It's a good time for some bad taste...

It's Friday. I don't understand the obsession that Albany legislators have with pretending to be fast food workers. But this is a great photo caption opportunity!

City Council seeks slimmer kids

From IB Times:

A bill introduced in New York City that would implement nutritional requirements for kids' meals at fast-food restaurants has the potential to curb childhood obesity if passed, according to an NYU Langone Medical Center study. Under the "Happy Meals" bill, fast-food chains would be required to include a serving of fruit, vegetables or whole grain in any meal marketed to children using toys or promotional items.

The bill, which was proposed by New York City Council member Ben Kallos, also would limit the meals to 500 calories or less, with fewer than 35 percent of calories coming from fat, only as much as 10 percent from saturated fat, fewer than 10 percent from added sugars and no more than 600 milligrams of sodium.

Why are we only raising the wage for fast food workers?

From the NY Times:

A proposed increase in the minimum wage in New York State will be substantial, but that’s really not what bothers some economists.

It’s that the raise would apply only to fast-food workers, and only if they work for a chain with at least 30 locations. A wage increase applying to such a narrow segment of the economy is bound to have unintended consequences.

“I have lots of concern with sector- and firm-size-specific minimum wages,” said Lawrence Katz, a labor economist at Harvard University whose research on the economic effects of minimum wages has led him to support higher ones that apply to all workers, both at the national level and especially in jurisdictions like New York, where average incomes and the cost of living are above average.

Some of the problems with a narrow minimum wage are obvious. They don’t do much to raise incomes for workers who don’t work at fast-food chains. And they impose higher costs on some businesses than others; in this case, much higher, as chain fast-food restaurants will be required to pay approximately $6 an hour more than their homegrown competitors.

Residents identify Jamaica's problems

From Karen Clements:

Poor transportation, too many fast food options and crime are some of the barriers residents told Downtown Jamaica’s three Business Improvement Districts, which prevent them from visiting the area. This feedback was part of a forum hosted by the BIDs to gather resident input and participation on improving Downtown Jamaica.

Despite persistently low crime rates, Downtown Jamaica continues to suffer from the perception of being a crime ridden district. Part of that perception has to do with the large number of teens that congregate on Jamaica Avenue at the end of the school day. In addition, residents cite recent high profile police events, including the attack on a police officer by a machete wielding assailant.

Transportation was also an area of concern. Although the Jamaica Center Transit hub is located in the Downtown Jamaica District, residents mentioned how poor service curtails opportunities to shop and dine to just passing through

“I still wait thirty minutes for the Q6 bus,” said Vanessa Sparks a resident who participated in the forum.

“It would be great to get off work, pick up a meal, put it in a bag and then take it home,” said Maria Starks, a resident who participated in the forum and summed up the insights of her group.

In addition to an over abundance of similar stores and too many fast food chains, residents felt that Downtown retail is geared towards a younger market. Sneakers and trendy clothing are heavily marketed, however goods that would be of interest to mature adults and seniors are not readily available and that audience is not coveted. The quality of merchandise and poor service were also in question with residents suggesting the addition of higher end retail.

Residents didn’t only look at external forces as the cause for their for their lack of interest in the area, but took ownership for their part as well for their lack of participation.

Meeting about burned-out building

From DNA Info:

Residents who have ideas for the future of the damaged Bruson Building can share them at an upcoming town hall sponsored by local pols, officials said.

The building — which was heavily damaged in a multi-alarm fire last April — is currently undergoing renovations and is looking to fill multiple empty storefronts and offices by next year, according to a member of the trust that owns it.

The meeting will be held Jan. 22, 2015, at 7 p.m. at the Jewish Center of Jackson Heights, and is co-sponsored by by Sen. Jose Peralta, Rep. Joe Crowley, Assemblyman Michael DenDekker and Councilman Danny Dromm.

Craig Bruno, who is part of the trust that owns the Bruson Building, told DNAinfo New York earlier this month that he'd like to see "major" chains, including Popeye's and Burger King, fill up the stores on 37th Avenue.

Ah, they want your crappy fast food ideas.

Tax cut proposed for burger joints that allow seniors to linger (not an early April Fool's joke)

From the Times Ledger:

State Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Flushing) has proposed a new tax credit for restaurants that allow seniors to hang out in their establishments.

The new tax credit is an attempt to tackle a fight between business owners and seniors who sit socializing in their restaurants for hours on end.

The issue was highlighted when a group of Korean seniors were kicked out of a Flushing McDonald’s by police after spending hours sitting in the franchise after only buying a $1.09 cup of coffee each.

News of the controversy spread quickly all the way to Korea and prompted Kim to broker a compromise between the two groups that would have the McDonald’s extend its maximum sitting times during non-lunch hours, which the seniors agreed to respect. Kim said the spat was indicative of a larger problem that seniors do not have enough public spaces where they want to congregate.

“Older adults don’t want to be confined to one place. Instead of telling them where they have to go, we’ll go to them,” Kim said. “This is one of the possible solutions than can help alleviate the problem.”

