紐約餐館加收10%"疫情恢復費"

New York City diners may soon see a Covid-19 surcharge on their bills as the restaurant industry continues to hobble due to the coronavirus pandemic.

由於新冠疫情，餐飲業的處境仍然艱難，紐約市的食客們可能很快就會在賬單上看到“疫情恢復費”。

The New York City Council passed a bill on Wednesday 46-2 that would allow restaurants to charge as much as 10% on customers dining indoors or outdoors to help cover Covid-19 expenses.

紐約市議會上週三（9月16日）以46票贊成、2票反對通過了一項法案，允許餐館向在室內或室外就餐的顧客收取最高10%的費用，以應對新冠疫情的打擊。

Labeled the "COVID-19 Recovery Charge," the surcharge does not add to the bill's overall tax, nor applies to delivery or takeout orders. A restaurant implementing the surcharge is free to use the new funds however it likes, though it must also make it clear that the surcharge is not a substitute for a tip or gratuity for waitstaff.

這項收費被稱爲“疫情恢復費”，不計入賬單的計稅總額，也不適用於外賣和外帶食物。收取“疫情恢復費”的餐廳可自由支配這筆錢，但必須明確，這項收費不能替代服務員的小費。

Republican City Councilman Joseph Borelli, the bill's prime sponsor, told CNN that the new option will help owners who don't want to go through the trouble of raising prices on their menus.

共和黨市議員約瑟夫·伯雷利是該法案的主要發起人，他告訴美國有線電視新聞網（CNN），這項新收費將幫助那些不想給菜單提價的店主。

"New York was actually the only city that we knew of that actually had a ban, a 45-year-old law made when the Department of Consumer Affairs essentially reorganized, and it prevented restaurants, the only industry in New York City, from applying a surcharge," he explained.

他解釋說：“實際上，紐約是我們所知道的唯一一個禁止餐飲業收取附加費的城市。這項有45年曆史的法律是在消費者事務部重組時制定的，它阻止紐約市的餐飲業申請額外服務費，且只有餐飲業需要遵守這一點。”

"If you go to a hair salon, a gas station, or any other business in the city of New York, the owner is allowed to charge you a surcharge for basically whatever they want," Borelli said. "They obviously have to disclose it and you have to agree to pay it, but they're allowed to. It's only restaurants that are banned from this."

伯雷利說：“如果你去髮廊或加油站，或者在紐約市的任何其他店面，老闆可以向你收取任何服務的附加費。當然他們必須明確說明，你必須同意支付，但他們可以這樣做。只有餐館不可以。”

Once the bill is signed, restaurants would be able to tack on the surcharge up to 90 days after full indoor dining is restored and there is no longer a statewide disaster emergency declared for the virus.

一旦法案簽署，在完全恢復室內就餐90天內，且沒有出現全州範圍的新冠疫情緊急災難狀態的情況下，餐館將可以加收這項費用。

Mayor Bill de Blasio is said to support the bill that passed Wednesday, though there are no details yet on when he will sign it.

據稱，紐約市長白思豪支持上週三通過的這項法案，不過他何時簽署該法案還不清楚。

"We will support the bill as long as there is a guarantee that restaurant workers will at least earn similar wages before the pandemic," said Anthony Advincula, spokesman for Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a non-profit advocating for higher wages and better working conditions for restaurant workers.

“只要能保證餐廳員工的工資與疫情暴發前差不多，我們就會支持這項法案，”倡導爲餐廳員工提高工資和改善工作條件的非營利組織“餐廳機會中心聯合會”的發言人安東尼·阿德溫庫拉說。

Advincula further stressed that proper enforcement is necessary, and said he hopes that customers will realize the surcharge does not go directly to workers per se.

阿德溫庫拉進一步強調，適當的強制執行是必要的。他說，希望顧客能明白這項收費並不是直接進了員工腰包。

Restaurants could face a civil penalty between $50 and $350 for not adhering to the rules, according to the bill.

根據該法案，不遵守規定的餐館將面臨50美元（約合人民幣338元）至350美元的民事罰款。

Restaurateurs have pushed de Blasio for the option to add surcharges even before the pandemic. In April 2018, more than 200 restaurants signed an open letter to de Blasio pleading that the city allow them to implement an optional surcharge, which is already allowed throughout New York State.

餐館老闆們甚至在疫情暴發前就已經向白思豪施壓，要求允許收取附加費。2018年4月，200多家餐廳簽署了一封致白思豪的公開信，請求紐約市允許他們收取可選附加費，紐約州已經普遍允許收取這項費用。

Borelli had also introduced a similar bill in 2018 that would allow up to a 5% surcharge, and says he hopes the optional surcharge remains after the pandemic eventually subsides.

伯雷利還在2018年提出了一項類似的法案，允許餐館收取最高5%的附加費。他說希望在疫情最終平息後，可選附加費仍然存在。

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced earlier this month that indoor dining can resume on September 30 with strict restrictions, including temperature checks, mandatory collection of contact information for contact tracing purposes, and a 25% capacity limit.

紐約州州長安德魯·科莫本月早些時候宣佈，9月30日可以恢復室內用餐，但有嚴格的限制，包括體溫檢查、爲追蹤接觸者而強制收集聯繫信息，以及25%的客容量限制。

Despite the city's embrace of outdoor dining, the industry is still in crisis.

儘管紐約市鼓勵戶外用餐，但餐飲業仍處於危機之中。

According to a survey by the New York State Restaurant Association of 1,000 restaurants across the state, almost 64% of owners said they could close shop by the end of the year without additional financial relief.

根據紐約州餐館協會對全州1000家餐館的調查，近64%的店主稱如果得不到額外的經濟援助，將在年底關門。

For Philippe Massoud, CEO and executive chef of Flatiron District-based ilili, the optional surcharge would allow his business to not "die on the operating table."

菲利普·馬蘇德是紐約市弗萊提榮區伊利利餐館的首席執行官兼行政主廚，他認爲可選附加費將使他的餐館不會“死在手術檯上”。

"This is not a moneymaker for me, at least in our company's culture. We are using it to deflect costs that we otherwise would not have," he continued.

他繼續說道：“這項收費對我來說不是用來賺錢的，至少在我們公司的文化中是這樣。我們用它來衝抵原本不會有的成本。”