Editorial: Greenport’s short-term rental gamble

Greenport just became the East End’s test case for how far a community can push short-term rental rules before the consequences catch up.

The village’s 4-1 vote to allow true weekend rentals, with no minimum stay, makes it the East End’s most permissive jurisdiction.

Whether that proves bold or shortsighted will depend entirely on what happens next.

The policy puts Greenport in a category by itself. Southold requires two weeks, Riverhead 30 days and Shelter Island 14 days, with only tightly limited hardship exemptions. Even Southampton Town and Village maintain a two-week minimum — and when Southampton relaxed its rules for next summer’s U.S. Open, it still set a floor of three nights.

Greenport will require nothing — except that properties must function primarily as homes, not investment vehicles. That’s a distinction that may be impossible to enforce.

Still, the business community’s concerns are real. In a village that depends on tourism, weekend visitors pump money into the restaurants and shops on an already-hurting Main Street. 

The Business Improvement District warned that stricter minimum-stay requirements could choke off that revenue stream. In an economy where every dollar counts, that’s not idle worry.

But neither are the concerns of year-round residents who’ve watched their neighborhood tilt toward a revolving door of short-term guests.

Mayor Kevin Stuessi has previously said there were 346 active rental permits in a village with fewer than 1,000 parcels, including commercial properties. That means over one in three properties could operate as short-term rentals — a situation critics argue worsens the region’s housing crisis.

The board moved forward anyway, banking on enforcement to limit Airbnb sprawl.

The compromise reached — no minimum stay, but only for owner-occupied properties — tries to balance economic benefits with community stability.

In theory, it allows weekend rentals while keeping investor-owned Airbnbs at bay. The owner-occupancy requirement ensures someone with real ties to the property has skin in the game. In theory.

The village’s enforcement history, however, doesn’t inspire confidence. The old code prohibited renting both halves of a two-family home as short-term rentals. People did it anyway. The village has been without full-time code enforcement for more than a year since the previous inspector exited in summer of 2024.

Into this void, the Village Board has thrust Kenneth Marulli, hired part-time at $24 an hour to process permits and track violations. It’s a tall order for one part-timer tasked with overseeing more than 300 potential short-term rental permits. The village also voted to increase short-term rental permit fees to $750 annually, with their previous cost being $250 for a total of two years of operation. But the added windfall doesn’t solve the manpower problem.

Trustee Mary Bess Phillips was right to push for monthly enforcement reports. This law will live or die on oversight, and the public deserves to know whether it’s working.

Mayor Stuessi’s dissent also merits attention. His preference for a two-week minimum would have aligned Greenport with Southold and given the village cover if problems emerge. His warning that the policy is “very different than anything else on the entirety of the eastern end” wasn’t hyperbole — it was a recognition of risk.

Trustee Julia Robins also made a valid point: If the approach falters, the board can revisit it in a year. Local government is allowed to experiment, especially when the old system was failing both residents and the economy.

The board has rolled the dice. Whether the plan succeeds will depend on the village’s will — and capacity — to enforce it.