total strangers. new york state senator liz krueger represents the east side of manhattan. >> constituents started coming to me and saying, "there's something strange going on in my building. the apartments seem to be being rented out on a nightly basis. there are groups of tourists wandering in and out with luggage, with keys to the buildings." >> sreenivasan: krueger, who has often been dubbed airbnb's doubter in chief, was the primary sponsor of the 2010 state law that effectively banned short-term apartment rentals in new york city. >> they encourage illegal activity. they don't have to, but they choose to do so as a business model. >> sreenivasan: and the short- term rental activity that troubles officials like krueger and attorney general schneiderman most is what they call "commercial users" of airbnb and similar web sites. >> people becoming entrepreneurs and renting one to 100 apartments, claiming that they're their own homes, and turning them into ongoing