Paolo Zampolli, a Trump administration diplomatic appointee, appears to be running an unlicensed hostel out of a Manhattan townhouse, according to a Curbed report published Monday.
The property, on the Upper East Side, shows multiple apartment units cycling through short-term guests — the reviews and booking patterns pointing heavily toward Brazilian tourists as the primary clientele.
New York City's Local Law 18, which took effect in September 2023, prohibits short-term rentals unless the host is physically present and limits occupancy to two guests at a time. Operating outside those rules without a city-issued registration is a violation enforceable by fines starting at $1,000 per day.
Curbed found no active short-term rental registration for the address in the city's enforcement database. A hostel license under the city's multiple-dwelling rules would require a separate certificate of occupancy classification.
Zampolli, who was appointed by President Donald Trump as a special envoy to the United Nations for partnerships, built his public profile in part through ties to the New York modeling industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
A spokesperson for Zampolli did not respond to Curbed's request for comment before publication. The city's Mayor's Office of Special Enforcement also did not comment on whether the property is under active review.
The listing, as of the report's publication date, remained live.