What We Know About Mamdani’s First Planned City-Owned Grocery Stores

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at a news conference in La Marqueta about the city opening one of five planned public grocery stores in Manhattan, New York, on April 14, 2026. —Barry Williams—New York Daily News/Tribune News Service/Getty ImagesOne of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s central campaign promises, in the face of spiking grocery prices, was to introduce what his campaign described as a “network of city-owned grocery stores focused on keeping prices low, not making a profit.” Now, Mamdani is unveiling plans to start bringing that promise to fruition. The first of the stores, he announced Monday, will be opened at The Peninsula, an affordable housing complex being built in the Bronx’s Hunts Point neighborhood, next year.“This store and the Peninsula as a whole will serve as physical proof of our conviction that government can be a force for good, that government can drive change that improves people’s lives,” he said, speaking at a rally with union members at the Bronx site.Mamdani previously announced plans last month to open another city-owned grocery store at the  La Marqueta marketplace in Manhattan’s East Harlem, which he hopes to launch by 2029.The Mayor’s office has said it selected the sites based on grocery store density, how income levels in the areas compare with the cost of living, and population density, framing the project as an intervention in neighborhoods where access to affordable food remains uneven despite decades of redevelopment efforts. In total, Mamdani has pledged to ultimately open five city-owned grocery stores—one…

Continue reading →