Clean scene on the menu at NYC restaurants

The number of restaurants shuttered by city health inspectors dropped by 16% in the first 11 months of this fiscal year to 1,388 — down from the 1,646 closed over the same period in 2012, according to city records.

The Bloomberg administration says the dip is proof the city’s letter grade system and its stricter inspections, unveiled in 2010, have compelled restaurant owners to clean up their act.

“About half of all restaurants now earn an A grade on their initial inspections and receive no fines or inspections for a year,” Health Department spokeswoman Jean Weinberg said.

As a result, the city banked $30.3 million in fines from July 2012 through March 30, city records show. That’s down 20% from the $38.1 collected over the same period last year.

“Given the improvements in restaurant food safety practices, the department expects the total amount of fines this year will continue to decline,” Weinberg said.

The projected drop in revenue during the current fiscal year is the first decrease since 2006. It comes as the number of restaurants inspected has remained relatively steady, down just 3.2% over the first 11 months this fiscal year to 24,112.

Even with the dip in revenues over the first 11 months of this fiscal year, the city’s three-year-old letter grading system is a cash machine for public coffers.

In fiscal year 2012, for example, the city collected a record $52 million in fines. That’s 431% more than the $9.8 the city collected in 2003.

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn believes the fines remain too high and is working on reforms, her spokesman Jamie McShane said.

The long-anticipated measure will likely include shrinking penalties for violations that don’t involve food, such as a dented can or broken tiles. The bill is also expected to waive fines for restaurants that score an A after appealing a lower grade, sources said.

“The letter grade system is still flawed,” said Andrew Rigie, executive director of NYC Hospitality Alliance.

Restaurant owners contend the violations are often trumped up and eating away at profits.

“The Health Department is completely out of control,” grumbled a Brooklyn owner who was hit with $10,000 in fines at his two Borough Park cafes last year.

“I run a clean operation,” he insisted, noting that he hired a high-priced consultant to help him.

But not all eatery owners are steaming mad.

“The Health Department is doing a really good job, and setting strict guidelines,” said Phillip Lee, who owns Kimchi Grill on Washington Ave. in Brooklyn.

That includes fines ranging from $200 to $2,000 for such violations as mice droppings and broken titles.