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Mac Attack: Far Rockaway Pol Upset Over McDonald's Ad


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A new McDonald's campaign advertising iced coffee and warning subway riders not to fall asleep and risk "ending up in Far Rockaway" has angered some residents, including the city councilman representing the district.

 

Councilman James Sanders Jr., the Democrat serving that part of Queens, has taken the unusual step of banning Ronald McDonald, the fast-food chain's lanky upbeat clown, from the area.

 

"I can assure the marketing boys over at McDonald's that most people don't wind up in the Rockaways by accident," Sanders said in a statement. "They come for the beauty, serenity and entertainment that our peninsula offers, especially in the hot summer months when our beaches are overrun with visitors from Manhattan who flock to our shores."

 

Sanders referred to the ad as a heartless attack on the Far Rockaway customer base.

 

"I am hereby banning Ronald McDonald from our peninsula," Sanders declared in his statement. "He can no longer walk our 7 miles of boardwalk, or sunbathe on our 14 miles of beach front, and I better not catch him frolicking on a summer day in our cool, relaxing water."

 

Sanders did make clear the potential for Ronald McDonald's redemption.

 

"I will, however, allow Ronald back to the Rockaways if he comes out to visit, by train, and express his love for our community," he said.

 

Jennifer Nagy, New York metro region marketing manager for McDonald's, said the message of the campaign was never to insult the neighborhood, and said the ads would be replaced "immediately."

 

"Our intention was to add humor to the situation of falling asleep on the subway, missing a local home stop and waking up at the end of the line," she wrote in a statement sent to NBC New York. "The goal was to position McDonald's Iced Coffee as a solution to instead stay awake. We never meant to disparage Far Rockaway or those who live there."

 

Link: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Far-Rockaway-McDonalds-Ad-Ronald-McDonald.html

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LOL I saw a guy get up out his car and go bang on a window of a car that attempted to pull out in front of him just down the block from the train station out there. I'm not surprised they'd get pissed over an ad. They need to down a couple of white castles and chill the hell out. I thought it was funny.

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To me this is just one more example of how overly sensitive we have become in this country. When I read the article the first thing I thought was, "Oh yeah, that makes sense because Rockaway is so far from mid-town. It's funny because it's true." I didn't think, Eewwww....Far Rockaway."

 

The ad wasn't meant to be a dig at Rockway, but merely an observation of it's distance from Manattan. Geez... if I were on the A, planned to get off at Hoyt-Schermerhorn, fell asleep, and woke up in Far Rockaway I'd be upset - not because I was in Rockaway but because I would have so far to get back to where I wanted to be.

 

People need to lighten up.

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To me this is just one more example of how overly sensitive we have become in this country. When I read the article the first thing I thought was, "Oh yeah, that makes sense because Rockaway is so far from mid-town. It's funny because it's true." I didn't think, Eewwww....Far Rockaway."

 

The ad wasn't meant to be a dig at Rockway, but merely an observation of it's distance from Manattan. Geez... if I were on the A, planned to get off at Hoyt-Schermerhorn, fell asleep, and woke up in Far Rockaway I'd be upset - not because I was in Rockaway but because I would have so far to get back to where I wanted to be.

 

People need to lighten up.

 

Agree 100% on above statement bro. Councilman Sanders instead of focusing on the 'negative' of Far Rockaway by Mickey D's put attention on improving the crappy mass transit options his district has.

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I found this ad quite humorous because this exact thing happened to my friend. He fell asleep on the train, and woke up in Far Rockaway.

 

While I can see both sides of the argument, there is also the ad for Manhattan Mini Storage that says "NYC is home to xx sports teams, and also the Mets"

 

Quite harsh, but still funny.

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"NYC is home to xx sports teams, and also the Mets" Quite harsh, but still funny.

 

:P Now THAT'S funny -- but then again, I'm a Yankees fan. I'm sure my brother, a rabid Mets fan, probably would not see the amusement.

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lol... There must be some truth to that ad. That's why he's having such a sissy fit. I mean from my understanding the area has been infested with crack and other drugs that have been passing through the housing projects down there for years. Now what I'm interested in knowing is is the crime concentrated in just one area or throughout that southern portion of Queens because I would think that with the express buses going through there that there must be some decent pockets. I mean generally speaking express buses pass through more middle class neighbourhoods where folks can afford it. Far out or not, someone has to be riding the QM16 and QM17 and whatever else they have out there for them to be running. I also see that the LIRR runs over there as well which is not a cheap ride.

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I found this ad quite humorous because this exact thing happened to my friend. He fell asleep on the train, and woke up in Far Rockaway.

 

While I can see both sides of the argument, there is also the ad for Manhattan Mini Storage that says "NYC is home to xx sports teams, and also the Mets"

 

Quite harsh, but still funny.

 

...and you don't see the Mets getting all pissed off about it, now do you?

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Well I would be pissed if I fell asleep and ended up in Far Rockaway....having to do that long ride back into mainline queens.

