Bronx Families Outraged By Wild Parties At Home Dubbed 'Fenton Lounge' On Air BnB, Other Sites
NEW YORK(CBSNewYork) -- Neighbors say a man has been renting out his two-family Fenton Avenue home on Air BnB for wild parties.
As CBS2's Hazel Sanchez reported, the property has been advertised as 'Fenton Lounge.'
"If it was up to me I would do it every day, because I'm a party animal. I love to party," homeowner Nebi Ayele said.
Residents said one party dubbed, 'Party In The Ghetto' was disruptive and ran until 5 a.m. Social media posts of the event boasted of strippers, live DJs, and plenty of alcohol.
"At one party he hosted back in May, the guests were charged a cover charge of five dollars and the photos we found on Facebook show a stripper swinging on a pole in the yard, someone receiving a lap dance," Senator Jeffrey Klein said.
"I had to close my windows, put my window air-conditioner on to make noise, and put earplugs in my ear, and I still couldn't sleep," Jean Presta said.
On Monday morning, Ayele defended himself outside of his home as local leaders and dozens of residents and their children rallied at his doorstep demanding Air BnB and similar sites pull Ayele's ads for 'Fenton Lounge.'
Klein has proposed legislation to ban one and two family homes from renting for less than 30 days.
"They have brought Sodom and Gamorrah to the Bronx and that's going to end here today," Klein said.
Ayele denied any wrong doing and said all of his parties are private.
"This is my house, can I not enjoy myself?" he said.
Air BnB said it has suspended Ayele's listing, but his ads still remain on other rental sites.
Klein said removing the advertisement was a good first step, but he also wants sites like AirBnB to police their websites and crack down on establishments that are causing problems in local communities, 1010 WINS reported.
"I don't think it's too much to ask that they do some type of background check before someone posts their residence, especially in this case -- a backyard -- for rent," Klein said.
Senator Klein plans to introduce his legislation in January with hopes it will pass into law by the end of 2016.
