Hummus Kitchen on 80th street and Amsterdam Avenue felt the wrath of the Health Department this week, getting slapped with the dreaded yellow sticker that forces it to close and makes everyone say “Ew!” The hummus emporium appears to have a critter problem.
Check out the violations below, with the worst of it in red:
1) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2) Evidence of rats or live rats present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
3) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
4) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
5) Personal cleanliness inadequate. Outer garment soiled with possible contaminant. Effective hair restraint not worn in an area where food is prepared.
6) Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
7) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.
8) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
The DOH also closed Giovanni’s Italian Pizzeria on 110th and Columbus this week because of health violations. Its infringements are below:
1) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
2) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
3) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
4) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
5) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.
6) Plumbing not properly installed or maintained; anti-siphonage or backflow prevention device not provided where required; equipment or floor not properly drained; sewage disposal system in disrepair or not functioning properly.
7) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
Forty Bronx restaurants sued the city this week because they say that it is levying excessive fines for supposed violations. As reported by Bloomberg (the news source, not the mayor):
“Excessive fines have caused restaurants to go out of business, said the restaurant owners, who are seeking $150 million in damages, according to the suit. The plaintiffs are also seeking a stay of all fines until the case is resolved and a reorganization of the appeal process, which they called ‘intrinsically unfair.'”
Thanks to Steven for the tip and photo.
Ummm…the dreaded yellow sticker refers to the NYC Dept. of Health and MENTAL HYGIENE!
!?!?!?!? :-0
Exactly WHAT is MENTAL HYGIENE? Could it mean:
1) Having only clean and healthy thoughts;
2) Persecuting those who have doity-n-sick thoughts;
3) Making sure people regularly exercise their particular set of neuroses (obviously a practice widely adhered to on the UWS);
4)like its homonymn, DENTAL HYGIENE, flossing regularly … perhaps by inserting floss in left ear and pulling it from right ear;
5) Exercising one’s brain by adding the number of minutes wasted making 311 calls to operators trained to make sure you DON’T have a nice day.
It boggles the mind…but if one’s mind is boggled they should probably contact the NYC Dept. of Health and MENTAL HYGIENE
Har! Good one, Stan!
But the hummus restaurant isn’t governed by the “mental” hygiene people — its issues are much more “emotional” in nature. You know what they say — hummus where the heart is??
Thanks, Cato! Loved your “Hummus where the heart is”!
B/T/W: anyone notice that, at the bottom, the yellow sticker reads “Do Not Remove”.
Errr…forever? That means that should the restaurant re-open (once they’ve rid themselves of the “fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid {how horrid}flies”) it will still bear a huge CLOSED sign…even if its door sign reads “OPEN”.
Sounds like something out of Catch-22.
Or a nightmare scenario like the generations of people from whose couches, loveseats, etc. forever dangled those governmental-looking “Do Not Remove Upon Penalty of Law” tags.