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TP Lowe

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Batali v. the inspectors

by TP Lowe » Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:56 am

Celebrity chef Mario Batali, fed up with overzealous city health inspections, plans a new weapon at his eateries — a hidden alarm that alerts kitchen workers that an inspector has arrived so they can quickly trash any meals they’re cooking and scram...

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manh ... efUnxgK84L
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RonnieD

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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by RonnieD » Sun Jan 27, 2013 9:35 am

Personally, I love it. Health Department rules do seem arbitrary and unfair. I once got a C for a drain pipe under a hand sink that had a 2 drops per minute leak due to a bad seal around a gasket. How much were my customers at risk because of that leak? Enough to warrant a C? But the rule says any plumbing violation is considered a major one. That seems fair.

I can't really blame Batali. We spend (and occasionally waste) hours and hours jumping through health department hoops just to open our small, simple, fast casual restaurants where our opportunities for customer risk are minimal. I spent two weeks with an Indiana inspector who didn't seem to grasp the difference between cooking and reheating and who simply couldn't wrap his brain around the idea of cooling food in an ice bath. Two programs I had spent numerous hours developing under guidance and approval of the FDA.

I realize the rules are created to prevent unscrupulous and/or ignorant owners and chefs from killing people by storing raw scallops and beef together or thinking that bleach makes an excellent marinade for chicken or perhaps allowing hand washing to be an optional activity, but the truth is the vast majority of us have a vested interest in NOT making the customer ill and fully intend to handle our food safely. We work very hard to that end. So when we get a punishing report for things like a hand towel not in bucket of sanitizer (probably because it is in use), or a rolling cart that has been mistakenly left in front of a hand sink, it can be hard not to become disillusioned with the whole process.

The Food Code was not built for common sense.
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Rob Coffey

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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Rob Coffey » Sun Jan 27, 2013 10:28 am

Mayor Bloomberg says that they ensure public safety and that restaurants have become more compliant since 2010, when letter grades went into effect.

Fines collected in 2010: $32.7MM
Fines collected in 2012: $45.6MM

Uh, huh. Yeah, "more compliant" leads to greater fines, yeah. :roll:

The thing is, he probably isnt wrong, they are probably more compliant, but the city has a revenue source they arent going to give up, so they have clearly ratcheted things up.

If the goal was public safety, the city would WANT the fines collected to be going down, because that would be a sign of safety (assuming inspections stayed the same).
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Doug Davis

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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Doug Davis » Sun Jan 27, 2013 3:32 pm

As a former New York City police officer ^^ this is also why I left the NYPD. Despite the US Supreme Court ruling quotas were illegal, the NYPD simply changed the name to "performance objectives" and continued with the same thing.
As cops it wasnt about public safety. It was primarily about:
A) Writing summonses and tickets in order to increase city revenue.
B) Arresting people for finable misdemeanor offense to also increase revenue, but not the "Big 7" index crimes tracked by the FBI which could make your tourism based city appear not so nice to visit.

It was a money racket. So I left.
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Matthew D

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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Matthew D » Sun Jan 27, 2013 3:56 pm

Here's a solution everyone will love. That I'm sure of.

Stop with the financial rackets (business fines, speeding tickets, jaywalking tickets, etc.) and just raise everyone's taxes accordingly.

That, or wait for money to start growing on trees.

:lol:
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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Rob Coffey » Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:21 pm

Matthew D wrote:Here's a solution everyone will love. That I'm sure of.

Stop with the financial rackets (business fines, speeding tickets, jaywalking tickets, etc.) and just raise everyone's taxes accordingly.

That, or wait for money to start growing on trees.

:lol:


Im fine with that. Better an honest tax than the rackets.

Or better yet, stop with the rackets and cut spending hard and deep. For example, you dont need to hire as many inspectors if you arent trying to use them as a profit center.
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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Shane Campbell » Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:39 pm

Matthew D wrote:Here's a solution everyone will love. That I'm sure of.

Stop with the financial rackets (business fines, speeding tickets, jaywalking tickets, etc.) and just raise everyone's taxes accordingly.

That, or wait for money to start growing on trees.

:lol:

Hey Matt, maybe you haven't heard but the f'ing emeral ash beetle is going to destroy about 17% of the trees in the Ville so I doubt money trees are the solution. I have no problem with more taxes if they are applied fairly. I'm so sick of people who essentially pay no taxes getting their annual refund so they can take their vacation or buy their new flat screen. Some of these are my own relatives and I resent them as much as they probably resent me for having something to show for my work.

