In May, a mainstay in the Theater District since 1927, Gallaghers was embroiled in controversy over a misleading “A” Health Department inspection sign in the window. It turned out that he had been waiting for the DOH to inspect his restaurant for about a year – and put the old “A” grade instead of continuing to produce the “C” grade. it.
When Eater reported the matter, the Department of Health confirmed that the restaurant had a “C” and was due to be inspected again “this month.” Meanwhile, the Gallaghers changed their false “A” to a “C” and, four months later, they are still waiting for a retest, according to the DOH website. To make matters worse, if the Gallaghers don’t continue to produce their “C”, they could be fined up to $1,000. From the looks of things, the Gallaghers may not be re-examined anytime soon.
As a precaution, the DOH says it takes 11 to 13 months to send the next inspector, according to the website. But if the Gallaghers are any indication, reaching out to the DOH for updates is fruitless, the local government is equivalent to counting tea leaves, to get an estimate of when they can be scrutinized.
New York City restaurants are facing a shortage of Health Department inspectors according to the recently released 2024 Mayor’s Management Report (MMR). The report acknowledges a 17 percent reduction in initial health inspections, saying it inspected 66.4 percent of restaurants, up from 2023 when 83.4 percent of the city’s restaurants were inspected.
“The Department of Health is well behind the 100 percent goal, a goal it has consistently met, including in Tax 2019 when the Department of Health inspected 99.5 percent of restaurants,” the report continued. “This decrease is mainly due to the lack of staff and the Department of Health is recruiting people to solve this problem.”
The DOH is required to visit each food service establishment at least once a year and give each restaurant a letter grade, a system that comes with its flaws and notorious standards. Differences between grades have the potential to affect businesses and workers’ livelihoods overnight. To prevent ratings below “A”, many restaurants have clear (not so obvious) warnings, such as one place with a “DOH” option on its vending machine. each of the receipts. restaurant – to warn the staff, this is “not a test.” One location in Times Square uses the code phrase “Beyonce is here” when an inspector arrives.
Of course, many restaurants would rather not have a health inspector visit for a variety of reasons, not to mention the obvious fact that the subsequent chaos in the restaurant’s daily operations when help the government agent to hesitate and worry about a small difference in circumstances that can be huge. affects the restaurant’s ability to attract foot traffic. But the truth is that delaying re-examination can be more of a problem than one might think.
If a restaurant doesn’t get an “A” on its first inspection, it must sit for another inspection; if that’s delayed, the restaurant must keep a “B” or “C” or “Grade Pending” sign in its window, which can be a major deterrent to potential diners. and people who have always been there. Longer delays as well as greater influence on social media food analysis and limitations can be reinforced. Having a network stack can mean that restaurants are less likely to get a second chance to opt-out if influencers visit the restaurant during the catch-up period.
Expensive re-inspection may seem trivial: To appeal the letter, a restaurant must pay for an additional inspection: $400 for existing restaurants and $100 for new ones. It’s a payment that many owners say lines the Health Department’s coffers, creates a conflict of interest, and challenges the mission of the entire system.
Some long-term restaurants specify a year delay for the first inspection. Stephen Loffredo, who has been running restaurants in New York City since 1992, says his latest project, the Midtown seafood restaurant Point Seven, went unreviewed for about a year after to open in September 2023. While the delay does not affect the restaurant’s ability to open, the waiting and wondering adds to the stress of day-to-day operations.
“We are always in a good position. We do training. Our restaurant is not good, but that kept us on our toes even more,” he said. “We were more aggressive.” On the test he got an “A.”
The number of “A” grades awarded fell in a different way; The report found the percentage of restaurants with an “A” grade decreased by 3.1 percent from 2023 to 86.9 percent of restaurants in 2024. Instead of blaming the decline in “A” grades on restaurant health and safety protocols, the Mayor’s Management Report explained. reducing its labor shortage, in what some restaurant owners feel has become a bridge to government inefficiency.
“While the reasons why few restaurants meet the highest food safety standards are multifaceted and complex, the Department of Health believes that one factor affecting restaurant performance is that the Department of Health has been unable to check them regularly since the onset of COVID-19,” MMR said.
For city retailers who are still recovering from the COVID epidemic and continue to face their labor problems – as well as high labor and food costs – the sluggish rate of DOH inspection is not helpful.
“The Department of Health works around the clock to ensure that health, wellness and hygiene are protected and promoted,” said the DOH in response to a request for comment on the report. “New Yorkers deserve rat-free streets and restaurants that follow food service laws.”
The DOH said it is recruiting to bring in workers and is currently training a group of new restaurant inspectors. “In July and August this year (Fiscal Year ’25), the Department of Health inspected 37% more restaurants compared to July and August 2023,” the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Andrew Rigie, Executive Director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, says New Yorkers should not be concerned about dining safety.
“The number of inspections has decreased because the DOH has fewer inspectors after the epidemic, but we have been assured that the agency is still focusing on food safety and inspecting restaurants where there may be problems,” he said. like that. “Also, most of the inspection statistics are the same as in 2015, so it’s not a big deal and the city’s restaurants are very safe.”
In other words, it seems all diners and restaurants can do is watch, wait, and keep guessing when the reviewer will visit again. That wait comes knowing full well that the Department of Health’s mail order system is collapsing due to a staffing shortage that is hurting the restaurants they inspect.
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