NYC Burger King is slapped with $15million lawsuit after it is turned into an ‘open air drug bazaar’ by dealers and users

A Burger King in New York City has been hit with a $15 million lawsuit over allegations that the fast-food restaurant has turned into an “open-air drug bazaar.”

The restaurant, located at 106 Fulton Street in the Financial District, was sued by 69-year-old former resident and filmmaker Kevin Kaufman, who labeled the street “a neighborhood in crisis.”

According to the lawsuit, obtained by the New York PostKaufman has targeted that location and the Burger King partnership office, accusing them of violating the state’s private nuisance law.

Lawlessness is common on the site, with photos of drug users and videos of fights posted online.

Kaufman has asked the court to order the location to “stop terrorizing and altering Fulton Street” and has targeted the restaurant’s franchisee, Lalmir Sultanzada, 66.

“He’s not taking responsibility, he’s throwing it into the laps of the police instead of hiring security and monitoring his own store,” Kaufman said.

The eight to 10 “professional drug dealers” set up their “base of operations” both inside the Burger King and outside the entrance, the lawsuit said.

The irate filmmaker added that due to the Big Apple’s “idiotic” and lax bail reform laws, police have handcuffed those involved, but “they’ll be back within 24 hours.”

While he disagrees with the existing system, Kaufman did say that NYPD officers are the “only ones who seem to be responsive and listening.”

The phone went unanswered when DailyMail.com contacted the restaurant, and Burger King’s office did not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

According to the NYPD, 143 calls to 911 have been made regarding this specific Burger King since January 1, 2023, but the details remain unclear.

The New York Post reported that there were numerous encounters inside and outside the fast food restaurant this week alone.

On Tuesday, the outlet said a group of eight women and men were seen outside the door and “blocked the entrance to the restaurant for hours.”

A man in the group was seen grabbing cash before pocketing it from another man, just before quickly handing over something in exchange, the New York Post reported.

Other individuals were seen drinking openly outside the Burger King, smoking marijuana, holding “meetings” inside while customers ate, and “shadow boxing” each other.

Another resident who has lived on Fulton Street for 15 years and wishes to remain anonymous said, “This is around the corner from the mayor, his office is there, and it’s like, ‘Dude, clean up your neighborhood.’

Mayor Eric Adams’ office is just steps away from the troubled restaurant on Broadway.

Another concerned resident, who also preferred to remain anonymous, said: ‘How does this Burger King continue to exist and why isn’t it doing something about it?’

“The people who scare me are the people this crowd attracts. They are not mentally safe. . . . There are hours in the night when we no longer feel safe walking our dog. That is a problem.’

He added that, amid all the people who have “obviously gotten into drugs,” the homeless people who hang around the restaurant engage in “an absolutely terrorizing shouting match” about once a month.

In a video posted by Fulton St Coalition on X on January 4, a fight broke out between two people when one person was violently pushed into the street as cars drove by.

“I completely agree that this city is a mess and that Fulton Street in New York now has entire gangs that have taken over the streets,” the post said.

‘Open drug trafficking and intimidation of community members. @BurgerKing is housing the gangs and getting cutbacks.”

Kaufam has made it clear that most of his anger is directed at Sultanzada, a franchisee that also runs other fast-food restaurants such as Dunkin’ Donuts and Popeye’s in the city and on Long Island.

In response to the increase in crime at his restaurant, Sultanzada said he has also become a victim.

‘They hang around, they throw everything in the shops. A few times they hit one of my managers,” he said.

“We have the same problem everywhere: 125th Street, same problem; 166th Street, same problem; go to the Bronx, same problem.”

As for taking the blame for the rampant crime on Fulton Street, Sultanzada said it is out of his control and it is up to police to get to the bottom of it.

“They have to find a solution for those bums, not me,” he said.

Since 2023, there have been more than 600 NYPD patrols and visits to that block, and the department has called it a “constant focus for the First Precinct.”

According to NYPD data, major crimes in the area, including Fulton Center and Burger King, increased 2.4 percent this year, along with a 14 percent increase in felonies, a seven percent increase in petty theft and an increase of 52 percent in burglaries. .