UES Bar Shut By Health Dept., Given Failing “C” Grade

The NYC Health Department ordered the ongoing closure of a pub on the Upper East Side, after an August 17 inspection reportedly turned up numerous sanitary violations on the premises.

Bedford Falls, which is located on Third Avenue and E. 67th Street, racked up 45 “points” of violations and was shuttered immediately. As per Health Department rules, tally far surpasses the 28 points that will slap a restaurant with a dismal “C” grade, which represents the worst judgement that can be handed down by inspectors.

According to city data analyzed by the website Eat Real Food NYC, 90 percent of local restaurants receive a healthy “A” grade from inspectors, while eight percent are hit with a “B” grade—roughly indicating a handful of violations.

This means that only 2 percent of city restaurants are kept in poor enough condition to justify a “C’ rating, an unfortunate club that Bedford Falls has now fallen into. The business had previously earned a “B” rating during an earlier inspection eight months ago.

In their latest visit, inspectors noted four sanitary violations and one “other” violation. One sanitary violation involved the presence of mice in either food or “non-food” areas, while another points out that management has reportedly not gotten rid of “harborage,” a technical term for the kinds of nooks and crannies that such rodents like to hide in.

Another violation states that Bedford Falls does not have proper storage for either hot or cold food items, which could essentially cause these wares to spoil and spread bacterial foodborne illness—including food poisoning, —to diners at the restaurant.

The final sanitary violation details a lack of clean surfaces, namely including those where food is placed or prepared, which inspectors say could lead to broader contamination.

The additional “other” violation is perhaps a bit more abstract, as well as not elaborated on, although it appears to concern the general quality of life at Bedford Falls: “Nuisance created or allowed to exist. Facility not free from unsafe, hazardous, offensive or annoying [conditions].”

An earlier Health Department inspection of Bedford Falls, conducted on January 6 revealed distinct violations; one, involving the lack of required single-serving condiment containers, was apparently resolved by the time of the second inspection this month. Meanwhile, unclean surfaces and mice evidently remained a problem as of this month’s follow-up inspection.

Despite these reported violations, Bedford Falls remains fairly popular with the food-reviewing public. The bar maintains a 3.9 (out of 5) rating on Yelp, after averaging out 139 reviews, with more five-star rankings than one-star ones.

One such reviewer, who visited around March, even seemed to directly contradict the Health Department’s “nuisance” finding.

“Friendly neighborhood bar, fun place! My friend and I met here for a drink while she was visiting from out of town and we had a very nice time,” Lynn O. wrote then. “Noise quality was good...... not always the case in bars.”

The bar is named after the fictional town at the center of the classic holiday movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” starring James Stewart and Donna Reed.

A spokesperson for Bedford Falls, the pub, could not be reached for comment as of press time.