 18 is a robust first line of defense against the online proliferation of illegal short-term rental listings,” said Christian Klossner, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement. “At a time when the city is experiencing a housing and affordability crisis, this law preserves an integral part of the city’s housing stock while illustrating that rent-regulated units exist for local residents.”
“Rent-stabilized apartments should be providing stable, permanent housing for New Yorkers – not fraudulently rented on a short-term basis,” said Leila Bozorg, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Planning. “I am grateful to the team at the Office of Special Enforcement for cracking down on these illegal practices and ensuring that property owners are not skirting our regulations.”
“Our Office of Special Enforcement is a critical resource to hold entities accountable if they try to circumvent the law at the expense of New Yorkers,” said Deanna Logan, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice. “It also serves the equally important role of educating and supporting New Yorkers who want to operate short-term rentals legally.”
Verified complaint available here.
OSE’s investigation revealed all nine of the units advertised for short-term rentals were rent stabilized at the buildings’ time of purchase, with at least seven of the nine appearing to still be rent stabilized. The prohibition on short-term rentals in rent-stabilized buildings was passed in 2022 as part of Local Law 18, and none of the currently stabilized units are eligible to be used for short-term rentals.
The properties are located at 24 West 89th Street and 44 West 89th Street. Militana illegally rented units in the two buildings to more than 900 transient guests and generated over $550,000 in revenue since February 2023.
Additionally, Militana engaged in deception by using fake names and addresses — including the private school next door — in listings. According to tenants, Militana removed the buzzer and intercom system from one of the buildings to prevent city inspectors from entering.
The Office of Special Enforcement brought this action in coordination with and under the oversight of the Corporation Counsel. The city remains dedicated to utilizing all available enforcement tools, including Local Law 18, to ensure compliance with laws governing the short-term rental market and to deter those who seek to profit from illegal activity at the expense of tenants.
About Local Law 18
Since the late 1960s, New York City’s laws have restricted rentals of less than 30 days in homes to two guests staying with permanent occupants. OSE estimates that by 2018, as many as 18,000 units of permanent housing were being used as illegal short-term rentals. In 2022, Local Law 18 created a new registration and verification program to protect New York City’s housing stock. The law: 1) requires hosts to register with OSE and operate the rentals in compliance with the city’s existing laws; 2) prohibits registration for rent-regulated and NYCHA units; 3) created a mechanism to prevent registrations from being issued in buildings where short-term rentals are prohibited by the owner; and 4) mandates that booking services verify the status of a registration before processing transactions. More than 3,000 host registrations have been granted, and more than 14,000 property owners and managers have placed their buildings on the prohibited list. The full text of Local Law 18 can be accessed and downloaded here.
About the Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement
The Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement (OSE) is an innovative task force that addresses public safety and quality-of-life issues related to illegal and unregulated industries. The multi-agency team is currently comprised of legal, inspection, and investigation team members from the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice (which oversees OSE), the Law Department, the Department of Buildings, the Fire Department, and the Sheriff’s Offices. The office’s main focus has been preserving New York City’s housing stock, which has a vacancy rate of 1.4%. OSE also conducts illegal massage parlor inspections and has handled enforcement of an array of special projects, such as closing counterfeit product bazaars and overseeing programs to ensure compliance with CoViD-19-era health and consumer protections. For more information, visit nyc.gov/ose.
Images courtesy of NYC Office of Special Enforcement.
