Park Slope's Joe's Pizza Closed For Mice, Roaches: Health Dept.

PARK SLOPE, BROOKLYN — One of the neighborhood's pizza spots has been closed down after inspectors found mice and roaches in the eatery, records show.

Joe's Pizza of Park Slope at 349 Fifth Ave. was given 81 violation points during an inspection by the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene last week, records show. The number is nearly three times the 28 violation points that require the department shut down a business.

Inspectors visiting the restaurant on Dec. 19 found live roaches, evidence of mice or live mice and that the facility had not been vermin-proofed, records show.

They also discovered that food items were not being kept at the correct temperature, that a food contact surface had not been properly washed, that food was not protected from potential sources of contamination and that food that had been contaminated was not discarded properly.

There also was no hand washing facility provided in the "food preparation area" or bathroom and problems with the restaurant's plumbing, records show.

This is not the first time the Fifth Avenue pizzeria has been shut down by the health department.

The eatery also was forced to close briefly last December after problems with its gas, managers told Patch at the time. In that inspection, the pizza joint earned 38 violation points for insufficient refrigeration, poor plumbing and improperly constructed counters, records show.

Joe's has been inspected five times since then, earning either an "A" or "B" rating in each scoring until the closure last week.

A call to the restaurant on Friday went unanswered.