NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani takes on Ronald Reagan in announcing NYC's 2nd city-run grocery store
New York City's second city-run grocery store will be in the Bronx, Mayor Zohran Mamdani and city officials announced Monday.
The second city-run grocery store will be located at the Peninsula in Hunts Point. The 20,000-square foot grocery store is expected to open next year.
The Peninsula is the name for a development being built on the former site of the Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility. It is expected to include 740 affordable housing units.
"There are not enough affordable options nearby"
The Peninsula is located is near the Hunts Point market, one of the largest food distribution centers in the world.
"Some of the freshest fish on the East Coast, some of the highest quality meat anywhere in the country. And yet, so many New Yorkers in this same neighborhood and across the Bronx cannot say the same," Mamdani said in his announcement. "Seventy-seven percent of households in surrounding neighborhoods cannot afford basic needs. More than 50 percent of households have relied on public assistance in the last 12 months alone. And when nearby families go shopping for groceries, there are not enough affordable options nearby."
Even though the Peninsula location is the second city-run grocery store site Mamdani has announced, he says it will be the first one to open. The previously announced East Harlem location at La Marqueta will open later.
Mamdani has allocated $70 million to develop a grocery store in each borough.
Zohran Mamdani vs. Ronald Reagan
Mamdani brought up former President Ronald Reagan and one of his more notable quotes.
"He famously said, the nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.' It's a good quote, but I disagree. I think nine more terrifying words are actually, 'I worked all day and can't feed my family,'" Mamdani said. "When government understands its purpose as serving the very working people that it has left behind time and again, it can make a difference in the most pressing struggles facing our city today. It's not just that government can help, it's that government must help and our government will help."
"With the creation of a city-run grocery store, NYC Grocery, right here at the site of a former youth detention center, our city has taken an important and bold step towards addressing food insecurity, expanding access to fresh produce, and delivering for our families each and every day, with nutritious food, with affordable food, with dignity and respect," Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said. "Today, we are transforming a site once associated with pain and trauma and mass incarceration into a place that is rooted in community, in healing, in building, in opportunity and community care. This project represents, folks, what is possible when government listens to the people and invests directly in its needs."
"I am grateful to Mayor Mamdani and the New York City Economic Development Corporation for their work to open a public grocery store at the Peninsula in Hunts Point and strengthen food access across the South Bronx," said Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. "Access to affordable, fresh food should not be a luxury determined by zip code; it should be a right."
More locations coming
City officials also announced Monday an online portal for potential grocery store sites in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island. Interested property owners are urged to submit their locations through the website. Eligible sites must include 10,000 square feet or more of retail space and be able to be up and running by 2029.
The mayor's moves to open city-run grocery stores fulfills a campaign promise. The proposal has detractors, including the United Bodegas of America, which believes it will hurt small businesses.
