Lea Closed By Health Inspectors Who Found Mice And Filth Flies

DITMAS PARK, BROOKLYN — Health inspectors shut down Lea, the Italian restaurant owned by the team behind Mimi's Hummus, after they found filth flies and evidence of mice, city records show.

Lea, the wood-fire oven pizza eatery at 1022 Cortelyou Road, was closed on Friday when inspectors found five critical health code violations on the premises, according to city records.

Inspectors reported evidence of mice, filth flies, cold foods being stored at unsafe temperatures, other foods being stored without contamination protection and dirty counters that were not properly sanitized after use, Health Department records show.

Restaurants are graded on a violation point system that determines their letter grades — scores between zero and 13 constitute an A, scores between 14 and 27 constitute a B, and scores above 28 earn eateries a C and close monitoring from the city's health department.

During its March inspection, the Ditmas Park restaurant earned 53 points — 41 points more than its last inspection earlier that month.

Lea has been in the neighborhood since Mimi Kitani — the mastermind behind Mimi’s Hummus — and her boyfriend Avi Shukur opened the eatery in 2013, according to a New York Times report.

The restaurant did not immediately respond to Patch’s request for comment.

Photo courtesy of GoogleMaps/Sept. 2014