Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Food
Amid Columbia's Expansion, Why The Closing Of A McDonald's In Harlem Hurts
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 10, 2019
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 .
Joe Schumacher
By
Elizabeth Kim
Published Sep 10, 2019
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
It may seem odd to consider a McDonald’s a beloved neighborhood haunt, but for nearly four decades, the franchise with the trademark golden arches on the corner of Broadway and 125th Street was a fast-food nexus and gathering spot in West Harlem. Located right off the 1 subway station and near the West Side Highway, it catered to local residents, cabbies, and Columbia University students. Open 24 hours, the branch featured both a parking lot and a drive-thru, seemingly extravagant amenities in an urban environment.
But its location and size also made it a rarefied real estate commodity amid New York’s development boom. In 2004, to pave the way for its uptown expansion, Columbia bought the building and the land on which the McDonald’s stands, thereby sealing its fate.
So it was not a complete surprise when last Friday, Columbia announced its closure along with intentions to demolish the McDonald’s and a neighboring row of warehouses on 125th Street. The university has said that it plans to incorporate space for a new branch, but did not specify a timeline nor location.
New Yorkers are used to the shuttering of mainstay restaurants, but longtime customers mourned the demise of a global juggernaut, known for its mostly unhealthy menu and super-size it culture, as if it were a mom-and-pop. Although not the oldest McDonald's in Manhattan (that distinction goes to the location at Broadway and 96th Street, which was the first branch to open in New York City) the one at West 125th had been operating since 1982, according to city Department of Building records. Contrary to some comments, it was not the only McDonald's in Manhattan with a drive-thru.
“You know it’s memories for the neighborhood, and I’m very sad right now. When I tell my son he’s going to be very devastated,” a teary Miriam Blanco told the Columbia Spectator. The 61-year-old local resident said she regularly visits the restaurant after church with her sister.
Another patron and local churchgoer, José Hernández, described going to McDonald’s as a weekly tradition.
Grace Bertelli, a junior at Columbia, told Gothamist that students learned about the closure last week in an email about facilities and operational updates. The news, which came at the bottom, felt "nonchalant," she said.
"It was almost like they didn’t care they are gentrifying the area," she said.
On social media, people shared similar sentiments, along with photos.
The comments by Bertelli and others get at the root of the angst surrounding the shuttering of the 125th Street McDonald's. Facing north, the university’s $6.3 billion Manhattanville campus is well underway, having already sprouted two glassy buildings designed by starchitect Renzo Piano. The school’s biggest expansion in more than a century has not been without controversy. Curbed writer Nathan Kesinger described its demolitions of industrial buildings as having “diminished the soul of the community.” With inexpensive food options increasingly harder to come by, the prospect of losing the home of the Big Mac now triggers nostalgia.
Shortly after learning about the closure, Bertelli created the Facebook event “We all go to the 125th St McDonalds before it closes." More than 400 people RSVP'd in total. At around midnight on Friday, Bertelli said she arrived with about a couple dozen people to find the restaurant packed. She waited about a half hour before being able to order.
"They were just about out of everything," she said.
The staff, she said, seemed to take the closure in stride. According to Columbia, they have been offered jobs at other locations.
In exploring the neighborhood, the 125th Street McDonald's stood out to her because it has "such a retro look," she said. "It's clearly been there forever," she added. She could tell it was an institution. Every time she visited, the place was humming.
As a Columbia student, Bertelli said she felt partly to blame for the redevelopment that has resulted in uprooting of businesses and residents.
"I know Columbia needs to expand," she said. But she added, "I don’t think the neighborhood is going to be the same."
UPDATE: The original version of this story incorrectly stated the date in which Columbia purchased the McDonald's property. It was 2004, not 2013.
Tagged
food
closed for business
mcdonald's
development
gentrification
columbia university
Elizabeth Kim
Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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 .