NYC Sues Gelatoville Owner for $2.4M Illegal Airbnb Scheme in Hell’s Kitchen

The City of New York is suing a 9th Avenue gelato store owner for allegedly running an illegal short-term rental business out of 58 buildings in Manhattan, including at least 12 in Hell’s Kitchen.

According to court documents filed by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Special Enforcement, Gokhan Simsek generated approximately $2.4 million for 6,800 short-term rental transactions. The lawsuit was first reported by Crain’s .

From 2020 to 2023, Simsek allegedly leased apartments that he later rented out through sites including Airbnb and Booking.com, according to a lawsuit. He operated under the name Stay and Smile LLC, using the now-shuttered website stayandsmile.net.

All of the apartments Simsek rented in Hell’s Kitchen are in low-rise, tenement buildings, many of which may be rent-stabilized. The buildings are allegedly all “only legally approved for permanent residential use,” the lawsuit alleges.

Last month, Simsek and business partner Ahmet Demircioglu opened Gelatoville on 9th Avenue (bw W48th/W47th Street). Demircioglu, who is not mentioned in the city’s lawsuit but is mentioned in court cases related to many of the apartments, told W42ST at the time, while discussing his new gelato venture, that he managed several Airbnb apartments across the city.

“We run several apartments here that we do short-term, long-term,” Demircioglu told us. He said that when he discovered Airbnb was “really profitable, we just made it bigger and bigger.”

“We have actually now 19 apartments,” he said. However, “it’s restricted, that’s why I jumped in another business now,” he added. “I’m not doing it anymore … I’m trying to reduce the apartment number, and I just give it [to] my employees, my friends, my chef.”

The Office of Special Enforcement began investigating Stay and Smile LLC in 2023. According to documents, Simsek appeared to have gone into compliance with new local laws , requiring all Airbnb stays to be at least 30 days in NYC, and requiring hosts to register.

However, he allegedly continued to “facilitate illegal short term rentals throughout 2023 while aware that they were being investigated and having been told to cease their operation,” and did not seek to legally register under the new law, the lawsuit reads.

The OSE is seeking $1 million in punitive damages, in addition to $350 to $500 for each violation of the short-term rentals law.  “Today’s lawsuit sends a clear message that we will not allow you to use our valuable housing stock for unlawful personal gain,” said NYC Mayor Eric Adams in a statement .

W42ST reached out to Simsek and Demircioglu for comment and will update this story.

The post NYC Sues Gelatoville Owner for $2.4M Illegal Airbnb Scheme in Hell’s Kitchen appeared first on W42ST .