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Prosperity Dumpling Closed After Photo of Back Alley Food Prep Surfaces

By Lisha Arino | August 27, 2015 6:37pm | Updated on August 28, 2015 2:27pm
 Prosperity Dumpling was closed Thursday evening after a photo that showed workers allegedly preparing food in a back alleyway prompted an investigation by the health department.
Prosperity Dumpling was closed Thursday evening after a photo that showed workers allegedly preparing food in a back alleyway prompted an investigation by the health department.
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DNAinfo/Lisha Arino

LOWER EAST SIDE — Prosperity Dumpling was closed Thursday evening after a photo that showed workers allegedly preparing food in a back alleyway prompted an investigation by the Health Department.

“Temporary Close,” said a handwritten sign posted on the takeout spot’s partially closed gate at 46 Eldridge St. Inside, workers appeared to be cleaning the popular eatery, known just as much for its grittiness as its cheap and fresh dumplings. They would not talk to a DNAinfo New York reporter at the scene, except to say the restaurant was closed.

The closure came a day after Gothamist posted a photo from an anonymous tipster Wednesday that claimed to show workers making dumplings in an alleyway behind the kitchen.

 A sign that said
A sign that said "Temporary Close" was posted on Prosperity Dumpling's partially-open gate on Aug. 27, 2015.
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DNAinfo/Lisha Arino

“Notice the bowls of meat sitting out in the open air, no gloves on the people making the dumplings…and the RAT at the bottom of the picture by the broom handle. This appears to be a fixed table that get regular use and several rats were spotted when this photo was taken this past Sunday evening,” the tipster wrote, according to the blog, which also reported on the restaurant’s closure.

The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene investigated the restaurant after the photo surfaced online, it said. It shut down Prosperity Dumpling after an inspector observed "numerous public health hazards that could not be corrected at the time of the inspection," a spokesman said in an email.

"In this case, they had a severe cockroach infestation and conditions conducive to pests. Once these issues have been corrected, they can request a re-opening inspection," he wrote.