Popular Stuy Town and PCV deli, Lenz's, has been shut down by NYC's Department of Health. Two official yellow signs were plastered onto Lenz's windows indicating the forced shut down. Meanwhile, a handwritten sign from Lenz's stated that the deli was "Closed for the Day--Cleaning!" That's an understatement.
Lenz's was already in trouble by receiving a "B" grade rating for its store. A re-inspection on Thursday, April 28th, determined that conditions inside the deli warranted its closure, with the deli receiving a whopping 70 points in this inspection. (The higher the points, the worse the conditions.)
Here's the official word from the Department of Health:
Violation points: 70
Establishment Closed by DOHMH. Violations were cited in the following area(s) and those requiring immediate action were addressed.
Sanitary Violations
1) Hot food item not held at or above 140º F.
2) Cold food item held above 41º F (smoked fish and reduced oxygen packaged foods above 38 ºF) except during necessary preparation.
3) Evidence of mice or live mice present in facility's food and/or non-food areas.
4) Filth flies or food/refuse/sewage-associated (FRSA) flies present in facility’s food and/or non-food areas. Filth flies include house flies, little house flies, blow flies, bottle flies and flesh flies. Food/refuse/sewage-associated flies include fruit flies, drain flies and Phorid flies.
5) Food not protected from potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service.
6) Facility not vermin proof. Harborage or conditions conducive to attracting vermin to the premises and/or allowing vermin to exist.
7) Food contact surface not properly maintained.
8) Accurate thermometer not provided in refrigerated or hot holding equipment.
9) Non-food contact surface improperly constructed. Unacceptable material used. Non-food contact surface or equipment improperly maintained and/or not properly sealed, raised, spaced or movable to allow accessibility for cleaning on all sides, above and underneath the unit.
10) Proper sanitization not provided for utensil ware washing operation.
11) Other general violation.
I suspected that Lenz's was over-peppering their food and that the pizza had extra ingredients!
14 comments:
So that's why the food was always so delicious there. All that yummy bacteria! Mmmmmm!
never heard of the place
On 20th St. Between the 20th Street Loops. Used to serve Sunday brunch at Oval Lounge.
Why should anyone be surprised.
Stuytown/PCV is is a slop pit. Why should Lenz's be any different. There were major violations, he will clean it up and then within a week it will be the same slop pit.
Who is going to shop there from now on?
My betting is that everyone who went to Lenz's will continue to go. It's an earthy Stuy Town landmark!
Lenz's appears to be a large incubator for bacteria, and/or some sort of science experiment.
When you have so many major violations it tells you the the owner does not care about his customers, so why should the customers care about the owner.
He needs to post an Apology in his window,to his customers with a promise that it will never happen again. Then and only then will I ever step footin that rodent infested slop pit.
"earthy" = vermin
People will still go there since there's nothing else on 20th Street. Lenz's is the only thing that makes 20th Street better than Avenue C. It's nothing like the 14th Street or First Avenue side of Stuyvesant Town.
One thing we can be absolutely certain of - The "health" dept. trumped up the violations to milk the owner for every penny they could get.That is how Bloomberg balances the city's books.He has been brutal to small business owners because he knows he can get away with it.
Owners like Nasser at Lenz's are at the mercy of these shake down artists masqueradng as city inspectors.There's no way they can afford the legal fight.So they have no recourse but to pay the insane fines and pray they don't hit them again.
As for cleanliness,come on!Look at all those deli's out on first avenue.Or the pizza joint at 1st & 15th.Or the greasy spoon chinese place a couple of doors down.Compared to those spots Lenz's is a paragon of hygiene.
Nasser will fix the violations.No doubt Lenz's is not perfect.But Bloomberg's history is well established.He bullies small business owners snd his inspectors sre primarily shake down artists.The comparison to those businesses on first avenue tells you something is not kosher - besides the hygiene.
So, have they reopened yet ??
Re-opened!
Max, I was present one time when a health inspector came into Lenz's. She complained about the milk that was left out and used for people who were ordering coffee and stated that it had to be refrigerated. Now, as anyone knows, Lenz's goes through this milk so quickly that there's zero chance of it souring.
"Max, I was present one time when a health inspector came into Lenz's. She complained about the milk that was left out and used for people who were ordering coffee and stated that it had to be refrigerated. Now, as anyone knows, Lenz's goes through this milk so quickly that there's zero chance of it souring."
N' there you go! A classic example.Here's one of my faves - If a bartender is caught with his ice scoop IN the ice bin - it's a violation! Every time he uses it it must be stored in a little holder mounted on the bin.
There literally hundreds of regulations like that transparently created for one purpose - to shake down small business owners who lack the money and political clout to fight back.
Then the mayor crows about "balancing the books" and how great he is for small business owners!
Can someone tell me if there still remains a bedbug problem in Stuy Town???? Please!!!!!
When I lived in Stuyvesant Town (for 20 years) I ate at Lenz'all the time and frequently purchased items to go. I never had a problem. The food was always fresh and extremely well made. It was one of my favorite places. I miss it. I'm disappointed to hear this and I'm a little suspect as to the tactics of these inspections.
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