She’s an “Arch” angel. Wild packs of rowdy teens have allegedly created so much havoc at a Queens McDonald’s that they’ve hired a “McBouncer” to keep the kids at bay.
Claudia Zanabria, a McDonald’s crew member who survived stage 3 rectal cancer, says she was picked to police the teen terrors because she’s the “toughest” employee at the restaurant.
“This generation is really different…they push me, they disrespect me,” she told The Post.
A Queens McDonald’s on Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills has taken a hard line on minors, banning unaccompanied teens from dine‑in between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.—unless an adult is with them.
Police have called in 15 times this year for assaults, disorderly conduct and other offenses. The most serious incident occurred on May 21, when a 24‑year‑old man reported that a stranger slapped him and filed a complaint, the NYPD said.
By the time officers arrive, the rowdy teens usually have fled, leaving a trail of damage, Zanabria explained.
She began working at the McDonald’s six months ago, at the height of the rowdy streak, and has been tasked with keeping the place under control since.
In one video‑captured scuffle, two groups of teens stormed the joint from both entrances and fought, while customers watched in terror as punches flew. “They were even disrespectful to the cops,” she recounted.
The fast‑food spot is a short walk from a school on Metropolitan Avenue, which hosts three public schools drawing around 2,000 students, including Queens Metropolitan High School.
Since the ban began five months ago, as many as two dozen teens often gather outside the locked main entrance, while a second entrance is blocked with a trash can.
Zanabria steps outside and carefully checks each teen’s phone for mobile orders, serving them their meals outside if they’ve ordered in advance. If not, a teen may come in, but only one at a time, under her watchful eye. “They do everything to me, boys and girls, and try to get in. I don’t hit back, but I call the police,” she said.
The teens are not happy with the new policy. “It’s horrible, it’s so unnecessary,” one complained to the newspaper while braving 48‑degree weather to get a cheeseburger.
Customers, meanwhile, have welcomed the changes. “I don’t want to be a victim— you don’t know if they’re going to throw something at you or punch you in the face or something,” retired clerk Joseph D’Aura, 64, told The Post.
This isn’t the only crime‑ridden McDonald’s in the city to take a stand against unruly teens. A 14‑year‑old boy was fatally stabbed at a Sunnyside, Queens, location on Valentine’s Day, 2025, during a brawl, according to the NYPD.
A Mickey D’s on Nostrand and Flatbush in Flatbush—an area known as “the junction”—began carding customers at the door in February after teen patrons allegedly smoked weed and caused chaos inside. The door‑check policy was put in place after a group of masked kids broke through a glass door and attacked a security guard.
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