Intern summer: Finding a bed in the Big City

www.americanthinker.com

The lifeblood of New York City during the summer is a sudden influx of thousands of bustling, hard-working young people interning for 12 weeks at premiere investment banks, tech firms, and other Fortune 500 companies.

But the hot summer is becoming more and more financially out of reach for the middle and working class. For many years, interns have thrown away most of their summer earnings just to afford NYC rents for a summer sublease. And the problem is only getting worse.

The city has virtually banned Airbnb from operating in the city, cutting off interns from one of the easiest and sleekest options to find a room for two to three months. While stays longer than 30 days are legally permitted, the chilling effect of Local Law 18 -- which requires registration of short-term rentals with City Hall and prohibits booking services from conducting unregistered short-term rentals -- has nearly entirely halted New Yorkers from listing their spare room or empty unit on platforms like Airbnb.

Back in 2023, I shared a one-bedroom Airbnb apartment in East Williamsburg with another young professional to intern at Goldman Sachs. It was expensive, tricky to ship Amazon packages to, impossible to host guests at -- let alone fit two people in. But it was the only way we were able to take advantage of the internship. So we made it work.

And without the option, we would have had to choose between forfeiting our internships or spending more than we earned to seek hotel accommodations.

It’s asinine and everyone knows it.

New York is a dynamic, bustling city. Short-term stays are critical to upward economic mobility, particularly for younger people, business development opportunities and more. Startups and the creative industry depend heavily on talent flying in for brief periods of time to work on critical projects -- from filming a TV show to pitching investors.

Summer interns are essential to this equation. Their brief stints on Wall Street or in Big Tech firms serve as a training ground for the next generation of talent. Dorm room and Airbnb accommodations let that magic happen, keeping the growth of New York’s economy going for years to come.

Without reliable options, younger interns fall victim to scams. Subleases are often advertised through personal social media accounts, with little oversight to verify identities and ensure financial security for the renters. The insurance policies offered by sites like Airbnb are not available to independently coordinated short-term leases.

New York likes to think of itself as the city where ambitious young people, regardless of their background, can “make it.” But if those young people can’t even find a place to sleep for 12 summer weeks, that promise starts to feel empty.

Internships are supposed to be a pathway to opportunity, not a luxury reserved for those whose parents can bankroll a Manhattan apartment or hotel. New York should be expanding the number of safe, legal housing options for interns and young professionals, not shrinking them.

Otherwise, the Big Apple risks turning one of its greatest strengths -- attracting ambitious talent from around the country -- into yet another thing only the wealthy can afford.

Sam Raus is the David Boaz Resident Writing Fellow at Young Voices. Follow him on X: @SamRaus1.