Metro

Patrons ditching eateries branded with bad grades

FLASHBACK
How Post broke story. (Photos: Dan Brinzac)

(
)

Big Apple diners are taking a pass on their favorite restaurants when they spot a “C” grade — the Health Department’s lowest — in the window.

Patrons at some of the first 15 eateries to receive a C told The Post they were revolted after learning their once-favored places got the rotten grade for health violations.

“There’s no D, right? C is the worst you can get?” asked Tanya Ross, 42, at the American Taste coffee shop on East Fordham Road in The Bronx near Fordham University. “I’m scared of that C. That’s gross. Thankfully, I only go there for coffee, but I’m not going to anymore.”

As The Post reported yesterday, eight of the restaurants that got a C did not display their ratings last week in violation of the health code. Diners — and some managers — were confused over what the new letter grades meant.

A second check by The Post yesterday showed all but two failed to post their C ratings.

Under the Health Department’s new inspection guidelines enacted three months ago, restaurants are given an A, B or C grade depending on how many violations they have.

Miranda Alicia, 55, a customer at American Taste, wasn’t aware of the significance of the C until shown yesterday’s exclusive article in The Post.

“I didn’t even know the grade was up [on the window]. I’m not going to go in the future, at least until they get an A,” she said.

Employees at the restaurant declined to comment.

At Boulevard Pizza on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, one patron barely noticed the C prominently displayed.

“If I’d known it got a C, I would have thought twice,” said Jennifer Carrasco, 46.

Longtime employee José Peres said the grade “is not fair. We’re working very hard. Keeping it clean, doing everything . . . We have no complaints about the food.”

Many in the restaurant industry are fuming about the new grading system.

“There’s a lot to work out in the system” said Robert Bookman, a lobbyist for the New York State Restaurant Association.

For instance, Gus’s Deli, a small takeout joint in Hunters Point, Queens, will be branded with a C for the next several months for a lousy summertime inspection, even though an Oct. 1 inspection found zero violations.

Restaurants that don’t post their latest grades face up to a $1,000 fine, according to the Health Department.

One of the restaurants, Tu Sabor Latino on Broadway in Washington Heights, still is not displaying its C.

Employees declined to comment.

And the manager of Felix on West Broadway is keeping a “grade pending” sign on his window and will fight his C in an administrative hearing scheduled for tomorrow.

Additional reporting by Amanda Melillo and Chuck Bennett

david.seifman@nypost.com