City Biz in a ‘Fine’ Mess

July 28, 2012 | New York Post

In two days, Margo Lewis could lose her business, and City Hall is the culprit. She opened her Bedford-Stuyvesant coffee shop when the recession was at its worst — and beat the odds to become a neighborhood institution. She overcame rent disputes with her landlord. When two robberies cleaned her out, she started making take-home barbecue dinners to stay afloat and managed to hang on.

But then the Department of Health came knocking.

When they walked out the door, Margo had $3,300 in fines she couldn’t afford for violations like having scratches on her cutting board (imagine that) and leaving a damp cloth folded on a counter. She was told to pay up or lose her permit. It didn’t matter that Margo fixed all the nit-picky problems right away — including a few her landlord should have handled. It doesn’t matter than she now has her “A” rating. She can either pay the city or shut her doors for good on Tuesday.

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