The New York City Board of Health has passed a controversial plan that will force restaurants to publicly post DOH inspection letter grades, as restaurants do now in Los Angeles:
In a program that is to start in July, 8-by-10-inch placards, to be supplied by the city, will rate restaurants with a blue A for the highest grade (from zero to 13 points under the old system), a green B for a less-sanitary but still passing rating (from 13 to 27 points), and a yellow C for a failing grade. They are to be prominently posted in windows or restaurant vestibules.Many restaurateurs, obviously, are against the plan. At a hearing last month Landmarc's Marc Murphy said that the letter grade system "could turn back the clock on New York as the food capital of the world.” Eater readers seem torn on the topic.
· City Health Board Agrees to Require Letter Grades for Restaurant Cleanliness [Diner's Journal]
· Board of Health Votes to Require New York City Restaurants to Display Letter Grades after Sanitary Inspections [DOH]