If Airbnb had rules regarding non-share rentals that restricted repeated listings of them they wouldn't have this problem. Yes this law is slightly heavy-handed in that it blocks someone that goes on a trip from time to time from booking their places out, but that is not the majority of listings on Airbnb. The majority of full apartment rentals are people that are running illegal hotels basically. This is hurting real hotels that have much more regulation, and decreasing availability of housing in a city that is getting more residents every year than the entire population of most other places in the USA.

Also when you are living in Manhattan, you do not want to have someone different in the place down the hall or above you every day. These people staying short term have no onus to respect neighbors. Airbnb knows that professional illegal sub-letters are the bulk of their business and is not stopping it. Renting a ski cabin out weekly is a lot different than renting out an apartment in the most densely populated city in the USA.