Airbnb Rental Turns Out To Be NYCHA Apartment In Chelsea: Report

CHELSEA, NY — A New York City tourist paid $90-a-night for an Airbnb rental which turned out to be an apartment in a Chelsea NYCHA building, according to a report in the New York Times.

The visitor from Boston booked the Airbnb which was listed as being near bustling tourist hubs like the High Line and Chelsea Market, the Times reported.

But tourist Rachel Valerio and her mother got to their digs to find an odor of gas, a roach trap next to the bed and a sign that said "NYCHA" in the lobby – which she only then discovered stood for New York City Housing Authority, she told the newspaper.

"It feels very awful," the 29-year-old, who was visiting New York City with her mother, told the Times. "I grew up poor and I know how hard it is to get housing."

Valerio told Airbnb about the illegal listing and got a refund, according to the Times. It's unlawful to sublet government-subsidized apartments in New York City, and the city also says apartments can't be rented out for less than 30 days unless the owner is present.

The listing was inside the Fulton Houses, where the city is considering a controversial plan to demolish and rebuild mixed-income buildings, requiring the relocation of tenants to a new building on-site. The plan is a part of a strategy to raise cash for $344 million in capital needs at Chelsea's three public housing developments.

After the Times broke the news about the Chelsea listing as well as another apparent NYCHA Airbnb listing in Queensbridge Houses, Council Member Ritchie Torres said he would call for hearings to determine just how widespread Airbnb is inside of public housing developments, he wrote in a tweet Saturday.

NYCHA spokeswoman Barbara Brancaccio told the Times the authority has some cases of such listings, but "it's not a widespread issue."

Click here to read the full New York Times report.