NEW YORK (AP) - In the six months since New York City health inspectors started giving letter grades to restaurants, 57 percent of the restaurants have received an A.
The Department of Health says the system forces restaurants to improve their cleanliness and food safety. But many restaurant owners say the grading system is subjective and unfair.
The letter grade system has been in effect since July. An eatery that earns less than an A gets a chance to bring its grade up before it has to post it in the window.
The health department says it has graded 10,000 of the city's 24,000 restaurants so far.
The New York State Restaurant Association said Tuesday a large percentage of restaurateurs believe the letter grade system is inherently flawed.
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