China News Service, October 23. According to the US "World Journal" report, in 2020, New York City will open catering businesses to set up outdoor dining areas under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and temporarily permit the restaurant's portable propane heater (propane heater), but Seeing that winter is coming again, Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped extending the permit time on the grounds of safety. The Chinese restaurant industry feels quite distressed.
De Blasio passed a temporary permit for portable propane fuel heating in October last year to assist restaurants hit hard by the epidemic to remain open in the winter, but the permit expires this summer, and a city spokesperson recently confirmed that New York City will not extend it. Licensing, emphasizing that the decision is mainly concerned with public safety, and has nothing to do with the permanent policy for outdoor dining that is currently being debated, but regardless of the reason, the industry will no longer be able to continue to use portable propane fuel heating this winter.
A spokesperson for the New York City government said that New York City hopes to make outdoor dining permanent, and the most important step is to keep customers and restaurant operators safe; since many businesses invested thousands of dollars last year to purchase portable propane fuel heating, the city government also Said that it will provide a subsidy of 5,000 yuan for small businesses to switch to natural gas or electric heaters.
Before the temporary permission, portable propane fuel heating was banned in small businesses or hotels due to the possibility of fire. After the temporary permission was issued, the city government also stipulated that heating can only be used in sidewalk dining areas; according to data from the New York City Fire Department, Since October last year, there have been no propane-related explosions or fires in restaurants or bars in the city, but during the period, the City Fire Department still found more than 1,200 violations and seized at least 1,000 improperly stored propane fuel tanks.
Chen Zuozhou, executive director of the Chinatown Joint Development Agency, said that there are no restaurants in Manhattan Chinatown who use portable propane fuel heating. Most of them use electric heaters loaned by the agency, so there is no need to spend more money on heating equipment.
However, Li Zhicheng, the owner of a restaurant on Staten Island, spent about 1,200 yuan before the winter last year, buying four portable propane fuel heaters and eight fuel tanks; Li Zhicheng said that he also bought For some electric heaters, in addition to the high cost of electricity, the problem of power trips often occurs. For this reason, he also asked someone to reinstall the wires.
After being unable to use portable propane fuel heating, Li Zhicheng said he felt "helpless." Because there were many Italian residents around the restaurant who refused to be vaccinated and had no vaccination card, they could only sit outdoors and dine. Now they can’t provide heating in winter, he said. It is estimated that these people would rather go to restaurants in New Jersey to eat, which is another blow to restaurant business.
He has been operating a local restaurant for 15 years. He said that the government has changed every day, and the sanitation and firefighting units inspected all day long. It is really difficult for the restaurant to operate. He hopes that the government can provide fixed policies and specific plans to truly help small businesses stand up after the epidemic.
(Yan Jiaying)