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Diner Owner Claims DOH Shut Him Down For Citizen Journalism
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 7, 2012
Modified Jan 7, 2012
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Jan 7, 2012
Modified Jan 7, 2012
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According to a Manhattan restauranteur, a camera-shy health inspector fired off a litany of violations as soon as he began documenting the inspection. Bill Koulmentas, the owner of George's diner in Tribeca, tells the Post that because he pulled out his iPhone to document a visit from a DOH inspector yesterday, the inspector became angry and wrote him up for 65 points worth of violations, and shuttered the restaurant for the first time since September 11, 2001. "They can do anything they want, Koulmentas says. "Something's out of control here. It's lies, lies, lies."
Lies, indeed! Koulmentas says he only documented the visit because of an "overzealous" inspection on December 16, which yielded a whopping 56 points, for violations including:
- Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation. 2) Appropriately scaled metal stem-type thermometer or thermocouple not provided or used to evaluate temperatures of potentially hazardous foods during cooking, cooling, reheating and holding. 3) Live roaches present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
When the inspector said he found 13 roaches in a wall, Koulmentas offered, "I'll give you $1,000 if you show me a roach." DOH spokesman John Kelly tells the paper that the inspection was routine, and that Koulmentas is lucky he wasn't shut down last month. “The inspector recommended closing the place [back then]. The supervisor said let’s give him an opportunity to fix the problem. Basically, he caught a break.” And an inspector's soul! Eatery owners take heed: there's a better way to get health inspectors off your back:
Tagged
citizen journalism
department of health
doh
grading system
health inspectors
restaurant grades
tribeca
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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