NYC Holds Letter-Grade Inspection Hearing

Today is the day of reckoning on letter-grade health inspections in the Big Apple. New York’s City Council is meeting today, March 7, with the New York State Restaurant Association and local operators for an oversight hearing that addresses the letter-grade inspection system in place there.

The hearing, and the operator survey that spurred it, are the result of more than a year of efforts by the New York State Restaurant Association to have its members’ complaints heard about the city health department’s inspection system. FER reported on the survey Feb. 8.

More than 1,000 operators filled out the online survey, according to Andrew Rigie, executive v.p.- NYSRA’s New York City division. Rigie said it is the association’s "hope that the council and the health department will move to a food-safety model that focuses on education and training and moves away from its current punitive model."

Under the current system, restaurants awarded “A”  grades are inspected annually. Those with 14 or more points on initial inspection are inspected more frequently. But even operators who receive “A” grades say they face additional costs include hiring sanitation consultants and attorneys to represent them at tribunal hearings.