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A neighborhood bar and restaurant known for its back patio, its wall of televisions and its 4 a.m. closing time has been shut down by the city after inspectors turned up evidence of mice, equipment that couldn’t keep food at safe temperatures, and food contact surfaces that weren’t being properly cleaned between uses.
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Bedford Falls, at 206 East 67th Street between Second and Third Avenues, was closed by the New York City Department of Health following an August 17 inspection. The full inspection report is posted on the city’s ABCEats database.Inspectors cited four violations, three of them flagged in red as critical:
- Evidence of mice or live mice in establishment’s food or non-food areas.
- Insufficient or no hot holding, cold storage or cold holding equipment provided to maintain Time/Temperature Control for Safety Foods (TCS) at required temperatures.
- Food contact surface not properly washed, rinsed and sanitized after each use and following any activity when contamination may have occurred.
- Establishment is not free of harborage or conditions conducive to rodents, insects or other pests.
A fifth item appears separately in the report under “Other Violations”: “Nuisance created or allowed to exist. Facility not free from unsafe, hazardous, offensive or annoying condition.”
Here’s how the city’s system works. Since 2010, the Health Department has scored every restaurant inspection on a point system where lower is better, then converted that score into the letter grade you see hanging in the window. Points are assigned per violation based on how serious it is, so a single bad finding can carry more weight than several minor ones. A score of 0 to 13 points earns an A, 14 to 27 points is a B, and 28 points or more is a C, the lowest letter the city hands out. If a restaurant scores above 13 on an initial inspection, it typically doesn’t get a grade card right away. It can post a “Grade Pending” sign while it waits for a re-inspection, and the grade is set from there.
A closure is a different and more serious action, and it isn’t a letter grade at all. The city can order an establishment shut regardless of its score when inspectors find conditions they consider an imminent public health hazard, which is the category that vermin evidence and food held at unsafe temperatures tend to fall into. A closed establishment has to correct what inspectors found and pass a re-inspection before it’s allowed to reopen, which is why these shutdowns are usually measured in days rather than being the end of the business.
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Bedford Falls has been a fixture on the block for years, taking its name from the town in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The bar describes itself as a neighborhood spot with a beer garden, a dining area and 21 HDTVs, with a menu that runs from the Bedford burger and wings to steak and salmon, plus a happy hour that stretches until 7 p.m. daily. Its posted hours are 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. every day of the week, and the back room doubles as a comedy venue hosting stand-up shows several nights a week.East Side Feed has reached out to Bedford Falls for comment. We will make updates to this article if and when we get a response.
