Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Is This The Saddest McDonald's In The World?
By
Nell Casey
Published Jul 20, 2015
Modified Jul 20, 2015
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 .
Google Maps
By
Nell Casey
Published Jul 20, 2015
Modified Jul 20, 2015
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
The city's many McDonald's franchises have been hotbeds for violence in the past, but there's a different kind of extreme behavior happening at one Manhattan location. The Times takes a look at what is arguably the saddest McDonald's on the planet, an 8th Avenue location that's known for drug dealing, passed out addicts and the occasional spat of violence. The 34th Street restaurant is only a few blocks away from a clinic that dispenses methadone, the substance used to treat heroin addiction.
From the Times:
Many of the patrons run a circuit, from the methadone clinic to the front of the needle exchange and then down to the restaurant for a few hours to come down after the methadone, hang out with friends and maybe hustle some business. Those who still get high run a different circuit: Sometimes they will buy drugs in the bathroom and use them right away in a stall. Sometimes they will buy in the McDonald's but then walk around the corner to shoot up at the Wendy's, where three individual bathrooms upstairs each lock, offering more privacy than the McDonald's restrooms. But then they come back.
Regulars at the restaurant also routinely sell items besides drugs, like lotions and loose cigarettes. For the most part, it seems like the interactions are passive, though the Times notes that one customer is "always looking for a fight," especially after the security guard—who was stabbed on the job four years ago—leaves at 2 p.m. "Every day, I go through hell," the guard said. Join him here.
Tagged
heroin
manhattan
mcdonald's
methadone
ny times
Nell Casey
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 .