The neighborhood where NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani is planning to build a government owned grocery store already has almost 50 markets within walking distance, raising further questions about his far left pipe dreams.
Is the new store even necessary? Mamdani probably does not care about that. This is merely a campaign promise and he likely sees it as something on which he has to deliver.
What is often not discussed is the competition this government owned store is going to create for all of these other privately owned stores.
Ask any business owner, and they will tell you it is near to impossible to compete with the government, which always has more resources and money.
FOX News reports:
NYC grocers sound alarm on Mamdani’s supermarket plan: ‘We’ll lose customers’
A proposal by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani to open a city-run grocery store is facing pushback from East Harlem grocers who say the area is already saturated with supermarkets and bodegas.
The plan, part of a broader effort to address rising grocery costs in the city, would establish publicly run stores across New York’s five boroughs — but the push to improve affordability could come at a cost for small businesses already on thin margins.
The first store is expected to open next year in La Marqueta, an existing public market space at Park Avenue and 115th Street in East Harlem. The city will spend roughly $30 million to build the store.
Roughly 45 grocery stores sit within a 35-minute walk of the proposed grocery site, according to a Fox News Digital analysis.
The existing stores include a mix of major chains like Whole Foods and Lidl, as well as smaller neighborhood markets and bodegas.
The area is also well served by public transit. There are multiple subway and bus lines giving residents several ways to reach nearby stores if they are not in reasonable walking distance.
Some local grocers say the added competition of the city-owned store could hurt their businesses.
“Of course it will affect this store,” said Sarah Kang, manager at a CTown Supermarkets location about a 35-minute walk south, or one subway stop, from La Marqueta.
Hellbound and Down 