A couple weeks after the controversy in Flushing, a group of predominantly Guyanese seniors were kicked out of a Burger King in Richmond Hill for staying too long.

Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows), whose district includes the Burger King, is setting up a summit so that the Guyanese seniors and the owner of the burger joint can reach a compromise similar to Kim’s.

The lunatics have taken over the asylum, folks.

"Coming to America" landmark in process of demolition?

Got word yesterday that the Wendy's restaurant at 85-07 Queens Blvd, which was transformed into "McDowell's" for the 1988 movie Coming to America, is in the process of demolition. I haven't been over there myself to check it out, but I looked it up online and didn't find an active demo permit.

A new building permit for a 7-story mixed use building was applied for on 3/12/2013, but the plan exam was rejected.

The Queens Tribune reported on the plan 8 years ago, but there hasn't been any activity at the site until now.

Most interesting is that the designation "LPCA - LANDMARKS-BSA ARCHEOLOGY RESTRICTIONS" is listed on DOB's website. Are people buried here?

Hmmm... I'll be looking into this further.

Meng upset at being called Chinese

From the Daily News:

Assemblywoman Grace Meng said employees of a Boston Market in Flushing repeatedly referred to her as “la china” during a January visit to the chain restaurant.

“Whether they were trying to be racist or not — it’s not appropriate,” said Meng (D-Flushing). “I was the only customer in there.”

Meng, who has a basic knowledge of Spanish, confronted the workers after paying for her dinner, but they only shrugged.

“They should know better. I felt very disrespected,” she said.

The recent spate of intolerant fast-food employees, such as the Papa John’s cashier who put “lady chinky eyes” on a patron’s receipt, made the situation even more agitating, Meng said.

“Some kind of trend is going on in the city,” she said. “I think the employers need to take a more active role.”

Looks like someone is easily offended and/or wanted a cheap headline. La China means "the Chinese woman" in Spanish. It's not a slur. If she understood Latino culture, she wouldn't be so upset. Maybe the workers aren't the ones needing sensitivity training.

Hefty lefty happier with Happy Meals

From the NY Post:

McDonald’s fiercest critic on the City Council is becoming as soft as a sesame-seed bun when it comes to the hamburger conglomerate.

Councilman Leroy Comrie (D-Queens) stood shoulder-to-shoulder with McDonald’s execs yesterday at the chain’s outpost in Cambria Heights, Queens, to tout the latest version of the Happy Meal, which comes with apple slices, fewer fries and less calories.

The portly politician, whose wife said he weighs around 335 pounds, said the move by McDonald’s to slim down the Happy Meal means his threat to ban fast-food joints from giving out toys in children’s meals worked.

“You know, it was never an absolute ban. It was more of an encouragement for people to do better,” Comrie said.

“McDonald’s is taking the lead, but we have other service restaurants that we’re still looking at.”

Hefty lefty wants to ban Happy Meal toys

From the Daily News:

A rotund city councilman who admits his eating habits are off the scales wants to make kids' fast food meals less happy and more healthy.

"I am an example," said Comrie, who refused to say how much he weighs but is thought to be over 300 pounds. "If you look at me. I enjoy fast food and unhealthy eating."

The Queens councilman on Wednesday will press the Fast Food Toy Ban Bill, which limit any meal that comes with a toy to under 500 calories.

That could mean some heavy changes for the big name chains.

Any restaurant caught hawking toys with crappy food would face fines ranging from $200 to $2,500 - the penalty increasing for repeat offenders.

Daily News remembers Niederstein's

From the Daily News:

Six years ago, the German restaurant Niederstein's still served platefuls of bratwurst and Wiener schnitzel for its hungry faithful in Middle Village.

Today, a cowboy hat outlined in red marks the spot where Niederstein's stood on Metropolitan Ave., welcoming visitors to its fast-food successor, Arby's.

Longtime residents still shudder when recounting the loss of the 150-year-old local institution after its purchase by Arby's and demolition in 2005.

"That kind of ripped the gut out of us," said Bob Holden, president of the Juniper Park Civic Association. Since the the sandwich joint replaced one of Queens' most well-known eateries, he added, "Middle Village hasn't been the same."

Locals say the exit of Niederstein's - where generations gripped beer mugs while celebrating birthdays and weddings - symbolizes about a decade's worth of lost working-class hangouts in Queens.

The restaurant became a popular stop after funerals, too, given its proximity to multiple cemeteries. But it met its demise after a co-owner died. His slice of the property passed on to his estate and the land was eventually sold.

Oh well, there's always Zum Stammtisch, which the Times Ledger thinks is in Ridgewood...

Photo from Forgotten-NY.

Girls gone wild at Wendy's

From Fox 5:

A fight broke out at a Wendy's in Queens Village, leaving one of the workers seriously injured on Friday, Jan. 21, 2011. The disturbing scene from inside the Wendy's was captured on video and posted on YouTube. In the video, you can see the cashier get pummeled to the ground by teenage girls.

A Wendy's employee told Fox 5 that it started with one and all of them jumped in and punched her. The worker said it all began when the group started fighting and throwing food. She was behind the counter when her friend walked over to try and stop them, the worker said.

