A recent health inspection turned up major violations at Koronet Pizza—but the management disputes the claim, maintaining that the home of Morningside Heights’ biggest slice is clean and safe.
Last Wednesday’s inspection by the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene gave Koronet, on Broadway between 110th and 111th streets, 40 points—far more than the 28 required for a C grade.
The inspection found “evi-dence of mice or live mice present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas” as well as an “unsanitized food surface”—both “critical issues,” according to the report. Inspectors also took issue with the lack of vermin-proofing and problems with the plumbing.
But Nick Manikis, manager at Koronet for six years, said the inspection was all wrong. While the inspector thought he found “mouse crap,” Manikis claims it was instead debris from crumbling plaster in the basement.
“He didn’t want to listen, he wrote it down as mouse crap,” Manikis said. “Whatever he wrote down is not correct.”
On a tour of the premises Tuesday afternoon, Manikis pointed out the spots, which looked like dust. He also pointed out the empty mousetraps.
“They didn’t find any cockroaches, they didn’t find any mouse,” he added. “I was here when it happened. They were checking the whole basement from one corner to the other corner—they didn’t find anything alive.”
In addition, Manikis said, “the preparation area was clean, they didn’t find anything there,” and the plumbing violation came from a hole between pipes—“Nothing was leaking.”
A previous inspection on Jan. 28 gave the restaurant only 14 points—a B grade, but only a few points from an A—and didn’t mention mice.
“The first inspection barely found anything; the second one did,” Manikis said. “It has to do a lot with the inspector—from inspection to inspection, it’s a big difference.”
Koronet will contest the violations at a hearing on March 2 at the city’s Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings Health Tribunal. Until then, a “Grade Pending” sign will be posted in the window.
“This is not the final decision,” Manikis said. “We’ll know in a month, and they’ll be updating it ... I believe this will work.”
Manikis said that the beloved pizza joint has been well-maintained over the years.
“As you see it now, it’s been this way for 31 years,” he said. “Two years ago, we repainted, but other than that, it’s the same. We had an A [in the past], and nothing changed.”
A number of New York restaurateurs are unhappy with the letter grading system and believe it is punitive and arbitrary. Andrew Rigie, executive vice president of the New York City Chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association, said in a statement that the system is “failing New York City residents in many ways.”
A City Council hearing to review the policy is planned for late February. A council spokesperson said there was no specific date set.
The Health Department press office declined to comment beyond the public inspection record.
Many students said that the health grade itself wasn’t a big deal for them—but the possibility of mice was.
“Just seeing the letter up there, I don’t think about what it means,” Divya Singh, SEAS ’14, said. “When I hear about what it means, that’s different.”
“I hear people talk about ratings ... but I don’t actively look at them,” Nat Banyatpiyaphod, SEAS ’14, said. “But when I hear stories like mouse poop, I might not go there.”
Others said that the rating could impact their decision.
“If it’s a place I regularly go to, and it’s a B, I wouldn’t mind, but if I saw a B on the outside of a restaurant I’ve never gone to, I wouldn’t go in,” Pea Jitngamplang, SEAS ’14, said.
Farther down Broadway, Flor de Mayo, a Chinese-Peruvian fusion restaurant at 101st Street that accepts Flex, reopened with a C grade last week after an inspection on February 6. Two inspections in late January found roaches and cold food stored at too-warm temperatures, and the restaurant was ordered closed.
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