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As New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani moves forward with plans for city-owned grocery stores, economists and local business owners warn the proposal could crush small grocers while leaving taxpayers with a hefty bill.
The initiative, a key Mamdani campaign pledge, would establish city-backed supermarkets across the city in an effort to lower food costs.
Adam Lehodey of the Manhattan Institute believes the city could address food affordability more efficiently through private-sector partnerships and existing assistance programs rather than operating grocery stores itself.
“I think really it’s a distraction and a pretty wasteful distraction,” Lehodey told Fox News Digital. “There’s an easier and better way to solve the problem.”
NYC VOTERS FLOCK TO SOCIALIST-STYLE FREEBIES AS MAMDANI PUSHES RENT FREEZES, CITY-RUN STORES
The first location is expected to open in 2027 in the Bronx neighborhood of Hunts Point as part of The Peninsula redevelopment project at the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility, according to the mayor’s office.
The larger redevelopment plan includes 740 affordable housing units, more than 50,000 square feet of public open space, 30,000 square feet of light industrial space and more than 50,000 square feet of community facilities. It would also include a 20,000-square-foot grocery market intended to serve the South Bronx.
MAMDANI’S PUBLIC GROCERY STORES MAY HAVE DEVASTATING EFFECTS ON CITY’S FOOD SUPPLY
Lehodey also warned the city-backed stores could put small neighborhood grocers at a disadvantage because the projects would receive public support that private businesses do not.
“Yeah, the prices might be a little bit cheaper, but that comes at the cost of other businesses running sustainable operations,” he said.
He argued the city is also sacrificing valuable public land and potential revenue by subsidizing the projects.
MAMDANI’S WALL STREET COURTSHIP SPARKS CRITICISM OF ANTI-BILLIONAIRE…
