There’s A Battle Brewing Over The Only Chick-Fil-A In New York City

By admin on July 28, 2012

chick fil a sandwich

There’s only one Chick-fil-A location in New York City. It’s at 5 University Place on the campus of New York University in Manhattan.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has already stated that he has no problem with its presence, noting that it’s not the government’s business to get involved.

He disagreed with the mayors of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, who all spoke out against Chick-fil-A following president and COO Dan Cathy’s statements about the definition of marriage.

But not all NYC politicians feel the same way as Mayor Bloomberg — especially Christine Quinn, NYC’s first-ever openly gay City Council speaker. She’s expected to run for mayor in 2013.

Quinn wants Chick-fil-A out.

“We find the remarks made by Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy to be repugnant and un-American,” writes Quinn in a petition she put up on Change.org. “In New York City, we stand up against intolerance and homophobia. We demand the Chick-fil-A executive apologize and change his position.”

Is it possible for NYU to kick out Chick-fil-A? Well, NYU is a private university with a large number of gay students, so it may be possible for it to get out of the current contract with Chick-fil-A, or just not renew it once the deal is up, according to the New York Observer. The food court that houses the Chick-fil-A is currently closed for the summer.

This particular Chick-fil-A was contested even before president and COO Dan Cathy’s statements about marriage created a firestorm. Students protested and petitioned in an attempt to remove the restaurant back in March after revelations that Chick-fil-A’s charity arm had donated millions to anti-gay groups.

The protesters’ plans were eventually struck down by the NYU Student Senators Council, but now, the movement has been resurrected. The petition has been quickly gaining signatures again, and people outside university walls are getting involved.

Quinn, for instance, has even sent a letter to NYU president John Sexton, urging him to boot the Chick-fil-A, which would effectively kick the chain out of NYC.

Here’s the full letter, acquired by the Observer:

christine quinn chick fil a