Restaurants Use Loophole to Duck Letter Grading

NY Daily News

The Bloomberg administration is working with the state to close a loophole that has allowed city restaurants to duck its strict letter-grading system by registering as supermarkets or wholesalers.

The Daily News reported exclusively Monday that scores of eateries with sitdown service are avoiding the tough city reviews — and the possibility of getting a business-killing C grade — by exploiting the loophole in the state registration process.

Mayor Bloomberg said he was once a patron of one of the restaurants outed by The News — Amnon’s Kosher Pizza in Borough Park, Brooklyn.

“One place where I’ve actually eaten,” he said of Amnon’s, “they are certainly not a grocery store, I can tell you.”

Following The News’ report, the mayor said he asked city Health Commissioner Thomas Farley to help the state’s Department of Agriculture and Markets cross-check its list of 14,202 establishments for any that may be taking advantage of the system.