So here we have four organizations represented in this with very legitimate, based on their testimony, clear evidence of violations, and we have the leadership of the Health Department who is in the business of fixing those kinds of circumstances. And so I would be curious to know what constitutes violations. Because you're the professionals, you would know. We're community citizens and we know what we see, and there may be a disconnect there. That's number one. Number two, it's an opportunity 103 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 to hear and see how what's available to you can address the very clear issues that they've raised today. So I guess what I'm asking is off the record have a sidebar so that -- they know what they believe the violations to be. You know how you define the violations. They're both legitimate, but there may be a disconnect there, to move for some kind of relief for the organizations that are represented right here today. And I think that's a smaller step in the direction of where we want to go. Systemically the Chair and I are looking at something we can put out for consideration to see how we can deal with it in a more global way.
I just want to say that I don't come to these hearings unprepared.
Speak into the mike. 104 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593
I have studied this matter. I read the code. I go to zoning. I'm not speculating as to what the violations are. I've sat down with the Health Department in previous years, as I have read from my testimony, with specified questions that helped me to know kind of like what they were going to answer, because several years ago, they didn't have enough inspectors, which was our Councilman had a meeting for the community as it related to this. But, again, there still seems to be not a clear understanding here. We in the community, our businesses are defined differently than quality businesses. The Zoning Board has saturated our neighborhoods. We have no 20 relief from them. The stench in the community, we have no relief. The more we continue to put those corner store locations in our neighborhoods and even along some of our avenues, the more sick we become, because the food smells are 105 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 just -- they just turn your stomach. Our children are eating from rancid grease. Once you fry grease one time, when you use it again, you're using plastic. Our children are asthmatic and violent because they cannot breathe. The clogging -- and I'm also a health consultant by study, so I'm understanding the clogging of our arteries from the saturated oils and rancid oils that our young babies eat on a daily basis, and then we want to know why are they so violent. Well, when you touch them, they can't breathe. So instead of feeling like you're giving them a hug, they're feeling like you're punching them. So it should be comprehensive, but we want to address it fragmented.
And we can't address it fragmented. And people have to want to be responsible. Like it's hard for me to have to come here and look at my community and see the degraded 106 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 conditions. I mean, just go to some of the locations. The stores don't even have proper chairs. People can't even sit -- like what kind of mind are you producing when you say to a community, Come in my store and my chairs are raggedy. You don't even deserve the real true definition of a restaurant for your neighborhood to be able to sit down at a table. I can't bring my friends from different areas of the City to come to my neighborhood as a little cafe style restaurant, because the mentality is that I'm not deserving of that in my community. So, you know, we have to look at this comprehensively and address the fact that the stench is there. If the Zoning Board continues to give us one more retail variety grocery store by variance, we're stenching up another neighborhood. We just got -- at 29th and Lehigh, the Zoning Board took a whole 107 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 year, after the community fought to keep that place from getting a license to do hot and cold foods, they granted it anyway. They made him run that ventilation to the roof. And that block is a beautiful block. The 2700 block of 29th Street is going to stink. And then the grease over the days and weeks and months is going to spew right off the top of that roof, and the ground eventually gets matted grease like the Crown fried chickens. When you walk in front of their locations, the grease is all on the ground. It's matted to the ground.
Well, Ms. Cummings, I hear and I understand the connect. Again, we will talk with you to address those issues, but it also does tie into the Health Department, but we want to get back to their -- they have probably heard information today that they have not heard before. So I don't think they sat there and not heard your message, which hopefully they will go 108 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 back to their shop and begin to rethink how they do with what little resources they have, because they don't have a lot when you look at 15,000 establishments. Now, the other question I want to ask you, do you inspect bars? Because you know these bars sell chicken, too, in the back.
So they're on your list also, they're part of the 15,000? We're raising it. It's going to be 20,000 in a minute, because by the time we get out of here, the Zoning Board will have granted more variances to somebody else. So it's going to be 20,000, and maybe there should be some action taken to kind of deal with that. So we'll talk to you all about that. But I wrote down bars because they do sell food. What I'd like you to present to us is sort of like a matrix of where you 109 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 have done inspections in the last six months, what part of the City has received inspections in the last six months for these food establishments and the various parts of the City, because you say you've done percent. Where 8 are the 25 percent? 9 COMMISSIONER PARIS: Not a 10 problem. We will provide you with that 11 information, ma'am. 12
May I just -- I 13 want to ask a question, because I hear 14 something that I'm not clear about, and, 15 that is, that when they go out and they 16 make an inspection and they find a 17 violation, you issue a citation at that 18 time? Is that what happens? 19 COMMISSIONER PARIS: We 20 actually issue a violation notice. 21
You issue a 22 violation notice. And then you said that 23 sometimes you get these store owners that 24 call you and say come back so that you 25 can reinspect because they've corrected 110 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 it. But they're still doing business even though they have that violation that you've given them? They're still selling food?
