NYC Begins Effort to Help Startups Navigate Regulations

Technology startups and New York authorities will get each other’s input on dealing with regulations under an initiative the state attorney general and New York City’s chief lawyer announced Friday.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, city Corporation Counsel Zachary Carter and some law schools are working together on what Schneiderman called the first startup law clinic to boast expertise from government authorities.

But tech companies can’t simply expect officials to scrap any regulations that impose limitations on their businesses, said Schneiderman, who has both clashed and compromised with prominent sharing-economy players.

Some sharing-economy startups have found themselves under scrutiny by New York’s government.

Schneiderman issued a report last fall saying that nearly three-quarters of Airbnb rental listings in New York City violated city or state laws restricting short-term rentals. Schneiderman also examined Uber’s surge pricing, or raising its app-hailed taxis’ fares when demand is high.

This article appeared in print on page 5 of the April 28th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.