Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

The Back Fence on Bleecker Street Closed by Health Department

By Andrea Swalec | December 6, 2011 7:27am
The Back Fence at 155 Bleecker St. was shut down on Dec. 3, 2011, after inspectors slapped the bar with 69 health violation points.
The Back Fence at 155 Bleecker St. was shut down on Dec. 3, 2011, after inspectors slapped the bar with 69 health violation points.
View Full Caption
Flickr/flickr4jazz

GREENWICH VILLAGE — Sawdust-strewn Bleecker Street bar The Back Fence proudly proclaims itself a dive bar — but the city recently said the longtime music venue needs to clean up its act.

The 155 Bleecker St. bar was closed down Saturday after inspectors from the Department of Health slapped it with a whopping 69 health violation points, according to the agency's website.

The live music space, which does not serve food, was cited for roaches, "filth flies," evidence of mice and inadequate hand-washing facilities.

A bartender at the NYU student-favorite, which orginally opened in 1945, said Monday that the bar has a cleaning staff at work and expects to reopen Wednesday afternoon after re-inspection.

The Back Fence, which does not serve food, was cited for roaches,
The Back Fence, which does not serve food, was cited for roaches, "filth flies" and evidence of mice during a Dec. 3, 2011, inspection.
View Full Caption
Flickr/flickr4jazz

"It's going to be better than ever," said the staffer, Faith, who declined to provide her last name. "[The Health Department] is keeping everyone healthy and happy, and we want to keep everyone healthy and happy, too."

The Back Fence received two warnings this year. On May 26, inspectors hit the bar with 54 violation points for evidence of mice and improper sanitation of surfaces that come in contact with food. On Aug. 3, the bar received 29 violation points for evidence of flies and mice.

Under the grading system the city introduced in July 2010, establishments with 28 or more violation points receive a "C" grade — the lowest given before closure. The Health Department immediately shutters restaurants and bars with "conditions that may be hazardous to public health," according to its website.

The Back Fence told DNAinfo in September that it was happy to see NYU students — some of the bar's best customers — return to the Village after summer vacation.

The bar, which features live enterntainment every night, was featured in the 2007 book "1,000 Places to See in the U.S.A. & Canada Before You Die."