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(a) A food service establishment shall post its letter grade until the Department issues it a new letter grade card or until a "grade pending" card is required to be posted in the establishment's next inspection cycle. The Department shall not wait one year to schedule the next inspection cycle for any establishment that receives 14 or more points on its initial inspection, but instead the interval of time between the final inspection in such cycle and the initial inspection in the establishment's next cycle shall be determined by the higher score from either its initial inspection or its reinspection:
(1) An initial inspection commencing a new cycle shall be conducted 150 to 210 days after the reinspection at an establishment that receives a score of 14 to 27 points on an initial inspection or reinspection and does not score 28 or more points on either of these inspections.
(2) An initial inspection commencing a new cycle shall be conducted 90 to 150 days after the final inspection of the cycle at an establishment that receives a score of 28 or more points on its initial inspection or reinspection.
(3) An initial inspection commencing a new cycle shall be conducted within 60 to 120 days of reopening for an establishment that is authorized by the Department to reopen following a Department closure that occurs on an initial or reinspection of that establishment.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter to the contrary, in circumstances when the Department believes there is an increased risk to public health, nothing in this section shall prohibit the Department from inspecting an establishment and treating that inspection as the initial inspection in a new cycle. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to, an establishment having a history of Department closure(s), being the subject of complaints of unsanitary conditions, or being compromised following an environmental emergency.
(a) The Department shall issue a notice of violation whenever a food service establishment is cited on any sanitary inspection for one or more critical violations or accumulates 14 or more points, regardless of whether any critical violations are cited on such inspection.
(b) All violations shall be recorded and/or cited individually on inspection reports and notices of violation.
(c) A Health Tribunal hearing examiner must impose the penalty set forth in Appendix C of this Chapter for any sustained violation.
(a) Findings of serious and persistent violations or uncorrected public health hazards on any sanitary inspection may provide the basis for commencement of a proceeding to revoke or suspend a permit pursuant to 24 RCNY Health Code Article 5.
(b) The Department shall post signs on any establishment that it orders closed indicating that such establishment is not open to the public and shall remove any posted grade-related card.
(c) Prior to authorizing any closed establishment being allowed to re-open, the Department shall conduct a re-opening inspection. The Department may conduct as many inspections as it deems necessary to determine whether the establishment is in compliance with applicable law and may be reopened for operation.
(d) If an establishment that is required by 24 RCNY Health Code § 81.51 to post a letter grade is closed and then allowed to re-open, upon re-opening, the grade card that had been posted by the establishment before the closure will be posted again, except that where the closure occurred on the establishment's initial inspection, a "grade pending" card shall be posted, and any grade card previously posted shall be removed, and where the closure occurred on a reinspection a "grade pending" card or the letter grade card corresponding to the score on the reinspection shall be posted.
(a) The Department shall at the time of inspection provide any establishment required by 24 RCNY Health Code § 81.51 to post a letter grade that receives a score of 13 or less on an initial or reinspection with a grade card displaying the letter grade "A," which shall be posted immediately by the establishment.
(b) If an establishment required by 24 RCNY Health Code § 81.51 to post a letter grade receives a score of 14 or more points on an initial inspection, and is not closed by the Department, it shall continue to post its grade card from the prior cycle until its reinspection. If the establishment has been issued no prior grade card, it shall have no posting until its reinspection.
(c) If an establishment required by 24 RCNY Health Code § 81.51 to post a letter grade receives a score of 14 or more points on the reinspection, and is not closed by the Department, the Department shall provide the establishment with a "grade pending" card and a grade card displaying the letter grade that corresponds with its inspection score at the reinspection. The establishment shall immediately post either the grade card or the "grade pending" card. If the establishment elects to post the "grade pending" card, it may only do so until it has had an opportunity to be heard at the Health Tribunal pursuant to subdivision (d) of this section and 24 RCNY Health Code § 81.51.
