Christine Quinn Concerned About Department Of Health Letter-Grade System, Announces Survey

Council Speaker and mayoral-hopeful Christine Quinn is concerned about the Department Of Health's letter grading system for restaurants.

"If you have a fly on your sidewalk cafe, you're getting a fine and you're getting a point against you in your grade. How the heck are you supposed to prevent flies from being in your sidewalk cafe? We need a system that's fair to the consumer and fair to the small businesses or restaurants in New York," said Quinn on Tuesday, according to CBS. "If you have a fly in your restaurant, you're getting a $300 to $350 fine. If there's one fly in the restaurant, if you see him in the front [and] if you see him in the back, you're getting $700 worth of fines."

Quinn and the City Council is asking city restauranteurs to take an online survey about the efficiency of the grading-system, which was launched in July of 2010.

"I am troubled by the wave of complaints the Council has received from restaurants--even the ones that get A's--about the fairness and inconsistency of the food safety inspection process," Quinn said in a statement announcing the new survey. "Any initiative--especially 18 months after establishment--calls for scrutiny. With this survey, we hope to learn more about what is and isn't working, including whether the grading system has been implemented fairly. The participation of restaurateurs in this analysis is critical, and we look forward to hearing their input."

The survey will be used in hearing on the subject next month.