STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Those letter grades in restaurant windows are making a big difference, Mayor Bloomberg says.
View full sizeHealth Commissioner Thomas Farley post the first “A” grade award for sanitary conditions on the window of Spark’s Deli in Long Island City in 2010.
Salmonella infections, which are considered an important indicator of foodborne illness, dropped 14 percent during the first full year of letter grading to the lowest level
in the last 20 years.
At the same time, restaurant sales jumped 9.3 percent.
Bloomberg says the joint doses of good news are no accident.
“Confidence in clean kitchens is proving to be good for business, just
as clean air has been,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “New Yorkers
overwhelmingly support the grading system and based on today’s news it’s
not hard to see why. Restaurant grades have been good for public health
and good for the economy. New York City is known for its great
restaurants and now it will be known for food safety too.”
Restaurant are improving their sanitary practices at the same time, Bloomberg said, with more than 72 percent earning an “A” grade, compared to 65 percent a year ago.
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According to a report on the program’s progress, the improved grades are the result of fewer violations, such as
inadequate hand washing facilities, food not being held at cold or hot
enough temperatures and having conditions conducive to pests.
“A year and a half into the letter grading program, all of the signs are that it is working just as we had hoped,” said Health Commissioner Thomas Farley. “New Yorkers are telling us that they like seeing the letter grades and they are using them. Restaurants’ food safety practices are improving. And the decline in food-related disease is certainly very encouraging.”
Despite the mayor’s support of the program, a number of restaurant owners have big gripes with the city Health Department, which administers the inspections. Inspectors have been accused of being arbitrary with their enforcement of rules; heavy-handed with fines on matters that have little to do with sanitary conditions; and unsympathetic to the realities of kitchens straining to meet customer demands during rush periods.
A group of City Council committees will hold a public hearing this afternoon on the matter. Members of the Staten Island Restaurant and Tavern Association have complained of “overzealous monitoring and disparate enforcement of the Health Department’s letter grading system,” according to Councilwoman Debi Rose, who was among those calling for the hearing.
She said she is hopeful the hearing “will provide long awaited answers and solutions to business owners who have struggled at the hand of the overzealous practices of the Health Department. It’s imperative that we make it very clear that our small businesses should not and will not be used as a cash register for New York City or the Health Department.”
