Manhattan Borough President Calls for "Do Over" On City Letter Grading Plan

ALBANY, NY (04/22/2010)(readMedia)-- The New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) today commended Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for his impassioned letter to City Health Commissioner Farley (attached) focusing attention on the deeply-flawed process the department used to arrive at its approval of a city restaurant letter grading system.

More than 75 people showed up to speak in opposition to the proposal at the public hearing, as compared to one in favor. Yet despite this showing, the Health Department Board voted 6-2 with one abstention in favor of the controversial city-government run program.

"If the Board of Health is to vote on policies that have a significant impact on one of New York City's core industries, Board members should hear testimony from all interested parties, not only the staff of the Agency promulgating the new policy. Representatives of DOHMH cannot possibly better represent the views of those opposed to the letter grade policy than the opponents themselves," Stringer wrote in his letter dated April 15, 2010.

"When government turns a deaf ear to the people who it is supposed to be serving, there is something seriously wrong," said Andrew Rigie, spokesperson for the New York State Restaurant Association. "The department's letter grading program is deeply flawed and will have significant negative consequences to the City's world-leading restaurant industry if not corrected. In the name of good government, we would like to see this process be re-started and conducted in a more democratic and constructive manner."

A copy of the letter is attached in .pdf format

For more additional comment regarding the City's letter grading system please contact Andrew Rigie/NYSRA at: 212-398-9160 x 202.

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The New York State Restaurant Association, founded in 1935, is the leading business association for the restaurant and hospitality industry in New York State. Comprised of more than 56,000 restaurants, bars, clubs, New York restaurants represent more than 628,000 employees and sales of approximately $27 billion - making it the cornerstone of the economy, career opportunities and community involvement. Along with the New York State Restaurant Association and New York State Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, NYSRA and its chapters work to represent, educate and promote the rapidly growing hospitality industry. For more information, visit our Web site at http://www.nysra.org/.