I think it's an excellent idea for restaurants to provide that information, in fact I often choose Subway because they provide that information voluntarily, but I can't imagine what makes the city think they have a right to order restaurateurs (the owners of private property) to comply - except the typical politician's inflated sense of self-importance. I'd love to see all of NYC's restaurants follow the letter of the law in a manner that would give the do-gooders a heart attack faster than an oversized plate of Fettucini Alfredo. Quite a few high end restaurants have menus with no prices listed, and I would cheer if the rest deleted their prices and added a note: "prices removed to comply with the meddling of Section 81.50 of the New York City Health Code." If neither the price nor the calories are listed, then a lawyer could reasonably argue that the letter of the law has been followed. No doubt the restaurants would eventually lose, since you can't fight City Hall, but they'd have a good time playing with the regulators.
Well I guess if you consider paying attorneys by the hour a good time. Sounds about as fun to me as burning money. Wait...it's the same thing.
I think it's an excellent idea for restaurants to be required to wash their dishes, in fact I often choose my neighborhood diner because they wash their dishes voluntarily, but I can't imagine what makes the city think they have the right to order restauranters (the owners of private property) comply.