That’s the Whopper in question.
A Burger King a few blocks from City Hall is so crowded with drug dealers, drug addicts and free-spirited vagrants that angry neighbors turn Fulton Street into an open-air drug bazaar. He is suing the fast food restaurant for $15 million for helping him.
A group of eight to 10 “professional drug dealers” is said to be doing whatever they want at the BK, located at 106 Fulton Street near Dutch Street, which they call their “base of operations.” and sell illegal drugs at the entrance or at the entrance.” . . sold illegal drugs inside the Burger King restaurant,” according to the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit filed by Kevin Kaufman, who has lived on the block for 20 years.
Kaufman, 69, a married film director who raised two children in Fidi, said: “We contacted every direction, but the police were the only ones willing to respond and listen.” . She said: “The police are doing everything they can to remove these people, but they’re handcuffed. This stupid bail reform. They’ve arrested a few people, but within 24 hours i’m back.”
According to the New York City Police Department, there have been two arrests and 143 911 calls related to the Burger King address since January 1, 2023, but a detailed breakdown of the calls was not disclosed.
This week, the Post said:
- On Tuesday, a group of eight men and one woman staked out the door while about a dozen civilians sat inside eating hamburgers and fries. Crew members blocked entry to the restaurant for hours, with one man manning the door holding a cup for change while others glared from atop a city bike and along the restaurant’s glass exterior. The congestion forced several pedestrians to veer off the sidewalk and onto the street.
- One of the group members, wearing a black down jacket, grabbed cash from a haggard-looking man in a blue shirt and put it in his pocket, then quickly handed him what appeared to be drugs.
- Two of them, men in neon yellow vests and Air Jordan hats, sat on city bikes and knocked back 200ml plastic Smirnoff vodkas. Bottle. Another man, wearing a brown hoodie, smoked several fat joints and sold loose cigarettes to Burger King customers, passersby, and their associates as they exited the restaurant.
- Members of the group went in and out of the restaurant without ordering food, and used the dilapidated space as an office. The person who appeared to be the leader of the group was sitting at a table drinking coffee from a Dunkin’ cup and having a meeting with his friends. Another member sat in a window seat, moving his joints and monitoring the traffic outside.
- On Thursday, seven rowdy members of the group again roamed for hours in front of the restaurant, passing the time by shadowboxing, fighting and yelling at each other. A hotshot in a white T-shirt defies the subpoena and yells at the two officers, “They work for Biden. They work for Biden. They work for Biden. ” he shouted. Get out of here. ”
“It’s right around the corner from the mayor, the mayor’s office is right there, and it’s like, ‘Hey, clean up the neighborhood,'” said the 47-year-old Fulton Street resident, who has lived on Fulton Street for 15 years. ” he said indignantly.
The restaurant is “never crowded. The only people there are the poor, the homeless, people selling drugs,” he says. “At least there will be a mix. [if] You go to McDonald’s. . . You’ll never see your neighbors there because it’s a show. ”
“How is this Burger King still open? Why is nothing being done?” added another concerned neighbor, 40. They are not mentally safe. . . . There are certain times of the night when you may no longer feel safe walking your dog. That’s a problem. “
In addition to seeing people “obviously high on drugs” every day, there are “absolutely terrifying screaming matches” between homeless people who hang out around the area about once a month, and just a few weeks ago A person was found lying on the ground, he said. Go out onto the sidewalk next to Burger King.
January 4th video Posted X, by Fulton St Coalition’s account, depicts a professional wrestling scene in which two men engage in a violent brawl, with one slamming the other into the pavement.
“There are no patrons of the restaurant. No one goes there to eat,” said Evan Gilman, a neighbor who regularly sees the same faces outside the restaurant. “These guys are here all day.”
The number of major crimes in the First Precinct, which covers Burger King and the Fulton Center, is up 2.4% so far this year compared to the same period in 2023, including felonies, according to NYPD data. That includes a 14% increase in assaults and a 52% jump in crime. Robberies and misdemeanors increased by 7%.