 

I'm sure we've all fell asleep and missed our stop...it happened to my mom's fiancée except he got off at Broad Channel.

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if they spent this much energy complaining about Far Rockaway being made fun of and put it into actually cleaning up that place and getting rid of the crime and stuff, Far Rockaway would be just like its neighbor to the west Rockaway Park and actually be a decent place to go to.

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if they spent this much energy complaining about Far Rockaway being made fun of and put it into actually cleaning up that place and getting rid of the crime and stuff, Far Rockaway would be just like its neighbor to the west Rockaway Park and actually be a decent place to go to.

 

Could not say it any better. During the summer where does 90% of vistors go in the Rockaways for beach fun. Sure as hell it not the area of Far Rock.:eek:

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and these are the people we vote too lead us smh he is not only stupid and lost he is nasty and needs help. anyone can see what this add was for and i thought it was very funny not anything else

 

There so much more other more important issues than Councilman Sanders should focus on than this.*Cough* improved bus service, better schools and safety to start.

 

As a whole the American public has gotten really clueless and lets the media influence too much their choices.

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lol... There must be some truth to that ad. That's why he's having such a sissy fit. I mean from my understanding the area has been infested with crack and other drugs that have been passing through the housing projects down there for years. Now what I'm interested in knowing is is the crime concentrated in just one area or throughout that southern portion of Queens because I would think that with the express buses going through there that there must be some decent pockets. I mean generally speaking express buses pass through more middle class neighbourhoods where folks can afford it. Far out or not, someone has to be riding the QM16 and QM17 and whatever else they have out there for them to be running. I also see that the LIRR runs over there as well which is not a cheap ride.

 

You can't base it on whether or not it is served by the LIRR, since both the LIRR and Metro-North pass through poor, crime-filled areas. The LIRR passes through East NY, and Metro-North passes through Melrose and East Tremont (plus, some of the towns they pass through in the suburbs are relatively poor, though not as poor as some areas in NYC)

 

Generally, the rule is that, the further east you go on the peninsula, the poorer it gets. Neponsit and Belle Harbor are upper-middle class, Hammels and Rockaway Park are basically middle class, Edgemere and Arvene are fairly poor, Bayswater is lower-middle class, and Far Rockaway is fairly poor, with a couple of middle class pockets on the southern side.

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You can't base it on whether or not it is served by the LIRR, since both the LIRR and Metro-North pass through poor, crime-filled areas. The LIRR passes through East NY, and Metro-North passes through Melrose and East Tremont (plus, some of the towns they pass through in the suburbs are relatively poor, though not as poor as some areas in NYC)

 

Generally, the rule is that, the further east you go on the peninsula, the poorer it gets. Neponsit and Belle Harbor are upper-middle class, Hammels and Rockaway Park are basically middle class, Edgemere and Arvene are fairly poor, Bayswater is lower-middle class, and Far Rockaway is fairly poor, with a couple of middle class pockets on the southern side.

 

Of course they do, BUT if people are using it, it is an indication that some of these people are not all poor on the peninsula. That was the point. The fares for the LIRR and the express bus are high and generally those who are poor cannot afford to ride them.

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You can't base it on whether or not it is served by the LIRR, since both the LIRR and Metro-North pass through poor, crime-filled areas. The LIRR passes through East NY, and Metro-North passes through Melrose and East Tremont (plus, some of the towns they pass through in the suburbs are relatively poor, though not as poor as some areas in NYC)

 

Generally, the rule is that, the further east you go on the peninsula, the poorer it gets. Neponsit and Belle Harbor are upper-middle class, Hammels and Rockaway Park are basically middle class, Edgemere and Arvene are fairly poor, Bayswater is lower-middle class, and Far Rockaway is fairly poor, with a couple of middle class pockets on the southern side.

 

kinda off topic but how is the area of Far Rock immediately by the LIRR station?

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I found the ad funny. I mean, you can't go no further out than Far Rockaway. About 2.5-3 hours from end to end as a local, you got a 4 mile stretch between 2 of the stations, that sounds type far

 

kinda off topic but how is the area of Far Rock immediately by the LIRR station?

 

Basically just as same as the rest of the area

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Of course they do, BUT if people are using it, it is an indication that some of these people are not all poor on the peninsula. That was the point. The fares for the LIRR and the express bus are high and generally those who are poor cannot afford to ride them.

 

1) Their ridership is lower than that of the average express route (even taking into account the fact that they run rush hours only). The average trip has 23-24 riders on it, not even filling up half of the bus.

 

2) You have to consider that part of the reason that these type of routes have high ridership is because the alternatives are poor. The only alternative is the (A), which means you'll be sitting for a while on hard seats passing through some rough areas.

 

Think about it this way: If you go out to some rural counties, you'll see that everybody has a car, even if they earn very little money, simply because there is no reasonable alternative to getting around. It is a similar idea here.

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