Some high-profile Manhattan eateries slapped with dismal grades from the city's Health Department have been reluctant to post the telltale signs on their windows, even though they risk a $1,000 fine for keeping their C-grades out of sight.
Since July 2010, New York City restaurants and bars have been required to post their grades on cleanliness on an official 8-by-10-inch placard at eye level in the storefront within five feet of the entrance.
But the New York Post found many notable eateries are still keeping their bad grades hidden, months after an initial survey last November found the practice was widespread.
The Post named the Oak Room at The Plaza hotel and the Andaz 5th Avenue hotel and restaurant as two places that were keeping their grade signs off the windows.
SPQR in Little Italy; Rouge Tomate in Midtown; the Dark Room on the Lower East Side; and the Whaler Bar in Midtown, also had no signs posted facing out of their windows.
Restaurants can contest violations cited by inspectors, but must keep up a "Grade Pending" placard until their cases are heard.
A spokeswoman for the Health Department told the Post inspectors perform unannounced spot checks to see whether grades are posted, but could not say how many eateries had been fined.
