Chick-fil-A has landed in New York — with much clucking and a mess of ruffled feathers.
The fast-food chain is as notorious for its ultra-conservative Christian ownership as for its tasty fried chicken, so when the first waffle-cut potatoes hit the fryer on its first stand-alone Big Apple location in Herald Square on Saturday, eaters and protesters converged.
As many as 200 hungry customers stretched throughout the day in a line extending down West 37th Street.
A small group of anti-gay, Born Again Christians yelled verbal attacks at a group of pro-gay and pro-animal rights protesters in front of Chick-fil-A.Angel ChevresttThe customers were heckled by about a dozen assorted vegans and gay and transgender rights activists, who were in turn heckled by a trio of born-again Christians.
It was some gaggle.
Married couple Raffaella Ciavatta (left) and Lili Trenkova, kiss in response to the verbal attacks in front of Chick-fil-A.Angel Chevrestt“We all feel love,” read one vegan’s poster, which showed a photo of two ducks, kissing. At one point there arose a chant: “Chickens do have feelings! Just like we do,” which was succeeded by another chant: “We’re here! We’re queer! Get used to it!”
Then two women started kissing, prompting the three born-agains to begin shouting, “Repent your sins you homos!” and, oddly, “The rainbow is for Christians!”
Meanwhile, customers rolled their eyes.
“I mean, I disagree with the company’s values,” said James Blum, 23, a financial analyst from Manhattan.
“But I’m just here for the chicken.”
Chick-fil-A insists in its media fact sheet that it “does not have an opinion as an organization.”
But CEO Dan Cathy ignited a firestorm of criticism in 2012, when he said he supported “biblical families.”
