Quinn Seeks Break for Eateries in Grading System
By
MARA GAY
New York City's restaurant-grading system—which publicly brands establishments with a letter based on health-inspection results—would get a tweak under a new package of proposed legislation aimed at easing fines and simplifying standards.
Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a Democratic mayoral candidate, said the measures are intended to make the system "better and fairer."
Restaurant owners have complained that the standards are complicated and fines needlessly onerous.
"It's not 'Got ya.' It's working together," she said. A vote is planned for later this summer.
Under Ms. Quinn's proposal, fines for health-code violations would be reduced to the levels they reached before the grading system went into effect in 2010. The changes also would eliminate fines for restaurants that contest violations and ultimately receive an "A" grade from a review board; offer preliminary, ungraded inspections to help owners understand how to meet standards; and create an ombudsman's office with a hot line for restaurant owners.
Read more at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323823004578594102415605528.html