Two of the teens have been identified by school officials as students at Martin van Buren High School, which is just down the block.

And we wonder why we lose all our teachers to Long Island...

Bayside Wendy's robber sought

From the Queens Chronicle:

Police are on the lookout for a brazen robber who held up a Wendy’s restaurant in Bayside on Aug. 8.

The suspect entered the fast-food eatery at 220-06 Northern Blvd. at 9:40 p.m. and displayed a black revolver. He then jumped over the counter and demanded the cash registers be opened.

The robber took an unspecified amount of cash and fled the scene on foot. A security camera at Wendy’s, aimed at the registers, shows the criminal taking money behind the counter.

The suspect is described as a male black, approximately 25 years old, 6 feet tall and weighing 180 pounds. He was wearing a maroon windbreaker, red polo shirt, blue shorts, white leggings, white sneakers and a dark colored hat and was carrying a dark backpack.

Cemetery gets the last laugh

From the Queens Gazette:

Four Queens teenagers found themselves behind bars on July 26 after they toppled headstones and otherwise vandalized a historic Middle Village cemetery.

The teens were spotted during their rampage by two officials at All Faiths Cemetery – both retired city cops.

Police said Cemetery President Dan Austin and Director Drew Nelson took off after the snickering teens, chasing them through the 225- acre cemetery.

“The kids taunted these two guys,” a police source said. “They laughed all the way out of the cemetery, and flipped them the bird as they scaled a fence to get away.”

Sources said the teens got their just deserts when they ran to a nearby Arby’s Restaurant where they found Nelson blocking a front entrance and Austin staked out at another.

“They didn’t know what happened,” the sources said. “There was nowhere to run.”

Why poor people are fat

From Dekalb and Wyckoff Avenues

DOH: Fast food is good for TB patients

From the NY Post:

While Mayor Bloomberg was banning trans fats and requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts, his Health Department was dishing out free coupons to McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken, The Post has learned.

Since 1993, eight years before Bloomberg took office, the agency has been giving out $5 vouchers to the fast-food joints, along with round-trip MetroCards and coupons to variety stores, to encourage tuberculosis patients to return to clinics around the city for six-month treatment programs.

The agency says TB cases in the city have dropped 75 percent since patients started receiving the freebies, but a former department employee who managed TB control when the incentives began trashed the program.

"It's a big hypocrisy when they've been campaigning against people eating that stuff," the ex-employee said.

"The hypocrisy is that the city launches a campaign, as you well know, of making restaurants list calories and all that, while at the same time they themselves are proliferating free McDonald's incentive cards."

The ex-employee said he railed against it at the time because he felt "ridiculous being part of an operation handing out high-calorie gifts when my own bosses were campaigning against it."

Yet another Bloomberg initiative turns out wrong

From 1010WINS:

New York City's pioneering law requiring restaurant chains to post calories on menus doesn't change the eating habits of people in low-income areas, according to a new study.

Half of the study's customers said they noticed calorie counts. Twenty-eight percent of those said the calorie postings had influenced what they ordered. Nine out of 10 of those said they'd made healthier choices as a result.

But receipts collected after purchases showed people had ordered slightly more calories than the typical customer before the law was put in place, researchers said.

Michael F. Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit health advocacy group in Washington that supports calorie posting, suggested low-income people were more interested in cost than calories.

For example, McDonald's offers a 300-calorie cheeseburger for $1.

Duh.

Harlem condo owners not fans of Mickey D's

From the NY Post:

It's an attack on the Big Mac.

Residents of the most expensive condo in Harlem are turning their noses up at a planned McDonald's in their midst.

Aghast at the potential grease stench, rodents, loitering and trash, not to mention plummeting property values, some say they would rather chip in and rent or buy the ground-floor space themselves than have the golden arches move in.

You guys have to see this thing in person. The balconies jut forward and run along the wall of the building next door.

Reyna goes ga-ga over new fast food place

From NY1:

"Pollo Campero was founded by a Guatamalan family in 1971 and has opened ever since 52 locations in the United States but we are very lucky to have the first in New York City in the 5 boroughs here in Ridgewood, Queens." - City Councilwoman Diana Reyna

Hey lady, didn't you get the memo? There is a war on fast food in this city. You aren't supposed to be cutting ribbons when they open.

Crispy Chicken Sandwich - 889 cal
Yuca Fries - 315 cal
Mango beverage - 376 cal
Total - 1580 cal

And there is another one of these restaurants in Corona on Roosevelt Avenue. Someone didn't fact check...

Doorman vs. fast food

From the NY Times:

Just in from the department of not-so-surprising news: a study has found that young teenagers tend to be fatter when there are fast-food restaurants within one block of their schools.

The report found an increased obesity rate of at least 5.2 percent among teenagers at schools where fast-food outlets were a tenth of a mile — roughly one city block — or less away.

To remedy that, Eric N. Gioia, a city councilman from Queens, wants to stop fast-food restaurants from opening so close to the city’s schools.

Here's an idea: Why not teach the kids that fast food is bad and let them learn how to make healthy choices for themselves?