(d) Effect of adjudication at the Health Tribunal on grading of establishments required by 24 RCNY Health Code § 81.51 to post letter grades:
(1) If the establishment appears personally at the Health Tribunal and as a result of such proceeding the score received on a reinspection does not change the grade, the establishment shall immediately upon receipt of the notice of decision remove any posted "grade pending" card and post the grade card provided by the Department at such inspection.
(2) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (3) of this subdivision, if the establishment does not appear at the Health Tribunal on or before the scheduled hearing date, the establishment shall, on the date of the hearing, post the letter grade card provided by the Department at the reinspection.
(3) If the establishment appears at the Health Tribunal on the scheduled date but is unable to proceed, or if the establishment makes a timely request for an adjournment and such adjournment is granted, the establishment may continue to post the "grade pending" card and defer posting the letter grade card until the adjourned hearing date. In no event shall an establishment fail to post the grade card after the adjourned hearing date if the establishment is not able to proceed on such date.
(4) If the establishment appears at the Health Tribunal and as a result of such proceeding the score received for the reinspection changes in a way that results in a change of grade, the Department shall provide the establishment with a new letter grade card that shall be promptly posted by the establishment in place of any other letter grade card or "grade pending" card.
(5) If the establishment receives notice of decision by mail, the establishment shall immediately upon receipt of the notice of decision remove any grade pending card and post the grade card provided with the notice of decision, if any. If no new grade card is issued with the notice of decision, the establishment shall immediately post the grade card issued by the Department at the reinspection.
(6) When an establishment settles the notice of violation issued at the reinspection by mail, online, or in person, the establishment shall immediately upon settlement post the grade card issued by the Department at such reinspection.
(7) The disposition of any notice of violation at the Health Tribunal shall not affect any provision of this Chapter or other applicable law other than the issuance of a grade.
(e) An establishment required by 24 RCNY Health Code § 81.51 to post a letter grade shall shred or otherwise dispose of all non-current letter grade cards and "grade pending" cards in a manner that prevents reuse of the cards.
(f) The "grade pending" or letter grade card shall be posted in a conspicuous place where it is visible to passersby. The card shall be placed on the front window, door or exterior wall of an establishment required by 24 RCNY Health Code § 81.51 to post a letter grade. The card shall be within five feet of the front door or other opening to the establishment where customers enter from the street, at a vertical height no less than four feet and no more than six feet from the ground or floor. An establishment without a direct entrance from the street shall post the grade card or "grade pending" card at a place designated by the Department at its immediate point of entry so that it is clearly visible to passersby.
(g) Letter grade cards shall not be removed except when authorized by the Department.
(a) These rules shall be read and enforced in accordance with all applicable provisions of law, including, but not limited to, the State Public Health Law and Sanitary Code, the New York City Health Code, and Title 17 of the Administrative Code of the City of New York.
(b) No provision herein shall limit the authority of the Department to conduct such other inspections or take any other action it deems necessary, to enforce any provision of law within the jurisdiction of the Department.
(c) If any provision of this Chapter is adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such judgment shall not affect or impair the validity of the remainder of this Chapter.
(a) Submission of proof of correction must be in writing in a form approved or provided by the Department.
(b) The proof must be submitted to the Department electronically or in person within seven (7) calendar days of the date the violation was issued as recorded on the summons, except that the cure period of a first-time violation of Administrative Code § 17-504(f) is within thirty (30) days of the issuance of the notice of violation.
(c) Such proof must be affirmed by the permittee or their authorized representative that it is complete and accurate to the best of such person's knowledge.
(d) Submission of any false statements in support of a proof of correction may be subject to penalties prescribed for violations of 24 RCNY Health Code § 3.19 and other applicable law.
(e) A permittee whose first-time violation is pending at OATH for adjudication is not eligible to submit a proof of correction for a subsequent identical violation.
(Added City Record 2/3/2023, eff. 3/5/2023)
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