Police officers were sent to a Flushing, N.Y. McDonald's following a call from the restaurant's general manager about senior citizen patrons reportedly staying at the location from early morning into nighttime hours The New York Times reported.
"They ordered us out," Mr. Lee said from his seat in the same McDonald's booth a week after the incident, beneath a sign that said customers have 20 minutes to finish their food. (He had already been there two hours.) "So I left," he said. "Then I walked around the block and came right back again."
Customers have 20 minutes to eat their meals, and drink their beverages according to The Times.
"Do you think you can drink a large coffee within 20 minutes?" customer David Choi, 77 told The Times. "No, it's impossible."
The group have reportedly sat on benches in the McDonald's for hours for the past five years without a problem until recently starting with four calls to 911 to remove the customers dating back to November The Times reported. The customers have also brought their walkers, canes, and wheelchairs.
"It's a McDonald's not a senior center," Martha Anderson general manager at the McDonald's told The Times.
The restaurant has said the issue is hurting business because customers use up tables at the same time they share small fries
Police officers have visited the scene up to three times a day while on the job The Times reported. The customers then return when law enforcement leaves The Times reported.
Coffee has reportedly spilled, there has also been hurtful words tossed The Times reported.
The Korean Community Service center has established a business selling coffee for 25 cents based on the efforts of Kwang Kim, its president who heard about the situation The Times reported.
"I think I have to go to McDonald's and ask why they're there," Kim told The Times.
