SHEEPSHEAD BAY'S ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWS BLOG

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.

NYC Department of Health has confirmed that no qualified educational or teacher director was on site at Royal Crown Day Care during any of the agency’s twelve inspections, dating back as far as December 2009. A qualified educational director is a requirement for operating a day care center in New York City, and they’re in charge of activity and educational planning and leading the educational staff.

Educational directors must be registered with the DOH, and the agency indicated that Royal Crown had employed one on paper but that the employee was never on the scene. DOH could not comment further as it is an ongoing investigation.

Royal Crown’s attorney, S. John Bate Esq., said that it was all a mix up due to “some confusion.”

According to Bate, Royal Crown hired someone and submitted paperwork, but the woman never showed up and wasn’t on the payroll. Because of that, an Aisha Okoro was “slotted temporarily to do that role,” but it appears Okoro may have been unqualified.

Royal Crown Pre-School Academy and Day Care Center was closed on June 15 when the DOH revoked its permit after finding 14 staff members lacked required clearances and four teachers lacked required qualifications, in addition to the missing on-site educational director. The Department also found Royal Crown Day Care to be packing students into rooms and exceeding capacity, while not meeting the required staff-to-child ratios.

Keep reading, and find out about Royal Crown’s legal challenge to reopen the business.

Royal Crown Pre-School Academy and Day Care Center (1018 Avenue Y) is temporarily closed for business after having its permit revoked on June 15 by the New York City Health Department. The department’s report appears to substantiate some of the parents’ complaints in an earlier Sheepshead Bites article, while the other accusations continue to go unaddressed.

The shut-down came after two inspections – on June 11 and June 14 – that found that 14 staff lacked required clearances, four teachers lacked required qualifications and the program did not employ an on-site educational director as required by the Health Code. The Health Department also found Royal Crown Day Care to be packing students into rooms and exceeding capacity, while not meeting the required staff-to-child ratios.

Other violations included improper maintenance of children’s medical records  and overall adequate child supervision.

Keep reading to find out what other violations they’ve been issued, and to learn what now happens to the school.

We recently noted the closure of Glick Bros. Kosher Market and Butcher after more than 30 years serving the community. We noted that little information was available about the cause, but almost as soon as the post was up comments started pouring in alleging that the store was, among other things, closed due to contaminated food – namely that they were mixing dog food in with their meats, and also selling non-kosher foods as kosher.

It appears Sheepshead Bites was the victim of a malicious hoax. Like many of our readers, we were outraged by the charges and immediately sought to verify them with the relevant inspection agency. Eventually, though, we realized that all of those comments came in from one IP address using multiple names. This means it all came from one twisted reader.
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Apparently there were some undercover enforcement officials, posing as average fishermen, aboard the Sea Wolf fishing boat this morning when it set sail. By afternoon, when the boat was coming into the bay, strollers enjoying the gorgeous Mother’s Day weather were surprised by what appeared to be not just an investigation, but a Dateline episode chronicling this fish tale.

New limits set just recently on the number and size of fish that can be pulled out of the waters are currently being challenged, because of the hardship it places on the local Sheepshead Bay recreational fishing industry.

Stay tuned to Sheepshead Bites for news about this incident as it breaks. Readers who witnessed any of the activities on Emmons Avenue, this afternoon, and have any information or photographs are invited to send them in.

Here is an excerpt of the news as we received it from the SB/PB:

Approximately 10 DEC Enforcement cars pulled up to the Sheepshead Bay Piers on Mother’s Day to summons two fishermen who allegedly kept fish under the federally-regulated size limit, or “shorts”, after a day of fishing on the Sea Wolf. The coordinated raid, called in by undercover officers on board the Sea Wolf, resulted in summonses for two anglers wiho allegedly caught a total of two illegal fish. DEC Enforcement were accompanied by a cameraman from DateLine NBC, who claims that it will be airing a segment about the raid on next Sunday’s edition. No one from the general public or the fishing community was interviewed.

Sorry to disturb your 2009 Passover Seder, but we have to give you this breaking news that comes to us via e-mail:

As we have been warning the DOB came down today and issued violations and a stop work order for the violations of the Sheepshead Bay Special District USE zoning which forbids MARKETS!
I guess they will have to go to the BSA for a variance. We tried to warn them.
Oh well, Happy Passover and Happy Easter to ALL!

Steven Barrison,Esq.
THE BARRISONS

So, it looks like the Cherry Hill Gourmet Market and Restaurant has finally gotten the official word that they are not going to be able to operate business as a market. Whether the restaurant side of the business is good-to-go is still unclear.

Sheepshead Bay Special District Use zoning did not allow for the monolithic grocery store they had planned and it looks like the Department of Buildings has told them that the store does not meet the requirements.

If the market operators request a variance from the Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) from the NYC Department of Buildings, we’ll have to wait to hear the outcome.

Until then, we’ll just have to shop as usual in our old favorites: Sheepshead Bay Gourmet Market on Ave Z & E 18 St; Super Stop and Shop Supermarket at Ave Y & E 17 St; Waldbaum’s at Ocean Ave & Voorhies; Pathmark at Nostrand & Ave Y; Kosher Palace; Fine-Fare; Key Food everywhere; and etc, etc. If you’re just looking to get some basic food, you can try Basic Foods on Coyle St.

Read more of my commentary after the jump.
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The mystery ensued when I was researching the story about the 106 point violation issued to Pompeii Lounge at 2919 Avenue S on December 30, 2008.

