Under New York City’s liberal Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a first of its kind grocery store is set to open in East Harlem which cost an estimated price tag of about $30 million, paid for by the American taxpayers of course. What makes it unique and accounts for the hefty price tag is that it is city-owned.
According to a report released Sunday, the planned location is La Marqueta, a market space situated beneath the elevated tracks along Park Avenue. City officials expect the store to begin serving customers sometime next year.
Mamdani unveiled the initiative during a Queens “bash” marking his first 100 days in office, where he also said all five proposed city-run grocery stores would be operational before the end of his first term in 2029, reports The New York Post.
“During our campaign, we promised New Yorkers that we would create a network of five city owned, grocery stores, one in each park,” Mamdani said. “Today, we make good on that promise.”
Because La Marqueta is already city-owned, the grocery store will not incur rent costs. Mamdani also noted that the development will utilize a portion of the site that is currently vacant. He said the goal is to create “stores where prices are fair, where workers are treated with dignity, and where New Yorkers can actually afford to shop at our stores.”
“Eggs will be cheaper, bread will be cheaper, grocery shopping will no longer be an unsolvable equation,” he added. However, the initial store’s projected $30 million cost accounts for nearly half of the $70 million budget he had outlined as recently as February for the entire five-store initiative, according to The New York Times.
“We’re going to make it easier for New Yorkers to put food on the table,” Mamdani said at the 100-day celebration, which included a surprise appearance by Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.).
“Since the pandemic grocery prices have gone up and they haven’t come back down,” he added. “We feel it every single time we go to the store. Between 2013 and 2023 grocery prices increased in New York City by nearly 66% — significantly higher than the national average.”
