A new law threatens hefty fines for anyone advertising short-term rentals of vacant apartments here in the city, and one of the leading websites offering this service is gearing up for a court battle. NY1's Lyndsay Christian filed the following report.

Richelle Burnett rents out two apartments in her family's Bedford-Stuyvesant brownstone on Airbnb. She is speaking out against a new law signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo that puts tighter restrictions on hosts. 

"Knowing how it helps so many New Yorkers, how it helps out communities and impacts so many people, that he would actually sign the bill is a real issue for me," Burnett said.

The law bans people from advertising short-term rentals of vacant apartments. It won't apply to rentals in single-family homes, row houses or apartment spare rooms if the resident is present, but it will apply to co-ops and condos.

"There's amazing stories, that people that have had cancer, they're going through chemotherapy, they can't work and Airbnb works for them," Burnett said. "So I have to stand up for the people that can't stand up for themselves or may be frightened at this point."

Airbnb reports there are 46,000 hosts across the state, generating more than $2 billion dollars in economic activity. 72 percent of them use the money they earn to live in their homes. 

Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who sponsored the law, says sites like Airbnb take residential units off the market. 

"I've seen more and more units of affordable housing in my Upper West Side district, as well as across the city, being lost because people have, instead of renting them to New Yorkers, commercial operators who are in charge of these units feel they can make a much larger profit if it turns over every night," Rosenthal said.

Proponents of the law say the hotel industry loses business from Airbnb rentals. 

In a statement, Airbnb says, "In typical fashion, Albany back-room dealing rewarded a special interest - the price-gouging hotel industry - and ignored the voices of tens of thousands of New Yorkers. A majority of New Yorkers have embraced home sharing, and we will continue to fight for a smart policy solution that works for the the people, not the powerful."

This week, Airbnb released a proposal noting regulations to its operations, which would include an online registry of renters and reforms to its business practice. 

Airbnb has filed a lawsuit to challenge the law, which is slated to go into effect November 1.