A New York City man is suing Burger King for $15 million, accusing him of allowing the place to turn into an “outdoor drug bazaar” that destroyed the surrounding area.
The restaurant in question is located on Fulton Street, just a few blocks from City Hall. Despite its proximity to Mayor Eric Adams’ (D) office, local resident Kevin Kaufman said a group of eight to 10 “professional drug dealers” has almost completely taken over the space. He says there is.
Mr. Kaufman, a 69-year-old film director who has lived on the block for 20 years, said in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed in Manhattan Supreme Court that the store was a “hub” for drug sales.
recently investigation carried out by new york postLast Tuesday, a group of eight men and one woman were seen sabotaging the store location for several hours, with “one man acting as a doorman holding a cup for a change.”
When people arrived at the restaurant, the horde appeared to offer them drugs to sell.
Two of the men were reportedly openly drinking vodka and one was smoking marijuana, and “threw loose cigarettes at Burger King customers, passersby, and their associates as they exited the restaurant.” “He was hawking it.”
reporter from post The group’s ringleaders were even seen holding “meetings” during the alleged criminal acts.
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.
“We’ve reached out to all sorts of sources, but the only ones who respond and listen to us are the police,” Kaufman told the publication. “The police are doing everything they can to remove these people, but they are handcuffed. This stupid bail reform. I did.”
According to Kaufman, a big responsibility lies with franchise owner Lalmil Sultanzada.
The 66-year-old Long Island resident is an immigrant from Afghanistan who also owns Popeyes, Dunkin Donuts and several other fast food restaurants in the city.
“He’s not taking responsibility and instead of hiring his own security or guarding his own store, he’s putting the blame in the lap of the officers,” Kaufman told the magazine.
His lawsuit also targets Sultanzada and Burger King’s headquarters, accusing the company of violating New York City’s private nuisance law.
“Fulton Street is currently a neighborhood in crisis,” Kaufman wrote, calling the shady group “a professional group with a long criminal history and well known in local law enforcement circles. He was called a drug dealer.
According to the filmmaker, Burger King needs to “stop terrorizing neighborhoods and turning Fulton Street into an open-air drug bazaar.”
Sultanzada believes groups hanging out at his store are also a problem, but says it would be too expensive to hire his own security.
“That’s not my problem… That’s up to the police. I’m not selling drugs,” the fast food franchise mogul raged. “If I close my shop. Who will be responsible for my losses?”
“They’re wandering around and throwing everything into the store. A few times they hit one of my managers,” Sultanzada continued, adding that the NYPD “isn’t paying attention.” added.
“It’s not me. Talk to the government, talk to the police department, talk to the mayor, talk to the governor,” he added. “They have to find a solution for those motherfuckers, not me.”
Police say there have been 143 emergency calls related to that particular Burger King since the beginning of 2023.
“This is right around the corner from the mayor, the mayor’s office is right there, and it’s like, ‘Hey, clean up the neighborhood,'” said another complainer who has lived on Fulton Street for 15 years. A neighbor who was holding a baby told the magazine.
According to other residents I spoke to, post “It’s not always crowded, the only people there are poor people, homeless people and people selling drugs,” said the store, which asked not to be named.
“At least there will be a mix. [if] When I go to McDonald’s…I never meet my neighbors because it’s a crap show there. ”
A third concerned neighbor questioned how the franchise remained open. [Burger King] Are you doing anything about it? ”
“What scares me is the people this crowd attracts,” he said. “They’re not mentally safe… There are times of the night when we don’t feel safe walking our dogs. That’s a problem.”
He added that he sees people “obviously high on drugs” inside the store every day and frequently hears homeless people “absolutely horrifying screaming at each other.”
A shocking video posted to X by an account called ‘Fulton St Coalition’ shows two men getting into a scuffle, with one slamming the other to the pavement outside a Burger King.
I completely agree that New York City is a mess. Gangs now occupy the streets of Fulton Street in New York City. Open drug dealing and harassment of local residents. @Burger King It houses a gang and is cut. pic.twitter.com/VBg86DVmie
— Fultonstcoalit (@Fultonstcoalit) January 5, 2024
This was announced by a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department. post “Quality of life complaints remain a major concern for residents in all areas of 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 public’s requests and expectations,” the spokesperson added. Ta.
