STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Congratulations, Staten Island restaurateurs: Those potential fines from the Department of Health will be slashed by 25 percent, say City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett.
So, it looks like the City has dialed down the number on the financial pressure cooker that the food business has become.
I promise you: Those letter grade laws all started with good intentions. They really did — kind of like publicly shaming a business person into following safety procedures and, ideally, making them really pay attention to proper food handling.
Those laws, I am sure of it, came into fruition to protect the public's health. Love him or not, Mayor Bloomberg did the City a great favor by making New Yorkers a wee bit more self-conscious about their consumption, from calories to cigarettes.
But, somewhere along the lines on the letter grade topic, wires became crossed. That system seemed to be a cumbersome one to take on and one open to much subjective interpretation. And, it became a stressful subject for a restaurateur.
It wasn't enough that all the details of a health inspection were available online for all the public to see on NYC.gov.
It wasn't enough that each violation carried with it hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars in fines, even when a letter grade was "A."
It wasn't enough that there were inconsistencies in the health code. For instance, a food cart and a brick-and-mortar establishment had two sets of rules from the Health Department, most notably on posting letter grades.
It wasn't enough that the average business owner should pay his taxes on time and could hope to stand as a financially healthy, revenue-generating pillar of the community.
The City just had to make an entrepreneur place that letter grade in the window.
I liken the letter grade by the door (particularly when it is less than an "A") to one wearing his underpants on the outside. For some patrons, it became a source of seamy wonderment. ("Eww, you got a B? Hmm, what other dirty bits do you have going on in that kitchen?" a squeamish, potential patron might wonder.)
Yet, I am not sure what has been worse for restaurants: That "B" grade or the ominous sound of the hazy words "Grade Pending." Grade Pending...ugh. Now, that's where your over-active imagination really can run away with you.
The reason why fines and violations are there to begin with is that no matter what your background is in food service, no matter what language you speak and what culture you've come from, you'll still understand one thing — the almighty dollar. You want to follow the law so you aren't forced to cough up the little profit you've eked out over the month to the City of New York.
Sigh. I am weary of the letter-grade discussions.
They are a distraction to the average business owner. Their effectiveness is debatable. And, there might be better exercises for the Department of Health to perform in protecting the public's health.
Now, exactly how is the City going to make up that lost revenue?