Brooklyn, NY — A routine health inspection conducted at The Apartment / Hox Coffee Shop on March 31, 2026, identified a critical hand washing compliance violation at the café's 97 Wythe Avenue location in Williamsburg, resulting in an inspection score of 44 and a Grade C designation. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) released the inspection data on April 2, 2026.
What Inspectors Found
Inspectors documented one critical violation under Code 05D, which covers the availability and accessibility of hand washing facilities in food service environments. The violation recorded at the Wythe Avenue location cited that a hand washing facility was either not present in or adjacent to the toilet room, not located within 25 feet of a food preparation, food service, or ware washing area, or was obstructed and unavailable for proper use. The citation also notes the potential absence of hot and cold running water, adequate water pressure, soap, or an acceptable hand-drying device.
Accessible hand washing infrastructure is a foundational requirement in any food service setting. When hand washing stations are absent, obstructed, or improperly equipped, staff cannot perform routine hand hygiene between food handling tasks, a lapse that elevates the risk of cross-contamination.
No non-critical violations were recorded during this inspection.
Food Safety Context
NYC Health Code Article 81 sets the standards for food handling, facility sanitation, and worker hygiene in the city's restaurant and food service establishments. Among its core provisions, the code requires that food service workers have immediate, unobstructed access to hand washing facilities equipped with running water at adequate temperature and pressure, soap, and single-use towels or an air dryer.
The FDA Food Code, which New York City's regulations closely follow, classifies hand washing facility violations as critical because of their direct link to foodborne illness transmission. Inadequate hand washing access is identified as one of the primary contributing factors to contamination events in food service settings.
Under the NYC restaurant grading system, inspections generate a numerical score based on the number and severity of violations identified. Each critical violation carries a higher point value than non-critical violations. A score of 44 falls well into Grade C territory, which begins at 28 points.
Inspection History
The March 2026 result represents a departure from the establishment's recent compliance record. Prior inspections at this location show consistent Grade A performance:
- May 11, 2026: Score 0 (Grade A)
- October 15, 2024: Score 5 (Grade A)
- May 24, 2023: Score 8 (Grade A)
- June 10, 2022: Score 0 (Grade A)
Notably, an inspection conducted approximately six weeks after the March 31 result — on May 11, 2026 — returned a score of 0, suggesting the cited deficiency was corrected. That result is not reflected in the Grade C posting currently displayed for the March inspection cycle.
Understanding NYC Restaurant Grades
New York City requires restaurants to post their most recent inspection grade in a visible location at the entrance. Grades are assigned based on the score recorded during an initial or re-inspection:
- A: Score of 0 to 13 points
- B: Score of 14 to 27 points
- C: Score of 28 points or more
When an establishment receives a score above 13 on an initial inspection, it has the option to request a re-inspection before a grade is officially posted. The grade posted reflects the most recent scored inspection on file with DOHMH.
Inspection records for all NYC food service establishments are publicly available through the DOHMH restaurant inspection results search tool at nyc.gov. Consumers can use the tool to review full violation details, historical inspection scores, and current grade status for any permitted food service location in the five boroughs.
More About This Restaurant
View the full inspection history for The Apartment / Hox Coffee Shop including all past inspections, violations, and grade changes.