No Seniors Allowed

Seniors Booted from Local McDonald's

By David Greene

BRONX NEW YORK, JUNE11-They have traded in their Big Macs for golden chicken nuggets as a group of about a dozen seniors have been tossed from a Norwood McDonald's, and asked to never return.

The group has been meeting at the E. 204 Street location of the hamburger chain for the last two-years and claim they have been harassed by workers from the very beginning.

According to senior Norman Fisher, who claims the group has been singled out by one manager and most recently a security guard, who are enforcing the stores 20-minute policy for tables.

Fisher claimed, "You have some coffee and some apple pie, you're still entitled to go up after 20-minutes and get a hamburger and some french fries and later have a coffee," adding that the seniors usually spend about two-hours in a booth.

The angry senior continued, "She's actually come up and said, 'You don't have the right to sit here, we need the seats,' meanwhile, we have a tray of food in front of us."

According to both sides, offices have been called to McDonald's several times, when after an April 18 incident, when staff members informed the police that the group was no longer welcomed at McDonald's.

An angry Fisher continued, "You have people coming in here dealing drugs and drinking in this place and the guard picks on us... the sign should read no seniors allowed."

The group maintains that they had filed a complaint with the McDonald's corporate headquarters just two-hours before the final confrontation.

Fisher claimed he had also filed a complaint with the Commission for Human Rights.

One manager at the fast food giant, stated, "They've been disturbing a lot of people since they've been coming here."

A second manager claimed the barring of the group was not just because seniors stayed beyond 20-minutes or a claim made by one customer that members panhandle, but stated, "It wasn't just that, it was a lot of stuff."

The group of seniors have since relocated across the street, where the manager of Kennedy Fried Chicken has welcomed the group's business.

Keisha, a spokeswoman with the McDonald's corporate office stated, "We actually don't know what's going on at the local store."

Asked about the 20-minute seating policy, Keisha responded, "That's actually not a national policy, that's the store's decision because 85 percent of our stores are franchised-owned and operated and it may be that owner's decision to set that 20-minute policy at that store."

The spokeswoman also confirmed that it was the individual owners of the McDonald's at both the Jerome Avenue and E. 204 Street locations, who recently banned the placement of free local newspapers.

Repeated attempts to contact the franchise owner of the E. 204 Street location were unsuccessful.