Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Fight-Friendly Village McDonald's To Improve Security By Pretending It's A Bar
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 29, 2012
Modified Mar 29, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Mar 29, 2012
Modified Mar 29, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Earlier this week, City Council Speaker and mayoral hopeful Christine Quinn called for a boycott of the West Village McDonald's that has attracted three high-profile incidents in the last year. That potential boycott seemed to light a fire under management: the commanding officer of the Sixth Precinct said police met with franchise owner Carmen Paulino last night to discuss ways of increasing security. "What we're trying to convince McDonald's to do, and what I think they've been receptive to, is treating their McDonald's as if it were a bar past a certain hour of the night," said Deputy Inspector Brandon del Pozo.
"What they're getting is every negative aspect of having to deal with policing a bar without the high profit margin of actually selling alcohol," del Pozo added. Other ideas the franchise is considering: hiring off-duty NYPD officers to act as guards, giving police remote Internet access to the surveillance cameras, and cordoning off seating late at night to prevent customers from lingering.
Of course, this McDonald's has been talking about hiring more security for a long time now. Rayon McIntosh, the former McDonald's cashier who used a metal rod to beat up two customers who slapped him and then jumped over the counter last fall, said he and other employees had been asking management to get security for their location for months: "We were begging them to get security. The McDonald's itself is a problematic store. It has a high, concentrated number of people every day. In the Village, it's crazy."
Besides McIntosh's run in with those customers—for which he was found not guilty—other notable incidents included a brawl outside the store on St. Patrick's Day (video of that went viral). And last spring there was an alleged gay bashing just outside the restaurant. “Every business has a hand in the quality of life inside and outside their door,” Del Pozo added pointedly.
Tagged
fights
manhattan
mcdonald's
nypd
police
village
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE food
10 dishes that demonstrate the delicious diversity of curry in New York City
The global dish is shapeshifting and ubiquitous.
By
Robert Sietsema
Published Sep 12, 2026
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
Food
Frozen yogurt is back in New York City. So are the super long lines.
Is it worth the high price and ridiculous wait? Gothamist needed to find out.
By
Sonia Rao
5 NYC banana puddings as good as Magnolia's
By
Hannah Frishberg
Where to eat in Greenpoint, Brooklyn right now, from Polish to Sichuan to Iberian
By
Robert Sietsema
Can a congressional candidate's dumpling diplomacy win over Queens’ immigrant communities?
By
Caroline Shin
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .