A restaurant report in the Astoria Post, last week, may keep you away from the Bel Aire diner on 21st Street forever. This disgusting behind-the-scenes video has even the investigators from Gordon Ramsey’s Nightmare Kitchens gagging at foods being readied for tables and booths. But there’s more to think about, and it touches Roosevelt Island.
by David Stone
The Roosevelt Island Daily News
The ‘behind the scenes” shots show Ramsay and his cameraman gagging at the sight of the chicken. And, when Ramsay saw heavy grease under the cooker hoods, he told all the customers to leave, and closed down the diner.
Astoria Post
We thank Roosevelt Islander Sylvan Klein for the tip.
Our first thought – Where the hell was the New York City Department of Health? That is, why did it take Gordon Ramsey’s Nightmare Kitchens to expose a horrific food preparation operation?
But our second thought is different. Like, haven’t we heard this before?
We have.
“…heavy grease under the cooker hoods,” which triggered shutting the Bel Aire down has been a consistent complaint here.
Our local restaurant report showed that RIOC ignored reports of grease-spattered hoods as a fire safety hazard for years. But RIOC General Counsel wrote that “…we are working diligently to make sure that they comply with all terms of their leases.”
That wasn’t true, though, because two years later, the same conditions were found.
RIOC’s Track Record on Safety
No responsible adult can ignore RIOC’s months-long assault on public safety, deliberately blocking a fire hydrant without disclosing a purpose.
PSD Chief Brown claims he has FDNY approval for his blockade, but he has not produced anything in writing nor has he named the FDNY official who approved it.
Then, there’s the unending stream of two-wheel vehicles speeding on Main Street, oblivious to stop signs and crosswalks. That’s been going on for years, even though RIOC promised a traffic safety plan in 2021. It never arrived.
But more significant lately is the Tram breakdown that took both cabins out of service for six hours. RIOC never explained in detail nor did it offer any plans of fixes. The breakdown could as easily have happened at a different time, leaving a hundred people dangling for hours in both cabins.
Yet, neither RIOC nor any other official addressed this issue as Roosevelt Islanders were isolated from public safety again.
So, are we in the same place as Bel Aire diners, exposed to threats to our health and safety because none of those we pay to protect us are doing their jobs anymore?
Reaching any other conclusion is harder to get to as time passes.
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