Is Airbnb really helping New York City’s historically black neighborhoods?

A recent report published by Airbnb claims that the “home-sharing” platform has provided a marked “economic opportunity” to New York City’s historically black neighborhoods like Bed-Stuy and West Harlem. According to Airbnb’s analysis, in the past year it saw the most significant growth of its userbase in black neighborhoods as compared to any other kind of neighborhood in the city.

“In the 30 New York City zip codes with the largest black populations by percentage, the number of Airbnb guests grew 78% year-over-year, versus 51% citywide,” the report explains. “In fact, of the 1.26 million people who visited New York City via Airbnb last year, 1 in 7 stayed with a host in these neighborhoods.”

Taken at face value, Airbnb’s claim of providing black retirees and empty nesters with the chance to make a bit of money on the side reads like a good thing. But there are some local New Yorkers who are skeptical of the story the company’s trying to sell. Specifically, there’s no real way that Airbnb can prove that actual black people are using and benefitting from its business.

Murray Cox, a data analyst working out of Bed-Stuy, contends that Airbnb is actually one of the forces contributing to the gentrification of these neighborhoods.

Read more @ http://fusion.net/story/295484/airbnb-nyc-black-neighborhoods/