Thursday, August 12, 2010 • The RIVERDALE REVIEW


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Local restaurants strive for top grades By LAUREL NOBLE Crack open those textbooks, restaura-


teurs of Riverdale: The grades are rolling in.


A new letter-grading system imple-


mented this summer by the city’s Health Department is forcing all city restaurants to display their inspection results. The old system rated restaurants by


number. When an establishment incurred a violation, numbers were added to the score. The objective was, a little like golf, to have the lowest score possible. But now, a grade will be given. An A is


earned when a restaurant scores from 0 to13, a B for 14 through 27, and a C for 28 or more points in sanitary violations. The Health Department hopes that


this will “help consumers make informed choices about where to eat out” and also create a "powerful new incentive for restaurants to maintain the highest food safety standards.” But not everyone is thrilled about


the new change. “I am not a fan of the Health Department,” said John Bindela, owner of Jasper’s Pizza at 3535 Riverdale Avenue. “There is no owner in NYC that is a fan. They don’t know themselves the laws.” Bindela has reason to dislike the


Health Department and their new let- tering system. Every time they visit, Bindela re-


ceives six points for the way his rest- room door closes. Since there is only one restroom, it is handicapped-ac- cessible and therefore the door closes by itself. Otherwise, Bindela said, his wheelchair-bound customers could not juggle closing the door “while they are wheeling around.” Each inspection, Bindela gets points,


and each time, he has to go downtown and fight the results. “I had to go through all the B.S,” he said. “You spend the whole day downtown.” This could have negative implica-


tions for the city’s food businesses. With each violation, a restaurant's grade could lower. “It’s a stupid thing that has nothing to do with running a restaurant,” Bindela said. “And no one knows [why you got the viola- tion], they just know that it was a high number.”


But others are not so worried. “It shouldn’t be a problem,” said


Charles Fusilli of Nonno Tony’s at 554 West 235th Street. “Some might under- stand that there are some things that are


Continued from Page 1 Diaz lunches with Rivera


withdrew a complaint against Rivera that sought to toss him off on a technicality, since the candidate had been registered to vote as “Jose Gustavo Rivera” as op- posed to the name on his petitions, “J. Gustavo Rivera.” And Espada challenged both candi-


dates. Challenges were still being argued, and their outcomes were not clear as of press time. The incumbent, who was charged with


looting $14 million from his Soundview HealthCare Network, also alleged that Rivera was getting illegal, coordinated help from the New Roosevelt Initiative, which is dedicating $250,000 to promote his candidacy. Rivera’s campaign denied these al- legations.


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unavoidable.” Either way, the process of grading all


of the city’s existing restaurants will take about a year to complete. The city wants the public to know that they “expect that most restaurants will earn a B grade" dur- ing this initial year. And those shooting stars who do


receive an A get a little extra credit. The better the restaurant's score, the less they see of the Health Department. An A gives the establishment a year before their next inspection. Earn a B and expect a return visit in 5 to 7 months. For a C, plan for another inspection in 3 to 5 months. This leaves owners and managers with


a little more incentive. “I’m hoping that I get an A,” Bindela said.


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