Burger King faces a $15 million lawsuit over an alleged “open air drug bazaar” operating from its restaurant in New York City.
Kevin Kaufman, a 20-year neighbor of the fast-food restaurant blocks from City Hall, alleged that “professional drug dealers” have used his local Burger King as a “base of operations” to sell illegal drugs, a lawsuit filed with the Manhattan Supreme Court stated, according to the New York Post.
“We’ve reached out to every direction we can and the only ones that seem to be responsive and listening are the cops,” Kaufman said, according to the outlet. “Cops are doing everything they can to get rid of these people, but they’re handcuffed. It’s this idiotic bail reform. They have arrested a couple of people, but they are back within 24 hours.”
NYC Burger King hit with $15M suit, accused of allowing ‘open air drug bazaar’ run by ‘professional’ dealers https://t.co/rfyK8xal0T pic.twitter.com/HgOezAji5u
— New York Post (@nypost) March 17, 2024
Two arrests were made and 143 calls to 911 pertaining to the restaurant were placed since Jan. 1, 2023, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) said, according to the outlet.
On Tuesday, a group of eight men and one woman reportedly blocked the fast-food restaurant’s doors, only allowing certain people inside as roughly a dozen customers watched from inside while eating burgers and fries. Members from the group were reportedly seen pocketing money from people they handed potential drugs to, the New York Post reported. (RELATED: Feds Rule On McDonald’s Lawsuit About Fixing Broken Ice Cream Machines)
The same group members were spotted loitering by the Burger King, play fighting and yelling amongst themselves Thursday, according to the outlet. One man received a summons, prompting him to shout at two policemen, “They work for Biden. Get the fuck out of here,” according to the outlet.
Evan Gillman, who lives near the Burger King, said the group was at the restaurant “all day” and that “no one goes in there to eat.” Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, told the outlet that the only people at the Burger King are “poor, homeless or dealing drugs.”
Kaufman said that the neighborhood was “very quiet” when he first moved in. The plaintiff told the outlet that there is now “crazy people yelling and screaming every night.” His lawsuit accuses the Burger King restaurant and the chain’s corporate office of violating New York’s private nuisance law, according to the outlet.
“I’d like to leave on my own terms, not theirs,” Kaufman said.