These McD's shops in the bad neighborhoods described above sound really frightening. The MSC I know of that has a lot of these shops generally only pays reimbursement fees. I have to wonder why it's worth a free combo meal to endanger your personal safety.
There is a McD's a block away from where I live, and there's a homeless shelter 2 blocks away in what is otherwise a mixed business and affluent residential neighborhood a few blocks from the Empire State Building. There are always a few homeless people hanging around McD's begging or just standing around shooting the breeze with each other. I am a seasoned New Yorker and was told over 30 years ago when I moved here to just go on about my business and act like they aren't a threat or to ignore them. I've had a few mentally ill homeless people get in my face a few times before when I didn't give them money (it gets tiresome and most New Yorkers feel the same), but mostly they're harmless.
Last night a guy was asleep in the space between my building's outer door and inner door. He woke up when I came in and I told him the air outside was better than it was in there, and I opened the inner door and went upstairs. I considered calling the police for a second, but I think he was just sleeping off too many drinks. I couldn't tell for certain if he was homeless, because he looked well dressed enough and didn't smell. Never a dull moment around here ... but I'm never afraid for my life.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/26/2014 06:15PM by nycrocks.