Fines will be reduced across the board and will, for the first time, be set at a specific amount

The Council will also introduce five bills this week to ensure that the restaurant inspection system is fair, efficient, consistent and accountable

New York, NY – Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) have reached a comprehensive agreement on across the board fine reductions for restaurants that will reduce fines to the level collected before the introduction of the letter grading system. The Department will, for the first time, set specific fine amounts for each violation. Previously, violations could result in a fine between $200 and $2,000, at the discretion of a hearing officer. Under the new fine structure, 60% of all violations will be set to the minimum $200 fine, and many of the most commonly issued violations will be reduced by between 15%-50% from the current fine average. In addition, any restaurant whose point total is less than 14 after adjudication on its initial inspection will not have to pay any fines for that inspection. Finally, if a restaurant receives a violation for a structural irregularity, such as an improperly placed sink, but can prove that the configuration had never been cited as a problem during previous inspections, that violation will be waived, though the restaurant will still be required to fix the problem.

Altogether, the fine reduction package is expected to reduce total fines collected by more than $10 million per year, and is part of a larger set of legislative reforms that will be introduced in the Council on August 22. The announcement was made at Blaue Gans restaurant in Manhattan with Council Members, the New York City Hospitality Alliance, the New York State Restaurant Association, Marc Murphy, celebrity chef, and Kurt Gutenbrunner, owner of Blaue Gans.

“Restaurant letter grading was never supposed to be a way to generate additional fine revenue, especially since the Health Department discovered long ago that higher fines don’t by themselves result in better sanitary conditions, said Speaker Quinn. “We have to balance the needs of restaurant owners and operators with our obligation to keep restaurants clean and safe for the public. We’ve struck that balance with the fine reductions we are announcing today.”

“We began restaurant letter-grading to provide an added incentive to restaurants to have the best food safety practices. This system is working: restaurant practices are improving, and these practices are improving public health,” said Health Commissioner Thomas Farley. “At this point, moving to fixed fines will help give the system more predictability, and even with reduced fines, the grading system will continue to encourage restaurant managers to prepare food safely.”
All General Violations and low-severity Critical Violations will be set at the minimum $200. Examples of violations that would result in fines of $200 include: the fine for sewage disposal system in disrepair which would drop from an average of $348; not properly storing two sanitized utensils would be reduced from an average of $295; and the fine for having five flies in a food preparation area during the fall and winter would fall from an average of $256. These cuts would reduce these fines by 42.5%, 32.2% and 21.9 %, respectively.

Fines for the two highest levels of Critical Violations would also be reduced to $300 and $350 –down 13.9% from an average fine of $349 and 16.7% from an average fine of $420, respectively. The violations include: having four or more workers in a food preparation area who are not wearing a hair cover and having six workers eating in a food storage area.

Fines for more serious violations would also see appropriate decreases. For example, the fine for failing to properly cool a food item would drop by 22.8% from an average fine of $324.

Finally, violations cited for items that involve fundamental program integrity and operation would be set at $1,000. These include: operating without a current permit, obstructing a health inspector attempting to inspect, tampering with a closure sign, failing to post the current grade card and violating a Commissioner’s Order.

In addition to the agreement to lower fines, the following five bills which aim to improve the restaurant inspection system will be introduced at the Council’s Stated Meeting this week: Council Member Van Bramer will sponsor a bill giving restaurant owners and operators the opportunity to request a consultative and ungraded inspection for educational purposes; Council Member Arroyo’s bill calls for the establishment of an ombuds office to receive and address comments, complaints and compliments; under Council Member Gentile’s legislation, the DOHMH would be required to develop an inspection code of conduct pamphlet that inspectors will distribute to all restaurant owners and operators prior to the beginning of an initial inspection; Council Member Koo will introduce a bill that would create an advisory board to ensure ongoing and systemic review of the restaurant inspection program; and finally, Council Member Reyna’s legislation would increase and improve the reporting of restaurant inspection data.

“I’m thrilled that the Speaker and the Department of Health were able to come to a fair compromise on restaurant inspection fines. I am also excited about the City Council’s legislation that will improve the restaurant inspection process. I want to thank Speaker Quinn, my Council colleagues and the Health Department for working collaboratively on behalf of all New Yorkers on this important issue,” said Council Health Committee Chair Maria del Carmen Arroyo.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. In order to help these businesses grow and succeed, health inspectors must work with restaurants owners rather than attempt to catch them off guard and penalize them,” said Council Member Vincent J. Gentile. “My bill develops an inspection code of conduct pamphlet based on standards that exist in the restaurant inspection process. As inspectors will be required to distribute the pamphlet to all restaurant owners and operators prior to an inspection, this bill ensures that everyone is aware of how inspections ought to proceed and no one is caught off guard.”
“Through the implementation of this package of bills the New York City Council will help ensure that restaurateurs no longer feel vilified for minor infractions that subtract much needed revenue from their bottom line,” said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer. “I applaud Speaker Quinn for taking the initiative to make these bills a priority for small business owners who desperately called for improvements within the inspection process. By working closely with restaurateurs and establishments we plan to successfully develop an environment where our local eateries can continue to thrive. I look forward to working with Speaker Quinn and my colleagues to enhance the restaurant inspection process and making it more transparent and inclusive of small business owners who are the backbone of our City’s local economies.”

“One of the most common complaints we receive from restaurants in regard to the current grading system is that fines are excessive, and vary wildly from inspector to inspector. Today’s announcement of an across the board fine reduction will protect our restaurateurs’ bottom lines, while preserving the grading system that many New Yorkers love and rely on. This is a great step toward improving the relationship between city government and the restaurants that make New York the greatest City in the world,” said Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Chair, Committee on Governmental Operations.

“The Hospitality Alliance thanks the Speaker for advocating for these changes which will save our mom and pop restaurants and bars $10 million dollars in fines without sacrificing food safety at all. This is real reform for small businesses,” said Robert Bookman, General and Legislative Counsel of NYC Hospitality Alliance.

“The restaurant business is already one of the hardest to make a profit, and smaller fines means more money in the pockets of middle class small business owners,” said Anthony Dell’Orto, President of the New York State Restaurant Association, New York City Chapter. “We applaud the city for reaching an agreement that allows this industry to continue to grow and provide both healthy food and good jobs to all New Yorkers.”

“This is really exciting for news for restaurateurs as the fines have been so expensive over the last few years,” said Kurt Gutenbrunner, owner of Blaue Gans.

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