Sinatra's Fave Restaurant Patsy's Shuttered By Health Department

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Popular Midtown eatery Patsy's Italian Restaurant was shuttered by the city Health Department on Wednesday after an inspection turned up multiple unsanitary conditions, according to inspection records.

Patsy's — located on West 56th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue — is an old-school New York City institution popular with tourists and celebrity diners. The restaurant was founded in the '40s by Patsy Scognamillo, and chef duties were passed down to son Joe Scognamillo and then grandson Sal Scognamillo.

The restaurant claims it was "made famous" by Frank Sinatra and lists celebrities such as Ben Stiller, Tony Danza, Al Pacino, Alec Baldwin and Madonna as patrons. Attempts to reach Patsy's proved unsuccessful Friday.

Patsy's tallied a total of 58 violation points, well over the 28 point cutoff needed to score a dreaded "C." The Health Department generally opts to close restaurants after an inspection if it deems a violation a "public health hazard" that can not be corrected before an inspection ends or for "serious and persistent violations," according to its grading methodology.

The restaurant was docked major points for violations such as: Food workers not using proper utensils to eliminate bare hand contact with food, food or storage areas contaminated by sewage or liquid waste, the presence of filth flies and food unprotected by contamination while in storage.

It wasn't the first time the Midtown restaurant racked up numerous demerits on an inspection. Patsy's scored 53 violation points on an October 2017 inspection — mostly for evidence of live mice and filth flies.

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