NYC Restaurants Get Go-Ahead To Add Coronavirus Surcharge
NEW YORK CITY — Diners at New York City restaurants could soon see a 10 percent hike to their checks.
The City Council on Wednesday passed an optional, up to 10 percent surcharge that restaurants can add to bills. The temporary measure is designed to help restaurants economically hurt by the coronavirus crisis.
Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, urged Mayor Bill de Blasio to sign it into law “immediately.”
“The passage of the Covid-19 recovery bill will help struggling restaurants generate additional revenue to help pay for expenses like PPE for their employees, outdoor dining setups, rent, labor and other expenses to give them a fighting chance of survival,” Rigie said in a statement.
The coronavirus pandemic has drastically reshaped the city’s restaurant industry. Establishments have struggled to pay rent — or shuttered altogether — as an indoor dining ban stretched for months.
The city meanwhile started a massive “Open Restaurants” program, allowing eateries to seat customers outdoors or even in city streets. Officials announced Wednesday that the street dining program will expand to weekdays at 40 locations across the city.
Indoor dining at 25 percent capacity is slated to return to the city on Sept. 30.
This article originally appeared on the New York City Patch
