Source: Wikipedia Commons
Oh no! The city’s best pizzeria, Di Fara’s Pizza in Midwood, was shuttered by Department of Health inspectors yesterday after racking up 67 violation points.
Of course, it’s not a surprise to most familiar with the 1424 Avenue J location. The venerable pizzeria makes most fanatics feel torn. On the one hand: what a pizza! On the other: at $5 a slice, couldn’t you gussy the place up a bit?
Apparently the Health Department agreed with the assessment, and it’s not the first time. It was shut down at least two other times as recently as 2007. Here’s the run down of the latest violations.
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Notice anything weird about this photo of Marmaris, at 3081 Emmons Avenue, taken on Wednesday afternoon? No? Let’s look at one of the other doors.
Hmm. Another tree in front a door. Very strange. What’s going on here? Perhaps we should take a peek behind one of the trees. Maybe there’s a hot wood nymph or something…
Believe me, you want to know what’s going on here. Click to continue…
Photo by BrooklynQ
The Health Department shuttered DVIN Cafe (2219 Avenue X) yesterday, after the establishment racked up 88 violation points.
DVIN Cafe received six “critical” violations, including cold food being stored at unsafe temperatures; a lack of a food protection certificate; evidence of live mice; a lack of a facility to wash, rinse, and sanitize utensils; and inadequate “personal cleanliness.”
There were other minor violations as well.
The Health Department’s website doesn’t have any previous inspection records available for DVIN.
Courtesy of Gene Berardelli
We wrote about Halikarnas’ sudden closure last month by the Health Department, and then told you days later about how it reopened, broke the law, and reclosed. Well, we stopped by there last week and found out the complete story.
First of all, Halikarnas (3075 Emmons Avenue) is open for business again. Second, its closing – and subsequent re-closing – appears to be the result of classic labyrinthine bureaucracy and confusion that has cost a local business tens of thousands of dollars.
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THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED: “Halikarnas Reopen and Clean, Lost Big To DOH Mess”
We told you Wednesday that Halikarnas, a Turkish restaurant on Emmons Avenue, closed down by order of the Health Department. But we stopped by in the afternoon and – guess what – staff was there and they invited us in for a meal. Something about mouse droppings, cockroaches, and a lack of running water didn’t really turn us on, though, and we went on our way.
Photo of the sign before being blocked by a menu
As it turned out, Halikarnas reopened illegally. The DOH sign on the door explaining its closure and saying that it is a violation of law to damage or obstruct it was, well, damaged and obstructed. After attempting to tear it down, Halikarnas employees covered it with the menu, as you can see in the photo above.
Well, justice has been served. DOH inspectors returned last night. It was found operating and serving food to patrons. The Health Department re-closed the restaurant and cited it for operating against the agency’s order to close.
Are instructions that difficult to follow?
