Brooklyn ENY Crisis T.E.A.M

Denny's is bringing its signature gut-busting Grand Slams and savory skillets to East New York - but not without a side order of controversy.

With a grand opening slated this summer, the pancake mecca at 805 Pennsylvania Ave. is poised to be the first New York City location for the nationwide casual dining chain.

But local residents, furious over the chain’s record on race relations and history of paying low wages to workers, called for greater transparency from the restaurant chain, which boasts 1,600 outposts across the globe.

“We're not saying ‘no’ to them, because it’s already a done deal,” said Kevin McCall, executive director of the Brooklyn East New York Crisis T.E.A.M., who called for a living wage for yet-to-be-hired Denny’s workers. “But we're not going to let them sneak into our community [either].”

Christopher Banks of East New York United Concerned Citizens echoed McCall's anger in the chain's fly-by-night approach to opening the restaurant, which is situated among a strip of other fast food joints like McDonald's, Wendy's, White Castle and Burger King.

“This is a pandemic within communities of color,” he said, adding that minorities are often last to be informed of changes affecting their neighborhoods.

Banks, who was defeated by Inez Barron for the City Council's District 42 last year, called the row of fast food joints along Pennsylvania Ave. a “cesspool” for low-wage jobs and discrimination against minorities.