I have no respect for people who won't work to support themselves and their families. I'm here at the f'ing computer today working to keep what I have. I worked yesterday and I've not had a vacation in over five years. I'm not looking for sympathy here. I'd never change places with these people.

Many of these same people would say, oh you are rich. You have a big house so you can afford to pay more taxes. I'd reply you f''ing useless tool collecting the last of your 99 weeks of unemployment, you are nothing but a drain on society and you should be made to work to collect a paycheck of any kind. I'd never let you or more importantly your three kids starve but I'd make you work for your check.

More on subject, a friend called me on Saturday and said he'd just bought a pound of benedictine to take home from a restaurant. I said "Yeah so?" He said the woman spooned the the cheese mixure from a large container into a one pound container and then used her bare thumb to push the last of the mixture from the spoon. He asked, "What would you do?" I said I'd refuse to buy it or any take out there as long as that woman was working and I'd let management know that.

Of course then she'd just be on the umemployment rolls too.
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TP Lowe

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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by TP Lowe » Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:43 pm

Whoo boy. Thread takes a decided political turn ...
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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Rob Coffey » Sun Jan 27, 2013 4:50 pm

TP Lowe wrote:Whoo boy. Thread takes a decided political turn ...


It was political from the start, Batali's actions are a political statement about the NYC food inspectors.
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Bill R

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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Bill R » Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:27 pm

Here is how the inspectors will catch up with Mario. They will start showing up every 15 minutes during busy times. Soon his food costs, from the dumped foods will catch up with him.
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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Shane Campbell » Sun Jan 27, 2013 5:35 pm

Bill R wrote:Here is how the inspectors will catch up with Mario. They will start showing up every 15 minutes during busy times. Soon his food costs, from the dumped foods will catch up with him.


I they do that, they will illustrate that this is not about the benefit of the public.
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Jeremy J

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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Jeremy J » Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:01 pm

Doug Davis wrote:As a former New York City police officer ^^ this is also why I left the NYPD. Despite the US Supreme Court ruling quotas were illegal, the NYPD simply changed the name to "performance objectives" and continued with the same thing.
As cops it wasnt about public safety. It was primarily about:
A) Writing summonses and tickets in order to increase city revenue.
B) Arresting people for finable misdemeanor offense to also increase revenue, but not the "Big 7" index crimes tracked by the FBI which could make your tourism based city appear not so nice to visit.

It was a money racket. So I left.



What are the "Big 7" crimes? Just curious.

And yeah, the health code is beyond ridiculous. So far from actually keeping people safe.
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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Deb Hall » Sun Jan 27, 2013 7:37 pm

Guessing-
Murder, Rape, assault, robbery, burglary, arson, battery?
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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Jeremy J » Sun Jan 27, 2013 8:07 pm

I wouldn't imagine prosecuting any of those offenses would be discouraged, plus I think he said misdemeanors.
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Re: Batali v. the inspectors

by Doug Davis » Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:07 pm

Deb Hall wrote:Guessing-
Murder, Rape, assault, robbery, burglary, arson, battery?


Murder, forcible rape, man slaughter, larceny, burglary, arson, aggravated assault, , and motor vehicle theft (which everyone ignores so even though its 8 in total, they still refer to them as the Big 7).

Jeremy J wrote:I wouldn't imagine prosecuting any of those offenses would be discouraged, plus I think he said misdemeanors.

Prosecuting is different than arresting for them. The FBI tracks arrest records, which are used to determine the national crime index rates and determine how violent your city is.

Ive seen sergeants tell victims because they didnt see the gun and because while the gold chain may have cost them more than $1,000 (the threshold for felony versus misdemeanor) its street value was only $250...that the crime report will be for petty larceny, which isnt tracked.

I have seen precinct commanders with measuring tapes damn near come to blows over arguing over who had to be responsible for a murder victim found in the middle of the street between two precincts.

I had a former co-worker in the 41 precinct kidnapped from his home in Manhattan, placed against his will in a mental hospital in Brooklyn (supposedly as a suicide precaution), by the deputy chief of the Bronx for turning over evidence of such things as the above to internal affairs and the press. No this didnt happen "a long time ago", it was just two years ago. And no the deputy chief was neither suspended nor ever prosecuted to my knowledge.

Most people, safe in their suburban lifestyles, have no idea what happens on a daily basis in this country when you start peeling back the veneers.

Here is a story of my former boss from the 41: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/wor ... e-1.956857
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