Lentini Pizza, located at 43-22 43 Ave., has been closed by the NY City Health Dept.
The Dept. cited the following reasons.
Sanitary Violations
1) Raw, cooked or prepared food is adulterated, contaminated, cross-contaminated, or not discarded in accordance with HACCP plan.
2) Live roaches present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas.
3) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist. (see link)
Update
The owner of the pizzeria said the poor result was due to an ongoing issue with the department over the placement of his food preparation license. He said he was treated unfairly.
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Nice place nice pizza and nice workers.
Try Sunnyside Pizza Lucky.
I think their pizza is among the worst I’ve ever had, total utility, cardboard quality pizza. Why can’t anyone make good, thin crust pizza in Sunnyside?
Pomme , thanks for your follow up and explaining things more clearly than I understood before. I still find it amazing that this restaruant which has been in buiness so long got a little lazy and got shut down for a few days then reopens again like nothing happen to begin with.
Thieir food is usually good, their pie’s are sometimes a ittle salty. I think it is the same owner for years. unless I am wrong.
At one time it was a nice pizza place, but over the years (and I think changes in owners) the place went “downhill” – Oddly, before it closed Lentini received an A rating, at least according to the rating sign in their window.
Sunnysider, these are good questions. If you go to the DOH website, restaurant inspection section,
http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/rii/index.shtml
and look up Lentini, we can get some idea. It looks as if if their sanitary practices went downhill in the past few years. In 2009 and early 2010, their ratings are good (0 in one inspection, and 6 in another). Then
during the rest of 2010, scores get worse – 9, 12, 19, 37 and then at 41 they are shut down on Sept. 13. They clean things up, get re-inspected on Sept. 19, get a good score (3) and reopen.
You can click on each date to see what the violations were, but a number of them can be easily corrected (and they were). It looks like someone fell asleep at the wheel regarding hygiene, so good for them to be inspected and get a wake-up call. Good for their customers too!
Pomme, I agree with you. They can’t hide their poor hygiene or storage methods anymore. I don’t think the DOH is targeting Sunnyside specifically, but every restaurant—we think it’s just Sunnyside because that’s all this blog focuses on.
Pomme, I do not want to take issue with you. But I find it amazing that busiess that have been in this area for years same owners and workers are now having problems. Like lentini we order at least 1x a week. they have reopened 48 hours after they were closed. How does that happen. How safe is it to order from them? again I find it amazing!
They have been in our town 10-15 years.
Roger, I am with you!
@pomme
Having worked numerous years in the restaurant business, albeit not recently, I know for a fact that the inspectors were on the take, at least back then. I’m not trashing anyone, I’m just skeptical.
It seems that for many people, imagining that DOH inspectors are not being paid off is more comforting than realizing your neighborhoods restaurants offer contaminated food in unhygienic settings and don’t follow basic rules for food prep and cleanliness.
Sunnyside is being ‘hit’ because restaurant inspections are being stepped up and the inspection process has been made more rigorous. Most DOH food inspectors are honest and they also rotated.
But since it pleases you to eat mouse droppings and bash DOH workers, party on!
My faith in government is non-existant right now. Can’t help but think that this place just failed to grease the right palms.
My kids like Lentini. We are sad. I hope they reopen quickly. It does seem strange that suddenly Sunnyside is being hit like this.
What a shock!!!! always thouht the place was clean. what a surprise. he has been there for years and never shut down. I wonder if our town is being picked apart. or if our business are getting lazy or are they looking for payoffs why all of a sudden is our town failing inspections?
I noticed the store was closed but did not know it was shut down. Interestingly, the Chinese restaurant next door passed the inspection with “B”. It must be really bad to fail the inspection and shut down.
I guess that they won’t be participating in the “Taste of Sunnyside” festival!
Guess someone forgot the DOH payments…