From I Love the Upper Westside
McDonald’s, Guns and Community: The Neighborhood Has Ideas After Another Shooting
On Halloween night, two teenage males were shot near the McDonald’s at 2049 Broadway and West 71st Street. One of the victims is a student at the nearby Martin Luther King High School. While no arrests have been made, the incident has prompted the community to confront gun violence, a reoccurring issue in the area.
The West 71st Street Block Association has proposed ten measures to enhance the safety and cleanliness of Sherman Square Pedestrian Plaza, the area near McDonald’s between West 70th and 71st streets. Key suggestions include increasing security by ensuring police presence in the area from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and having McDonald’s station a security guard inside the restaurant during the same hours.
The block association has also called for the removal of Little Italy Pizza’s sidewalk seating, which currently lacks a permit in the city’s sidewalk café database. They propose prohibiting sidewalk permits for businesses in the area, citing congestion and obstructed pedestrian flow. Additionally, they recommend removing all street vendors, except for the existing fruit cart and newspaper stand. Other suggestions include relocating Little Italy Pizza’s garbage bins from the curb, removing bike racks from the plaza, and installing a bike corral in the existing curb lane on the west side of Amsterdam Avenue between West 70th and 71st streets. The association also advocates for a shared trash storage container for local commercial businesses. The plan also calls for daily sidewalk cleanings and Sanitation Department enforcement of business sanitation responsibilities.
The area has seen several shootings since 2021. On October 28, 2021, a man in his 70s was shot near the same McDonald’s. In August 2022, a man was shot in the foot at Lincoln Convenience, a now-closed smoke shop. In March 2023, a 17-year-old student from Martin Luther King High School was shot twice and staggered two blocks back to school.
Brewer agreed that a police presence at the McDonald’s is necessary for the foreseeable future, and that the bicycles need to be removed. ILTUWS has been observing a police presence inside and outside the fast food restaurant recently.
When asked about the multiple shootings in the area as an unresolved issue, Brewer responded, “It needs to be solved, even before the shooting, it needs to be solved. The kids, the bikes, the garbage—it doesn’t gel. It’s a space that needs attention.” Brewer believes the latest shooting is bringing everybody together and credited the West 71st Street Block Association for their 10-point plan (you can view it here). Future meetings are planned to stay vigilant on the matter.
Seen posted on Friday
Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal said in a statement to ILTUWS: “I think the suggestions from the West 71st Street Block Association are sensible and straightforward, including a renewed police presence, bike rack removal, and containerization of trash. We also need to engage the local high school administration to ensure that young people have options for after-school activities, as opposed to congregating on the plaza. I plan on meeting regularly with Council Member Brewer, Assembly Member Rosenthal, the precinct, the block association, and other stakeholders to address the sense of disorder that permeates the plaza and pursue the block association’s suggestions.”
“The West 71st Street Block Association is grateful that our elected officials and the police responded immediately to provide a police presence in that spot on school days. However, with one shooting each year in the area, we need to maintain a sense of urgency around implementing solutions to this dangerous plaza area. Someone may be killed in the next shooting, and we cannot tolerate these conditions,” said Katina Ellison, block association co-president in response to the recent shooting.