A ministry spokesperson said: “Quality of life complaints remain a serious concern for residents across the city.” “The NYPD deploys officers to locations where crimes are reported in response to community complaints and will continue to respond to these situations in accordance with the needs and expectations of the public.”
Kaufman said his beef belonged to fast food restaurant owner Lalmil Sultanzada. Sultanzada, 66, of Melville, Long Island, is an immigrant from Afghanistan who owns several fast-food franchises in the five boroughs and Long Island, including Popeyes and Dunkin’ Donuts.
“He doesn’t take responsibility,” said Kaufman, who produced the first season of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” in 2006. “It puts the blame on the shoulders of police officers.” and the 2018 A&E documentary “Gotti: Godfather and Son.”
“Fulton Street is currently a neighborhood in crisis,” Kaufman wrote in court papers, noting that the thugs in front of the store “have long criminal histories and are above the local law.” He claimed to be a “professional drug dealer well known among enforcement agencies.”
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Mr. Kaufman is suing the restaurant and Burger King’s corporate headquarters for millions of dollars, accusing them of violating New York City’s private nuisance law. The law aims to prevent intentional or unreasonable interference with someone’s enjoyment of property.
Kaufman wants the court to order Burger King to “stop terrorizing the neighborhood and turning Fulton Street into an open-air drug bazaar.”
The legal salvo comes after retail giant Westfield moved to relinquish rental control of nearby Fulton Street Center, citing rising crime and homelessness.
When Mr. Kaufman moved in, the area was “very quiet” at night after the Wall Street crowds left for the day.
Now, “Crazy people are screaming and screaming here every night. It’s like a nightmare. If you go to nearby Tribeca or Battery Park in Soho, you won’t find anything like this. Just throw it all here. ” he said. “This is like a city trash can.”
His children, now grown, want him and his wife to move out of the house while they can.
“They’re begging us to get out of here, but they don’t want to give up or be kicked out because the city is mistreating their neighborhood,” he said.
Kaufman said the problem began in earnest about a year ago, when the neighborhood was filled with smoke shops allegedly selling illegal drugs. “Within a two-block radius, I think there are more smoking areas than any other area in the city, and all of them sell drugs illegally. What does that do? It’s people who sell drugs. It attracts.”
“I want to leave on my terms, not theirs,” he added.
This is not the first lawsuit against a major retailer over criminal charges. In November, two families sued Target for negligence in the assault of a homeless man. stabbed two people A knife on display was taken into a store in Los Angeles, and two weeks ago, a 7-Eleven in Oregon was sued by the family of a man shot to death inside the store by a homeless man who was working as a security guard.
“It’s certainly unusual to sue a retailer for bringing crime into a neighborhood,” said Kaufman’s attorney, Joel Farley.
Owner Sultanzada, who owns dozens of other fast-food franchises, says private security is too expensive.
“That’s not my problem… that’s up to the police. I’m not selling drugs,” he raged. “If I close my shop. Who will be responsible for my losses?”
Owner Sultanzada also claims that he is suffering because of a group that has set up shop inside his restaurant.
“They’re wandering around and throwing everything into the store. A few times they hit one of my managers,” he said, adding that police were “not paying attention” to the issue. he claimed. “We have the same problem everywhere. We have the same problem on 125th Street. We have the same problem on 116th Street. We have the same problem when we go to the Bronx.
“That’s not me. Talk to the government, talk to the police department, talk to the mayor, talk to the governor,” he said. “They have to find a solution for those motherfuckers, not me.”
The NYPD called the area a “continuing focus for the First Precinct,” noting that there have been more than 600 patrols and community visits to the block since 2023.
Adams city spokesman Charles Luttwak responded to countless criticisms by touting the city’s criminal history.
“Our administration believes that all of New York City should be safe, and we have effectively reduced crime across the city,” he said.
Additional reporting by Daniel McKnight
