NYC Mayor Mamdani further details city-run grocery stores, says it's "time for a grand experiment"
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani went to La Marqueta in East Harlem on Tuesday to further discuss his plans for a city-run grocery store.
His visit comes on the heels of his announcement over the weekend that La Marqueta will be the site of the first of five city-run grocery stores, with one set for each borough.
Mamdani pointed to the origins of La Marqueta itself, which was created 92 years ago by Fiorello LaGuardia, and was called an "experiment" at the time.
"New York City, it is time for a grand experiment once again," Mamdani said. "Just as LaGuardia used government to respond to the challenges of the Great Depression, we will use government to respond to rising prices and unaffordable groceries."
- Flashback: Zohran Mamdani is pushing for New York City-run grocery stores. Here's what he envisions.
The scope of the problem
Mamdani said grocery prices in New York City rose by nearly 66% from 2013-2023.
"Sixty-two percent of New Yorkers cannot afford the real cost of living in this city. Not extras, not luxuries -- the basics. A home, child care, medicine, food. Sixty-two percent is not an individual choice. It is not one community's problem, and it is not inevitable. It is a policy failure," Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su said.
"This is what we mean by a new era. When New Yorkers are being priced out of their groceries, government will step in and deliver affordability," Mamdani said.
Mamdani said 65,000 New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk from La Marqueta.
How the stores will work
So how will the stores work?
"The city will subsidize a core set of staples. A private operator will run the store, but they answer to the standards that the city will set. These standards include requirements that, at our stores, bread will be cheaper. Eggs will be cheaper. Grocery shopping will no longer be an unsolvable equation," Mamdani said.
Mamdani said the city-run grocery stores will not stock tobacco products or offer lottery tickets, which he said are some of the more popular items for bodega owners.
"There will be an essential basket of goods that will be guaranteed at a cheaper price," Mamdani said. "The intent and something that we will fulfill is that New Yorkers will be able to recognize the price differential. It won't just be incidental."
"This is not just about accessibility to food and the issue of affordability. It's also about the quality of the food," Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal. "You shouldn't be segregated throughout the borough, and have access -- or lack of access -- to high-quality food just because of where you live."
Mamdani said the city-run store at La Marqueta will be built from the ground up and open in 2029. The other stores may be placed in pre-existing spaces. All will be open by the end of 2029.