MANHATTAN — Here's some food for thought.
Street vendors around the city, including a number in Manhattan, have racked up more than 2,500 health violations over the past year, according to a published report.
The top offender was Bulent Isci, who has a cart at 41st Street and Seventh Avenue, in Midtown, according to the New York Post. He was given 16 violations for using his hands instead of a utensil to touch food and was cited for not washing his hands, according to the report.
Also making the list was Mubarak Ahmed, whose cart at West 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue received 14 violations during a two-month span for, among other things, inadequate personal cleanliness, according to the Post.
Rounding out the list of the top offenders was Mohammed El Hiba, at Liberty Street and Broadway, who got 14 points for poor hygiene and undercooking food as well as Bulbul Ahmed, at 39th Street and Seventh Avenue, who received 12 violations for, among other things, keeping food above 41 degrees, the report said.
Seven carts around the city, including one in Manhattan, were cited for having animals in their food preparation or storage areas, the report said.
"If restaurants have to bear this burden [of receiving health inspection grades], why shouldn't vendors selling food right on the street?" City Councilman Daniel Garodnick told the paper.
"People should know that the food they're eating is safe, free of vermin and bugs and that the seller is keeping a clean environment."
