Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani said the Zohran Mamdani state grocery stores plan will give New Yorkers a 30 percent discount on a core basket of everyday groceries at five new municipal stores. The first store is slated to open by the end of 2027 in Hunts Point in the Bronx.
Mamdani said the city is guaranteeing lower prices on the most common and most critical groceries for families across the five boroughs. The city projects the discount will cut the average grocery bill by 15 percent, or about $90 a month and roughly $1,000 a year.
NYCEDC and Julie Su
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani, Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su and New York City Economic Development Corporation announced the plan alongside a request for proposals for qualified grocers or firms to operate one or more N.Y.C. Groceries stores. The selected operator will handle day-to-day store operations, including merchandising, staffing and adherence to strong labor practices.
Su said the administration is building a grocery store model that puts affordability first, with a 30 percent discount on essential foods and quality jobs for the people who run the stores. Jeanny Pak, the New York City Economic Development Corporation interim president and chief executive, said the plan has the potential to become an essential public service.
La Marqueta in East Harlem
The five-store network is part of Mamdani’s Affordability Agenda, and the city has set aside $70 million in the capital budget for the plan. One of the five stores will be at La Marqueta in East Harlem, and all five are expected to open by the end of the mayor’s first term.
The city is promising the discount now, but the stores still depend on the response to the request for proposals and on which qualified operator is chosen to run them. For New Yorkers deciding whether the plan will change their grocery bill, the next step is whether the city can turn the announced price cut into stores that open on schedule.
