June 20, 2016
BROOKLYN — The city’s top lobbyist met 29 times with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and his staff since he took office — and those chats made the politician a big believer in Airbnb. Adams became a cheerleader for the apartment-sharing website in 2015 after lobbyist James Capalino and his staff met with him and his staff, according to lobbying records. Adams’ praise came at a time when Airbnb had already been investigated by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and was facing scrutiny from local elected officials about the service’s users skirting rental laws and occupancy taxes. Airbnb, which paid $150,000 to Capalino’s firm in 2015 to lobby Adams and City Council members, also made a hefty donation to the Brooklyn borough president’s nonprofit, the One Brooklyn Fund, according to disclosures made to the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board. Airbnb gave One Brooklyn’s general fund a check for $32,000 on Aug. 20, 2015….
Source: https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20160621/downtown-brooklyn/airbnb-lobbyist-met-29-times-with-brooklyn-borough-president-staff
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