AirBnB is NOT a rental service. All they do is put a renter together with a person with a room to re

We will be in NYC for 3 nights in May, 2012, and have been looking at apartment rentals in Manhattan through i am looking for travel nursing companies airb b.com and flatsofny.com . Both sites look like they have very good rates and good properties available. But just now I looked at the Fodor's info about short term apartment rentals in NYC and find they are illegal. Is this a new development? Can anybody shed more light on the situation? Any info about either of these sites?
Look for a regular hotel or an apartment hotel such as Affinia, etc. Unless you and whoever you will be going with plan to rent a room in an apartment where the owner is present it is unlikely you will find a legal apartment to rent.
If you go this route, just be especially careful. Many people do rent without incident, despite the fact that short-term rentals are illegal. But if something goes wrong, you have absolutely no legal recourse and will have to book an expensive hotel room at the last minute, possibly i am looking for travel nursing companies spending $300 or $400 a night. It's not a risk I would take. And the point about fraudulent rentals i am looking for travel nursing companies is an important one, though I think that affects places listed on Craigslist more than those on AirBnB. There are also some illegal "hotels" that cater to international tourists i am looking for travel nursing companies but offer unsafe lodging.
There are practically no legal short-term rentals in Manhattn (they are legal only if someone is renting a room in their own private house - and there are very few of those - versus apt, co-ops and condos in Manhattan.)
AirBnB is NOT a rental service. All they do is put a renter together with a person with a room to rent - and take a % off the top. They don't run any of these places. For info search below for the huge air bnb thread.
If you're looking for budget pricing, Priceline or Hotwire can be great for a short 3 day stay or maybe consider staying a train ride away from Manhattan in Long Island City (if you fly in/out of JFK or LGA) or Jersey City near a PATH train if you're using Newark.