State Watch

Mamdani’s city-run grocery plan draws pushback from local bodegas, supermarkets

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by Sarah Fortinsky - 04/17/26 6:00 AM ET

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by Sarah Fortinsky - 04/17/26 6:00 AM ET

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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s (D) plan to open a city-owned grocery store in East Harlem is drawing pushback from critics who question its feasibility and warn of its economic impact on local businesses.

At a rally Sunday marking his first 100 days as mayor, the democratic socialist announced the location of the first of five city-owned grocery stores — one in each of New York City’s boroughs — that he plans to open in the next couple years.

Mamdani identified La Marqueta, a marketplace in East Harlem, as the site for Manhattan’s store, which he said he hopes to open by 2029. The sites for the other four stores have not yet been announced, but Mamdani said he hopes to open the first city-owned store in late 2027, with all five operating by the end of his first term.

In making the announcement, Mamdani took an early step toward fulfilling a key campaign promise aimed at addressing the city’s affordability crisis by offering lower-cost groceries.

“When corporations control every part of the food supply chain, prices go up, basic necessities become luxuries and workers and customers both lose,” Mamdani said. “A public option allows us to intervene where the market has failed.”

“This is about ensuring that every New Yorker, regardless of income or ZIP code, has access to fresh, healthy food at a price they can afford,” he added.

But concerns have emerged about whether Mamdani’s plan could put local bodegas and grocers at a disadvantage, as they face high operating costs and already run on slim profit margins.

“How does the mayor know what this will really cost? Does he understand the slim margins under which small grocers function?” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic political strategist, told The Hill.

“This is charisma in action paid for by others,” he added.

Mamdani’s plan, which still needs to be approved by the City Council, would cost roughly $70 million — $30 million of which would be designated for the 9,000-square-foot store on 115th Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan.

New York City Council speaker Julie Menin did not say whether she plans to back Mamdani’s proposal, but her spokesperson said she looks forward to reviewing the plan and “assessing its potential impacts on consumers and local small businesses, including bodegas.”

“As our city confronts ongoing fiscal and affordability crises, the City Council is identifying responsible solutions to lower costs and address food insecurity,” spokesperson Jack Lobel said in a statement.

Mamdani said the city-run stores would offer lower prices on staples like eggs and bread by avoiding paying rent or property taxes, allowing those savings to be passed on to consumers. But the mayor did not provide specific pricing details, and City Hall has not explained how those costs would be calculated.

“I can’t give you an exact example of the cost of a cucumber in our essential basket. But what I can tell you is that when New Yorkers come to city-run grocery stores, they will see a clear price differential when it comes to those essentials,” Mamdani said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Many grocers and bodega owners in New York say the plan would give city-owned stores an unfair advantage, allowing them to avoid costs that private businesses must absorb.

The president of the National Supermarket Association (NSA), Antonio Pena, described Mamdani’s plan as a “slap in the face” to the 450 independent stores that the trade association represents in New York City.

He noted that those stores pay taxes and have to compete against national chains without the same advantage.

“To have the city decide to open a store in the same neighborhood in which our members are operating at already low margins — because running a store in the city is very expensive, extremely expensive — we feel that it’s a big slap in the face to us,” Pena said in a statement to Gothamist.

United Bodegas of America spokesperson Fernando Mateo said he expects the city-owned stores “to get jam packed,” noting five stores are planning to serve more than 8 million New York City residents.

“What do you expect is going to happen?” Mateo said. “You’re going to have people rushing to these stores early in the morning to late at night, waiting on long lines. You know, it’s going to be more turmoil than anything else.”

“It’s a great punch line for him and for the socialist movement,” he continued. “But New York is not a socialist city.”

John Catsimatidis