Are rowdy Airbnb renters beginning to plague Eastside Park district in Paterson?

PATERSON — Outsiders often associate Paterson with its chronic crime, political corruption and litter-strewn streets.

That’s not exactly the kind of place folks would expect to attract tourists who use websites like Airbnb, Booking.com and Google Travel to find places to stay that aren’t hotels.

But the Eastside Park Historic District — where industrial tycoons built mansions more than a century ago — “is unique within this city,” said a pending municipal government ordinance.

“Many of its homes are large enough to have extra rooms, and in that its artistically-designed and lovingly-preserved homes make it a particularly attractive option for short-term renters,” said the City Council ordinance.

But the short-term rentals have come with problems, like “loud and unruly behavior ... including the commission of crimes on the premises,” the ordinance said.

So Paterson is weighing an ordinance regulating short-term rentals that echoes a law adopted in New York City last year, a measure that some lamented would end Airbnb in Manhattan. In fact, NorthJersey.com earlier this month reported that the demand for short-term rentals in New Jersey has risen since the New York law took effect.

What would the proposed Paterson law do?

The Paterson proposal allows owner-occupied homes to be used only for short-term rentals and requires that someone listed as owner under the property’s title be present at the house while the place is being rented out.

At present, Paterson doesn’t have any laws pertaining to short-term rentals such as those offered on Airbnb, officials said. The council gave preliminary approval to its proposed law on Tuesday night in a 5-0 vote without any discussion. The city has scheduled a public hearing and final vote on the issue for April 8.

In the past couple of years, there have been several incidents involving Airbnb, including what neighbors say was a rowdy wedding reception held at a Park Avenue home in the Eastside Park area.

Michael Symonds, a former president of the Eastside Neighborhood Association, sent the council an email on Monday expressing his concerns about the proposed law. Symonds said he supports regulating the short-term rental market to maintain a peaceful quality of life in the area.

But he doesn’t have any confidence the new law will make much of a difference. He said the ordinance does not include meaningful provisions for enforcement.

“As a non-attorney even I can see that the language in this chapter is so vague as to be virtually useless,” Symonds said in his email to council members.

Paterson is notorious for its lack of enforcement of city laws, underscored by the oft-repeated adage that “anything goes” in the city.  Almost every day, activists use social media to post photos of impromptu sidewalk furniture sales, debris-covered properties and other scenes they say constitute violations of municipal ordinances.

Symonds said that even if the short-term rental ordinance is enforced, he expects that the violators would treat the penalties as simply part of the cost of doing business.

Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press. Email: editor@patersonpress.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ: Airbnb renters plaguing Eastside Park district?