A Chick-fil-A restaurant is coming to the Queens Center Mall in the Fall of 2016 but not everyone is excited about it.
The news comes just months after the chain opened its first free-standing location in Midtown Manhattan.
"We are always evaluating potential new locations in the hopes of serving existing and new customers great food with remarkable service. It has been a longtime goal of ours to serve communities in New York, and we can at this time confirm our location at Queens Center mall is projected to open in fall 2016. We look forward to opening our first restaurant in Queens and serving all of our customers delicious food in an environment of genuine hospitality," Chick-Fil-A said in a statement.
However, Queens Councilman Daniel Dromm is asking officials at the Queens Center Mall to reconsider giving Chick-fil-A a lease at the property because the company does not support same-sex marriage.
"Chick-fil-A is anti-LGBT," said Dromm, who is openly gay. "I am deeply disturbed that Chick-fil-A continues to give 25% of their charitable contributions to anti-LGBT organizations, including over $1 million to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This group imparts a strong anti-LGBT message by forcing their employees and volunteers to adhere to a policy that prohibits same-sex love.
"It is outrageous that Chick-fil-A is quietly spreading its message of hate by funding these types of organizations. I hope that the Queens Center Mall will reconsider giving a company so deeply involved in anti-gay discrimination a lease on their property. Believers in equality should boycott these purveyors of hate."
In a response, Chick-fil-A said, "The Chick-fil-A culture and service tradition in our restaurants is to treat every person with honor, dignity and respect – regardless of their beliefs, race, creed, sexual orientation or gender. We are a restaurant company comprised of 80,000 individuals who represent different backgrounds and beliefs, and we are all focused on offering great food, service and hospitality."
The Chick-fil-A statement added, "Our intent is not to support groups with political agendas. The Chick-fil-A Foundation gives 100 percent of its dollars to programs supporting youth, education and the local communities in which our restaurants operate. The Chick-fil-A Foundation partners with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes specifically to provide free summer sports camps for hundreds of young students in urban environments throughout the nation."
Dromm is asking the management at the mall to reconsider giving Chick-fil-A a lease at the property. The mall's management would only confirm that Chick-fil-A will open in the food court but would not comment any further.