Is that true? COMMISSIONER PARIS: That's correct. We are not closing them down unless they pose an imminent threat to the community.
Define "imminent threat." What type of examples, what type of circumstances define that "imminent threat"?
I'll pick a common example. If there is a plumbing back-up in a food establishment and now the floor is covered with waste material from the sewer line, that would require an immediate closure of that facility. If a facility has an extensive infestation problem where the foods are contaminated and the food service areas are contaminated and there's no way to 111 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 control that, that would be an imminent threat. So we're talking where something is grossly unsanitary. We walk into a facility and the ceiling just caved in in the kitchen. We would close that kitchen, because that's no longer a safe environment to prepare food in. So we're talking about an unsafe environment for food handling. If we have a violation, a violation can be almost anything, and what we're going to do is address that violation. And I would like to give an example such as a traffic ticket. If someone gets a traffic ticket, they're not banned from driving. Hopefully they're going to correct their behavior and do the right thing.
If they don't have hot and cold -- if they don't have running water or they don't have hot and cold running water, that's not sufficient to close them?
If a facility 112 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 does not have running water and many times if they don't have hot water, they will be closed.
Then fine. So when you get a report about a facility that does not have hot water, then --
It's not very fast, because we only have 32 inspectors. COMMISSIONER PARIS: It really varies on the type of complaint that we have received. If it's something that the person says we saw that this particular restaurant, that there is an infestation of mice, or whatever the case 113 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 might be, then we certainly will respond. We will try to get to that facility as soon as possible. Versus somebody just complaining that they saw the person handling the food without the gloves at that particular time. So it depends. I mean, we have a limitation of resources, so we also prioritize how we respond to the complaints. But we respond to all complaints.
I guess what I'm trying to get -- and I haven't gotten it yet. I keep hearing all of these nebulous terms. What is the turnaround time? If you get a call saying that a restaurant is operating and it does not have hot and cold running water, what's the turnaround time? Because they can have it fixed. I mean, and it doesn't surprise me that someone would get a tip off and they just get it fixed. So what's the turnaround time on that? COMMISSIONER PARIS: Anywhere 114 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 between to 48 hours. 3
We probably 4 could go back and forth with this all 5 day, but the last thing that I'm going to 6 say is, the imminently dangerous 7 conditions are most of or many of the 8 neighborhood stores. We have the 9 infestation. And particularly since all 10 of their dumpsters are on the outside of 11 their businesses, the infestation is 12 outside and inside. And because they've 13 not inspected many of those locations, 14 the Health Department would not know 15 that. 16 So, again, because the addition 17 of these businesses are coming from the 18 Zoning Board, the moratorium aspect from 19 this Council can be introduced or looked 20 at. Because if we keep going at the rate 21 we're going, first of all, we keep giving 22 people the same type of food. What kind 23 of service does a city have where 24 everybody eats every two feet from each other the same type of contaminated 115 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 grease?
Well, we hear you. Thank you very much. Thank you for your testimony.
Thank you for your testimony. Is there anyone else here to testify on this bill? (No response.)
We thank you for your testimony. We've certainly gathered a lot of information and some other issues that we have to deal with. This Committee will stand in recess until the call of the Chair. Thank you. COMMISSIONER PARIS: Thank you.
Oh, I have a question. I'm sorry. Let me go back. I have a question. This is my major question. Knowing that you don't have 116 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 enough -- the Committee is reconvened. Now, you know we talked about 32, the complement of 32 staff members. Do you plan to ask for additional staff members in your 2008 budget? COMMISSIONER PARIS: As soon as the review is completed and we know based on that review what we will need in order to meet the national standards, yes, ma'am.
But you just said if you have 15,000 establishments and I asked you what would you really need to be able to adequately function and do your job, you said double that. COMMISSIONER PARIS: Yes.
So 32 more people. I mean, you don't have to wait for an assessment to understand what you need, because this is -- you're not going to get all 32. Have you thought about doing a timeline where you might be able to increase the complement over a period 117 11/15/06 - PUBLIC HEALTH - RES. 060593 of time? No, you haven't thought about it, but I want you to think about it. COMMISSIONER PARIS: Yes, ma'am.
All right. Thank you very much. COMMISSIONER PARIS: My pleasure.
This meeting is recessed to the call of the Chair. Thank you. (Committee on Public Health and Human Services adjourned at 12:05 p.m.) - - - 118 CERTIFICATE I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings, evidence and objections are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me upon the foregoing matter on November 15, 2006, and that this is a true and correct transcript of same. ______________________________ MICHELE L. MURPHY RPR-Notary Public (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)