Socialist mayor candidate Zohran Mamdani The government-operated initiative aimed at establishing grocery stores in New York City is heading towards a “Soviet” style fiasco, according to a supermarket owner in the area.
Mamdani, a Queens Senator, who ranks second among the top Democratic contenders, contends that his Market “network” will reduce overhead and subsequently increase grocery prices.
However, the city has a “poor history” managing public housing, hospitals, schools, and various services, suggesting that “they are likely to fail significantly in the grocery sector,” stated Jason Ferrara, a board member of the National Supermarket Association, representing over 700 stores in NYC and the East Coast.
“New Yorkers prefer having choices,” he stated. “Every grocery store addresses the needs of their communities with a range of products for diverse ethnicities, backgrounds, and incomes.”
Yet, according to Ferrara, Mamdani’s approach will create a “Soviet” marketplace where shoppers will be limited to “one brand or a general brand” for essentials like bread and milk, noting he operates three Food Town supermarkets in Queens.
Critics pointed out that fixed pricing in city-run markets would drive competing private businesses out of operation, leaving New Yorkers with reduced options.
“This is a socialist tactic that contradicts the American dream,” remarked Narie de Jesus, vice president of a firm managing a very fresh market and four others in the South Bronx.
“It’s not solely about lower prices; it’s about ensuring customers receive the products they desire.”
Both Ferrara and Deyes argued that most supermarket owners do not inflate prices, emphasizing that they work to maintain the lowest potential prices to remain competitive.
Mamdani’s proposal includes the creation of five municipal grocery outlets (one in each borough), with plans to possibly expand this network. He estimated that the initial five would cost $60 million to establish.
The specifics of the plan are limited, but sources have indicated that Mamdani is “dedicated” to NYC’s “ownership and operation of a public program,” which is expected to generate hundreds of job opportunities.
This scheme is modeled after a 2023 proposal from Marxist Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, which advocates for a municipal grocery store on the impoverished south or west side of the city.
As of 2023, only two municipalities in the US were operating grocery stores, coinciding with Chicago’s commissioning of a feasibility study for Johnson’s proposals. They shut down last year. The St. Paul location, the leading food source for the city, employs 15 individuals and runs on a 3% profit margin, according to the study.
Atlanta is planning to open grocery stores backed by two local governments later this year; however, they will be managed by local supermarket chains.
Mamdani’s proposal seems to have drawn from the same socialist strategy that Vice President Kamala Harris adopted during her unsuccessful presidential campaign, when she claimed that price gouging was driving inflation and promised to impose government price controls on groceries within her first 100 days in office.
Mamdani referenced a recent survey indicating that two-thirds of New Yorkers support establishing publicly owned grocery stores, asserting, “I’m weary of essentials like bread and eggs consuming their paycheck.”
“I take pride in being the only candidate proposing a plan to lower grocery prices in this race. As mayor, I am eager to reduce food costs in our city,” Mamdani stated.
