School cafeterias are failing health inspections

 

NY1

Hundreds of city schools aren’t making the grade, flunking city health inspections, a NY1 investigation found.

The worst offenders?

I.S. 227 in Queens, one of the borough's most sought-after schools. Health Department Inspectors found 140 mouse droppings there, including in the students' dining area.

There was moldy watermelon at P.S. 277 in the Bronx, and at PS 42 in Queens, moldy green beans.

In all, inspectors last year found roaches crawling on 99 lunchroom floors, fruit flies in 80 cafeteria kitchens, and in 22 drains, flies where serving utensils are washed.

"It's not acceptable," said Richard Carranza, New York City's schools chancellor. Adding, "kids should never be served any kind of food that is not safe."

According to the records, in the first eight months of 2018, 934 schools had critical health code violations—the kind that would get any restaurant shut down.

That compares to 1256 violations in the 12 months of 2017 and 1456 violations in 2016

Whitestone neighbors unhappy with meat dried outdoors

From Eyewitness News:

Chicken and pork, dried and seasoned, have been left hanging from a line in a backyard in Whitestone, Queens.

The home cured meat is causing a clash between neighbors on 7th Avenue, who say the tenants moved in a month ago and the meat went up about a week ago.

"All of a sudden, we had chicken and bacon hanging from the fence and awning next door to my house," said Eugene DiFolco, a Whitestone resident.

Residents say it's attracting flies and rats. They say thankfully the stench simmered down when the temperatures dropped.

"It's to eat. It's to eat for Chinese food," the homeowner said.

A woman at the home told me her family cures to meat to make traditional Chinese food.

The Health Department says in general this is legal if it's for personal consumption and if it does not become a nuisance to other residents.

Update on Strawberry Farms

As you may recall, we reported a few weeks back that the Strawberry Farms site was swarming with flies, due to rotting fruit. The following letter exchange then happened.

After the fire - flies

"Hello,

Since the fire that destroyed both the [Strawberry Farms] market and laundromat, an increase in flies has hit the area. The smell of the rotten food is making it hard to reside nearby. 311 has been notified on several occasions. Hope this can get out to the masses." - anonymous