I went to find the location at Avenue S between Nostrand Avenue and East 29 Street, and found that there was a totally different establishment named TLV Bar and Lounge. Was I at the right address? Well, let’s see. There’s Tom’s Cleaners at 2917 Ave S and there’s Henry’s Delicatessen at 2921 Ave S. I guess I’m at the right place.

Earning 106 points in one inspection is no easy task, so I figured I’d speak to the owner to find out just how he was able to get such a high score, but there was no one lounging at TLV and the shutters were down. I asked for more information at their next door neighbor where a deli counter clerk told me that the place is open at night. As far as he knows, they are busy a few nights a week and closed on Fridays.

Read more about how I went from Pompeii to TLV after the jump.
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When I saw on EveryBlock that Ocean Avenue Bagels got 35 violation points on their inspection, I was a bit surprised. The shop near Ave Z, which is listed as Bagel Boy on Merchant Circle and Ocean Avenue Bagelette on Google Maps, looked so clean since it opened not so long ago. The whole place was airy, and well-lit — but that didn’t seem to help them on December 1, 2008 when the inspector showed up.

I had spoken to one of the owners some time last summer and she told me all about the food choices and catering services they offer. The food looked appealing in the glass enclosed display cases, but I was just looking for a cup of coffee — so I didn’t try anything.

In July, they got six points. In November, they got 23 points. In December, it was up to 35 points. This increase in points means that they will be expecting the inspector to come knocking very soon.

There was “evidence of flying insects or live flying insects present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas” listed as one of the violations. It must not be too easy in the winter weather to have a problem with flies.

Since Ocean Avenue Bagels is one of the only places left in Sheepshead Bay to get a Chock Full o’Nuts cup of coffee (sorry, Starbucks), I have a real interest in making sure they pass their next inspection.

With that said, I’d like to delicately suggest to the shop’s owners to check out this Ezine article entitled “House Flies – Unwanted Winter Guests”.

If all of Vernon Stent’s suggestions about how to get rid of those unwanted restaurant patrons don’t work, then next on the reading list is “Air Curtains & Air Doors” from the September 2008 edition of Foodservice Equipment & Supplies magazine.

Ocean Avenue Bagels, get ready and start reading!

(Photo by Ray Johnson)

…and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not a even a mouse (literally).

Well, I’m pretty sure that this is not exactly what Clement Clarke Moore — the author of “A Visit from St. Nicholas” or as it is more commonly known, “The Night Before Christmas” — had in mind when he penned his classic poem.

This is certainly not anyone else’s idea of a traditional Christmas story, either.

It seems that 1215 Avenue X and 1219 Avenue X had to be shut down due to a serious rodent problem. Since their homes have been deemed uninhabitable, where are the former residents spending their holidays?

Read more about the creatures not stirring after the jump.
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(Photo by Leighton O’Connor)

Last Thursday, we reported on the potentially hazardous situation at the Windjammer Motor Inn on Emmons Ave. City officials had inspected the motel for reports of no alternate means of egress in case of fire, and issued a violation for 15 of the interior rooms for failing to provide natural light and ventilation.

I made a number of calls to the Windjammer to try to get some more information. Terrence Lyght, Manager, invited me to come and take pictures of the unventilated rooms. He said that the Windjammer continued in operation without any problem, ever since it was bought from the original owner. Mr. Lyght believes that that the original owner, Mr. Levenbaum, had those rooms built with no windows, because there are some patrons who want privacy without the potential of someone being able to peer through windows. I’m guessing that way back when they built the place, curtains and drapes had not been invented.

In our first conversation, I asked Mr. Lyght, if he was planning on having the rooms mentioned in the violation open for rent. His response was, “We have 17 days in which we can answer the violation. In the meantime, we assume that we can [rent the rooms].” Gene Berardelli, of the Sheepshead Bay/Plumb Beach Civic Association, said that it is his understanding that according to the violation code, use of rooms where there are no windows and no ventilation, should be discontinued.

When I asked Mr. Lyght how often they conduct fire and safety drills on site, he said that they are conducted regularly. When I asked how regularly that would be, he said that they conduct fire drills according to the codes. Mr. Lyght was unsure how often the code requires safety drills, but he is certain that the Windjammer conducts them every couple of weeks.

Before I could make the appointment to go in to get pictures for you, readers, management had changed its mind. Mr. Lyght now insists that I come in so that I could meet him in person and show him my identification, but I will not be allowed to take any photographs. Apparently, the Brooklyn View newspaper made a visit to the Windjammer and they were not allowed to get pictures. It seems that now, too, that our questions to Mr. Lyght about the rooms being in operation may have prompted him to question his original assumption that it would be okay to rent out the 15 firetraps mentioned in the violation, since it appears that management has had a change of heart on this issue.

At no time during the conversation, did Mr. Lyght mention that they are working to remedy the situation about the unventilated rooms. There was no talk about reconstruction or fixes to make it safe for guests, but there was talk about answering the violation and waiting to see what would happen. I would suggest that while waiting to hear from the court about whether housing people in potentially dangerous boxes is within the law, you might like to shed some light into this situation by calling some reputable contractors.

Sorry, all you Windjammers, who were just banging down the doors to get your windowless, ultra-private, super-dark, extra-stuffy interior rooms, you’ll have to wait until the judge strikes his gavel for us to see what the Windjammer thinks of your safety.