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OBAMA CHICKEN JOINTS OFFEND IN NEW YORK: Brooklyn, Manhattan restaurants use president's name; drudge up stereotypes.

(April 6, 2009)

*Two fast-food restaurants in New York have angered their respective surrounding communities after deciding to change their names to Obama Fried Chicken.

According to the New York Daily News, eateries in Brooklyn and Manhattan plastered the new President's last name on their awnings recently. And some passersby are cringing, saying the name change plays into old racial stereotypes.

"Why name it that? Just because Obama is black, they're going to put his name on a fried chicken place in a black neighborhood?" said Akilah Nassy, 16, outside the Brooklyn store. "If it were [Republican candidate John] McCain, nobody would make a McCain fried chicken place."

Several weeks ago, S&T Fried Chicken on St. Nicholas Ave. in Harlem formally renamed itself after the country's first black President. And last week, Royal Fried Chicken on Rutland Road in Brownsville, Brooklyn, did the same. Staff at both eateries say the names are meant to pay homage to the new President, not offend customers or capitalize on his popularity.

"Basically, the owner loves Obama," said Mohammad Jabbar, 33, manager of the Brownsville store. "He loves him seriously. He supports him."

Some customers in Brooklyn said it didn't matter what the owners' intentions were - the new President's name shouldn't be there.

In Harlem, few customers seemed offended at the restaurant, which placed a portrait of the First Family near the cash register. However, Alphonso Brown, 52, joked that naming a business after a politician could be problematic.

"Right now, Obama's popular, but if his ratings go down, maybe they'll change the name again," he said.

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