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This finger food was not appetizing.
A prominent figure in New York City’s real estate sector claims she suffered “permanent trauma” after discovering a human fingertip, complete with a nail, in her chicken wrap.
According to a lawsuit filed in the Manhattan Supreme Court, the disturbing event took place on November 17, 2023. Mary Elizabeth Smith, a Managing Partner at Corcoran Group, experienced this shock after ordering from Create, a food establishment in Astoria.
Smith, 43, a resident of Chelsea, alleges that Create and its proprietor, Ditmars Bake LLC, “should have been aware that their product posed a danger to the public.”
Smith did not swallow any of the fingertip, her lawyer Robert Menna noted.
“She bit into [the wrap], could tell something wasn’t right, and spit it out,” the lawyer said. “It was horrifying for her.”
Smith, who said she’s been cooking more meals at home these days, required intense antiretroviral therapy to fend off any potentially deadly diseases the severed fingertip may have exposed her to.
“This has left me very cautious about anything that I am eating,” Smith explained, adding she used to eat at Create at least twice a week.
“It took me a really long time to work up the courage to eat chicken again. Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen.”
Smith went to a walk-in medical clinic afterwards, and brought the fingertip with her.
“I told the doctors I’d gladly pay them $75 to tell me that it was anything else,” Smith said.
The restaurant’s insurance company, Liberty Mutual, refuted the allegations, Menna said.
Menna said he’s presented them with photos of the fingertip as well as a forensic report showing it came from a woman.
“They’re arguing there were no female employees on duty that day,” Menna said.
However, Smith said she distinctly recalls seeing women working at Create.
Smith tries not to think about the fingertip’s possible origin.
“I really wish it hadn’t happened,” Smith told The Post.
The Post left messages with Create staffers, but never heard back from management or the ownership. Attorneys that previously represented Ditmars Bake LLC did not return messages.