A Dunkin’ employee filmed washing his feet in a kitchen sink aboard the Staten Island Ferry has triggered a city health investigation.
The footage, posted to TikTok on Aug. 11, shows a worker standing at a sink behind the counter on what appears to be an Islamic prayer rug, lifting his feet and using his hands to collect water before applying it to his feet repeatedly. An eyewitness who spotted the act immediately began filming, calling the scene “disgusting” in the on-camera narration. The video quickly spread across Instagram, Facebook, and other platforms, racking up thousands of views and a torrent of outraged comments.
“Would you like feet with your doughnut?” One disgusted commenter asked on TikTok.
Another joked, “Is he on feet finder?”
A third quipped, “Who needs a foot spa when you’ve got Dunkin’ Donut?”
The man appears to have been practicing wudu, the Islamic ritual of ablution performed before prayer. The practice involves washing specific parts of the body — including the hands, face, arms, and feet — in a prescribed sequence as an act of purification. Muslims commonly perform wudu before the five daily prayers, known as salah, and it can also be performed before other religious activities, including handling or reading the Quran.
But the religious practice itself was not the focus of the online outrage. Critics zeroed in on where the washing took place: inside a commercial food-service operation and just inches from areas used to prepare food for customers.
“Religion or not, washing your feet a few inches away from the food area is wild. There has to be a better way. Mamdani, find this man a better religious accommodation,” one commenter wrote, referencing a local official.
The New York City Health Department told The Post in a statement, “The NYC Health Department promotes the safety of food served in the city’s restaurants so New Yorkers and visitors can dine without fear of becoming ill. Restaurants are required to follow food safety requirements.” The department did not specify what penalties the location could face or provide a timeline for its investigation.
Dunkin’ has not responded to multiple inquiries about the incident or whether the employee faced any disciplinary action. The company, which operates over 8,000 U.S. Locations and is owned by Inspire Brands, has faced previous health violations at various franchises, though none involving religious practices.
The Staten Island Ferry carries approximately 22 million passengers annually between Manhattan and Staten Island, making it one of the busiest ferry routes in the United States. The Dunkin’ at the St. George terminal serves commuters during operating hours from 5:00 AM to 10:00 PM daily.
In the viral moment that sparked the probe, the eyewitness captured the worker from outside the shop’s service window, filming through the glass as the employee continued the foot-washing ritual unaware he was being recorded. The worker stood on a small rug placed on the floor in front of the sink, using the same hand-washing station that would typically be used for food-service hygiene. The video’s caption identified the location as “the Staten Island Ferry DUNKIN DONUTS” with hashtags for Staten Island and Dunkin’ Donuts. The footage’s rapid spread across platforms turned a local commuter observation into national social media fodder within hours.
The incident has reignited debate about religious accommodation in workplace settings, particularly in food-service environments where hygiene standards are strictly regulated. Federal and city laws require employers to provide reasonable religious accommodations unless doing so would cause undue hardship, though the boundaries of such accommodations in commercial kitchens remain contested.
The Health Department investigation is ongoing.