NYC restaurant closure citations rose 22.2% this summer, led by Queens and pests
Violations cited on NYC restaurant closing inspections rose 22.2% to 1,444 rows between July 5 and Oct. 3, with Queens up most and pest citations leading the list.
New York City health inspectors recorded 1,444 closure rows at restaurants between July 5 and Oct. 3, 2026, up from 1,182 in the 90 days before, April 6 to July 5. That is an increase of 262, or 22.2%, according to the city’s restaurant inspection results on NYC Open Data.
A closure row is not a restaurant. Each row in the dataset is one violation cited on one inspection, so one place ordered shut with several violations shows up as several rows. The figures below count violations cited on closing inspections. They do not count the restaurants that closed.
For scale, the city logged 28,640 inspection rows of every kind over the same July 5 to Oct. 3 window. A closure here means the health department ordered the place shut at that inspection.
NYC restaurant closures by borough
Queens had the most closure rows and the biggest rise in raw numbers. Brooklyn and Staten Island went the other way.
- Queens: 505, up from 340 (up 165, or 48.5%)
- Manhattan: 411, up from 291 (up 120, or 41.2%)
- Brooklyn: 378, down from 444 (down 66, or 14.9%)
- Bronx: 146, up from 96 (up 50, or 52.1%)
- Staten Island: 4, down from 11 (down 7, or 63.6%)
The Bronx posted the steepest percentage climb of any borough, 52.1%, on far smaller numbers than Queens. Staten Island’s 63.6% drop rests on a handful of rows, 4 against 11, so it says little on its own.
To see what else the city records where you live, browse our neighborhood pages.
Which cuisines had the most closure rows
Places listed as Chinese still had the most closure rows of any cuisine category, 154. That was down 59, or 27.7%, from 213 in the earlier window. Latin American and Caribbean listings moved the other way.
- Chinese: 154, down from 213 (down 27.7%)
- Latin American: 143, up from 68 (up 110.3%)
- American: 140, up from 119 (up 17.6%)
- Caribbean: 133, up from 69 (up 92.8%)
- Coffee/Tea: 72, up from 58 (up 24.1%)
- Pizza: 60, up from 33 (up 81.8%)
Korean listings rose from 23 closure rows to 46, up 100%. Japanese listings went from 24 to 38, up 58.3%.
The Asian/Asian Fusion category had 58 closure rows this period and 0 in the earlier one, so no percentage change can be given. The cuisine label is whatever the city records for each place, and small counts can swing widely from one quarter to the next.
Most common health code violations behind the closures
Pests lead the list. The violation cited most often on closing inspections this period was conditions that invite rodents, insects or other pests, with 157 rows, up from 110.
- Conditions conducive to pests: 157, up from 110 (up 42.7%)
- Food or supplies not protected from contamination: 107, up from 88 (up 21.6%)
- Non-food surfaces or equipment not clean or not properly sealed: 94, up from 81 (up 16%)
- Filth flies or other nuisance flies: 91, up from 24 (up 279.2%)
- Cold food held above 41 °F: 88, up from 67 (up 31.3%)
- Live roaches: 81, up from 34 (up 138.2%)
- Drainage, back-flow or sewage problems: 68, up from 58 (up 17.2%)
- Hot food not held at or above 140 °F: 62, up from 45 (up 37.8%)
- Evidence of mice or live mice: 61, down from 69 (down 11.6%)
- Food contact surfaces not washed, rinsed and sanitized: 61, up from 49 (up 24.5%)
The sharpest rises were flies, up 279.2%, and live roaches, up 138.2%. Mice were the only item on the list that fell. The dataset does not explain any of these shifts.
What the health department data can and cannot tell you
Every row is a report: what an inspector cited and what the city recorded at that visit. It is not proof of conditions on any other day, and it does not show whether a place fixed the problem.
The totals also depend on how inspections were carried out. More closure rows can mean more closing inspections, more violations cited at each one, or both, and these figures alone cannot separate the two.
The dataset also does not track reopenings. Most places ordered shut reopen after a re-inspection, so a closure row describes one moment, not a permanent shutdown.
How to check a restaurant’s inspection record in NYC
The same city dataset is public on NYC Open Data, and anyone can look up a restaurant’s own inspection history there.
Look at the date of the latest inspection and the violations listed with it. A closing inspection followed by a later one usually means the place was checked again before it reopened.
Watch for repeat items. One pest citation reflects one visit. The same violation cited on several inspections in a row is a pattern worth noting before you book.
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Sources
Every figure above comes from these official sources, checked on the day this was written.
Quick answers
How many NYC restaurants did the health department close this quarter?
The city data counts violations, not restaurants. Inspectors recorded 1,444 closure rows from July 5 to Oct. 3, 2026, and one closure can produce several rows.
Which borough had the most restaurant closure rows?
Queens, with 505 closure rows, up from 340 in the previous 90 days, a 48.5% rise.
What is the most common reason for a health department closure?
Conditions that invite rodents, insects or other pests, cited on 157 closure rows this period, up from 110.
Do restaurants reopen after a health department closure?
Most reopen after a re-inspection, but the inspection dataset does not track reopenings.
