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A Chinese restaurant that’s been serving the Upper West Side for about 15 years is dark for now, and this time it isn’t a lease fight or a retirement. An inspector who stopped in on Aug. 19 left with a tally of 60 violation points, and the list starts with live roaches.
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The restaurant is New Asia, the small Chinese takeout counter at 666 Amsterdam Avenue, between West 92nd and West 93rd streets.Eight sanitary violations were cited, and the first five were flagged in red on the report:
- Hot TCS food not held at or above 140 degrees. TCS stands for time and temperature control for safety, which is the city’s term for anything that has to be kept hot or cold to stay safe to eat.
- Live roaches in the establishment’s food or non-food area.
- Filth flies, or flies associated with food, refuse, or sewage, in the food and/or non-food areas. That category covers house flies, blow flies, bottle flies, flesh flies, drain flies, Phorid flies, and fruit flies.
- No hand washing facility in or next to the toilet room, or within 25 feet of a food prep, food service, or ware washing area. The same violation also covers a hand washing station that’s blocked, used for something other than hand washing, or missing hot and cold running water, adequate water pressure, soap, or a drying device.
- Food, supplies, or equipment not protected from a potential source of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display, or service.
- The establishment isn’t free of harborage or of conditions that invite rodents, insects, or other pests.
- A non-food contact surface or piece of equipment made of unacceptable material, not kept clean, or not sealed, raised, spaced, or movable enough to be cleaned on all sides, above, and underneath.
- Single service articles, meaning things like straws and disposable utensils, either not provided, reused, or not protected from contamination when transported, stored, or dispensed.
One more citation was listed separately, under “other violations”: no contract with a pest management professional, and no record of extermination activity kept on the premises.
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The numbers are worth unpacking, because the city’s system runs backwards from what people expect. Restaurants have been required to post a letter grade since 2010, and the score is a tally of demerits rather than a percentage, so a lower number is a better result. Zero to 13 points earns an A, 14 to 27 gets a B, and 28 or more is a C. Points scale with risk. A general violation, like a utensil that wasn’t properly sanitized, starts at 2 points. A critical violation starts at 5. A public health hazard, such as food held at the wrong temperature, starts at 7, and inspectors add more depending on how widespread the problem is.At 60 points, New Asia’s score is more than double the C threshold. A closure, though, is a separate action from a letter grade. When an inspector finds a hazard that can’t be corrected before the inspection ends, the department can order the place closed until it is, and the restaurant has to pass a reopening inspection before it can serve customers again.
New Asia has been part of the block for a long time, having occupied the same storefront since 2010 or 2011. It’s a small operation built mostly around takeout and delivery, with a couple of tables and chairs for anyone eating in, and a long menu of Chinese standards.
The full inspection report is posted by the Health Department.
