New York’s health inspector shortage causes problems for restaurants

In May, a classic steakhouse in the Theatre District since 1927, Gallagher I was wrapped in Outrage over misleading Department of Health inspection sign with “A” rating in windowAs it turned out, he had been waiting for the Department of Health to reinspect his restaurant for almost a year, and in the meantime posted an old “A” grade instead of continuing to display his “C.”

When Eater reported the issue, the Department of Health confirmed that the restaurant had a “C” rating and was due for a new inspection “this month.” In the meantime, Gallaghers changed their fake “A” to a “C,” and four months later, they are still waiting for the new inspection, according to The DOH websiteTo make matters worse, if Gallaghers does not continue to display its “C” rating, it could be fined up to $1,000. From the looks of things, it’s possible that Gallaghers won’t be inspected again in the near future.

Conservatively, the DOH says it takes between 11 and 13 months to send a follow-up inspector. according to the websiteBut if Gallaghers is any indication, contacting the DOH for updates is fruitless — the local government equivalent of reading the tea leaves to get an estimate of when they might get a reinspection.

New York City Restaurants are facing a shortage of the Department of Health inspectors according to the newly released report Mayor’s Management Report for Fiscal Year 2024 (MMR). The report admits a 17 percent reduction in initial health inspections, noting that only 66.4 percent of restaurants were inspected, compared to 2023, when 83.4 percent of the city’s restaurants had been inspected.

“The Health Department is far behind the 100 percent goal, a target it has traditionally met, including in fiscal year 2019 when the Health Department inspected 99.5 percent of restaurants,” the report continues. “This decline is largely due to staffing shortages and the Health Department is actively recruiting to address this issue.”

The DOH is required to visit each food service establishment at least once a year and give each restaurant a letter grade, a system that is flawed and notoriously demanding standardsThe difference between grades has the potential to drastically impact a business and its employees’ livelihoods overnight. To avoid a grade lower than “A,” many restaurants have elaborate (and not so elaborate) alerts, such as one place having a “DOH” option on their point-of-sale system that goes to every receipt machine in the restaurant, warning employees, This is “not a test.” Another Times Square bar uses the code phrase “Beyoncé is here” when an inspector arrives.

Of course, most restaurants would prefer not to receive a visit from a health inspector for a variety of reasons, most notably the obvious fact that the chaos resulting from daily restaurant operations is not conducive to a government representative second-guessing minor qualification distinctions that could greatly affect the restaurant’s ability to attract foot traffic. But the fact is that delays in re-inspection can be even more problematic than one might think.

If a restaurant doesn’t get an “A” grade on its initial inspection, it must wait for a new inspection; if the inspection is delayed, the restaurant must keep its “B” or “C” grade or “Pending Grade” sign in its window, which could be a serious deterrent to potential new diners and repeat customers alike. Add too long a delay to the outsized influence of food reviews on social media, and the negatives could be amplified. A backlog of online reviews can mean restaurants are less likely to get a second chance at redemption if influencers visit the restaurant during a holding pattern.

Reinspections are also expensive and can seem a bit sticky: To appeal a letter grade, a restaurant has to pay For further inspection$400 for existing restaurants and $100 for new ones. It’s a fee that many owners say pads the Department of Health’s coffers, creates a conflict of interest and calls into question the objectivity of the entire system.

Some veteran restaurateurs point to year-long delays even for the initial inspection. Stephen Loffredo, who has been restaurants in operation In New York City since 1992, says his latest project, Midtown Seafood Spot Point sevenwas not inspected for nearly a year after opening in September 2023. While the delay does not affect a restaurant’s ability to open, the wait and doubts add to the stress of daily operations.

“We’re always on top of things. We do training. Our restaurant is spotless, but that kept us on our toes even more,” he said. “We were extremely meticulous.” When inspected, it received an “A.”

On the other hand, the number of “A” grades awarded declined; the report found that the percentage of restaurants with an “A” grade dropped by 3.1 percentage points from 2023 to 86.9 percent of restaurants in 2024. Rather than blaming restaurants’ health and safety protocols for the decline in “A” grades, the Mayor’s Management Report attributed the decline to understaffing, which some restaurant owners feel has become an ouroboros of government inefficiency.

“While the reasons fewer restaurants are meeting the highest food safety standards are likely multifaceted and complex, the Department of Health believes one factor impacting restaurant performance is the Department of Health’s failure to consistently inspect restaurants since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the MMR stated.

For the city’s restaurant owners still reeling from the COVID pandemic and continuing to face their own staffing challenges, along with higher labor and food costs, the DOH’s slow pace of reinspections isn’t helping.

“The Department of Health works around the clock to ensure that livability, health and hygiene are protected and promoted,” the DOH said in response to a request for comment on the report. “New Yorkers deserve rat-free streets and restaurants that comply with food service standards.”

The DOH says they are actively recruiting staff and are currently training a class of new restaurant inspectors. “During July and August of this year (FY 2025), the Department of Health inspected 37 percent more restaurants compared to July and August of 2023,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, says New Yorkers shouldn’t worry about the safety of dining out.

“The number of inspections has decreased because DOH has fewer inspectors after the pandemic, but we have been assured that the agency remains very focused on food safety and re-inspecting restaurants where there may be issues,” she said. “Also, many of the inspection statistics are the same as in 2015, so there is not a huge concern and the city’s restaurants are very safe.”

In other words, it seems all diners and restaurant owners can do is watch, wait and continue to speculate about when an inspector will visit again. That waiting comes with knowing full well that the Department of Health’s letter-grade system is falling victim to the same staffing shortages that are hurting the restaurants they are inspecting.