Airbnb, a global home-sharing company, faces a fight to stay in New York City.
Airbnb这家全球房屋租赁公司在纽约面临着一场战争。
A proposed law would punish people for renting out their homes fewer than 30 days. Airbnb promises to fight the proposed regulation. Airbnb asked its customers to sign a paper, or petition, against the law.
一项拟议的法律将将会对出租房租少于30天的人们做出处罚。Airbnb承诺抗争这一拟议的规定。该公司要求其客户签订一份反对该法律的请愿书。
Airbnb is website for people advertise and look for short-term rentals. For many, Airbnb is a cheap alternative to a hotel.
Airbnb是一家让人们发布或寻找短租房屋的网站。对许多人来说，Airbnb是酒店的廉价替代品。
Hotel rooms in New York City average about $250 per night. International travelers often book short visits to New York on Airbnb. But New York state law prohibits people from renting out an entire home or apartment to someone for fewer than 30 days.
纽约的酒店客房平均每晚需要250美元左右。国际游客通常在Airbnb网站上预定纽约的短期住宿。但是纽约州法律禁止人们把整套房屋出租给别人少于30天。
Owners and tenants may rent out part of their apartment or home. But they must stay on the property during the short-term stay.
房东和住户可以部分出租自己的房屋。但是他们必须在短租期间住在房子里。
Earlier this year, two New York City Council members proposed penalties for people who illegally rent their homes.
今年早些时候，两名纽约市议会议员提出了对非法出租自己房屋者进行处罚。
City law currently puts a first-time penalty of $1,000 on those who change their home into a short-term rental space. The proposal would raise the first-time penalty from $1,000 to $10,000, and the maximum penalty from $25,000 to $50,000.
市现行法律对那些把自己的住房变成短租房屋的人们首次处罚1000美元。该提案把初次处罚金额从1000美元提高到1万美元，并且将最高罚款从2.5万美元提高到5万美元。
Chris Lehane is Airbnb's Global Head of Public Policy. He started the petition against the law, "The New York City Council could cause thousands of everyday New Yorkers to lose their homes or make it harder for them to get by," he said.
克里斯·勒翰(Chris Lehane)是Airbnb公司公共政策全球负责人。他发动了反对该法案的请愿。他说，“纽约市议会可能会让数千名纽约客失去住房，或者让他们度日更加艰难。”
City Councilwoman Helen Rosenthal said the increased penalties were not meant to hurt people, "but at protecting the New York City housing stock." There is worry that using so many apartments short-term rentals drives up housing prices for everyone.
市女议员海伦·罗森塔尔（Helen Rosenthal）表示，加重处罚不是为了伤害人们，而是为了保护纽约市的存量住房。有人担心公寓短租会带动房价上涨。
The councilwoman's spokesperson, Stephanie Buhle, said the goal is to protect low-income tenants. She gave the example of a low-income apartment building that listed 80 percent of its units as hotel rooms. Residents complained, and the city fined the owner only $800.
这位女议员的发言人斯蒂芬妮·布勒(Stephanie Buhle)表示，其目标是为了保护低收入租户。她例举了一栋低收入公寓大楼有80%的房间被列为酒店房间的例子。居民怨声载道，而该市只对业主做出了800美元的处罚。
"Our housing stock is really valuable, and [landlords] are using it for [their] own good," said Buhle, who added that the city suspects there to be more than 16,000 illegal hotels in NYC.
布勒说，“我们的存量住房是非常珍贵的，而房东只为自己着想。”他还补充说，该市怀疑当地有超过1.6万家非法旅馆。
Airbnb says nearly eight in 10 of its hosts are low to middle income. Many of them need additional income to remain in their homes or apartment.
Airbnb表示，该网站近80%的业主都是中低收入者。他们中的许多人需要额外收入来保住自己的住房。
According to the city council's website, the amendment is being considered by a council committee. It may or may not actually become a law.
根据市议会的官网，该修正案正在被议会委员会审议。它是否能真正成为法律尚不确定。
New York City is not the only city to propose laws against short-term home-sharing. San Francisco will vote on November 3 whether to limit short-term rentals to 75 days a year. The current limit is 90 days. The proposed law would require hosting sites like Airbnb to take down listings that violate the limit.
纽约市并非唯一一个拟立法反对住房短租的城市。旧金山将在11月3日投票决定是否把短租限制到每年75天。目前的限制是90天。拟议的法律将会要求Airbnb之类的托管网站撤下违反了该限制的住房。
In an agreement with the city of Chicago, Airbnb recently began collecting hotel tax in order to stay in business there.
在一份同芝加哥达成的协议中，Airbnb公司最近开始征收酒店税以便在该市经营。
Airbnb was created seven years ago and has grown very fast in the digital age. The company lists about 1.2 million rentals worldwide on its website, according to the Los Angeles Times. Cities across the country are trying to figure out how to best tax and manage this industry.
Airbnb公司创立于7年前并且在数字化时代发展迅猛。根据洛杉矶时报报道，该公司在其网站上列出了全球120万套租赁房屋。全国各地城市都在试图找出如何更好地征税和管理这个行业。
I'm Adam Brock.
我是亚当·布洛克。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)