Split New York City Mayoral Race

[Jimmy Higgins]

With much fanfare, Mamdani lays out tNYC owned grocery store plans with 30% savings!!!!

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open a slate of government-owned grocery stores stirred up critics who roasted the idea as the democratic socialist’s first step toward creating communist bread lines in the city. The mayor offered a different vision for the city-owned shops on Monday, announcing that they would instead provide a 30% discount on produce, meat and a host of other kitchen staples as a way to offset the rising food prices in one of America’s most expensive cities. The five stores are expected to be placed in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the first set to open toward the end of 2027 in the Bronx. He plans to have all five operational by the end of his four-year term.
“Thirty percent off adds up to real money for New Yorkers,” Mamdani, a Democrat, said at a news conference at a warehouse in Brooklyn while standing in front of a display of fruits and vegetables. “In the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family.”

News

This is going to be interesting.

Yep. My crystal ball prediction is that the subsidized (30% is huge!) grocery store is going to knock the privately held grocery stores out of business, and soon after the government owned store is going to die soon after, due to incompetent management and/or lack of government financial support when the well finally runs dry.

You are aware of how big NYC is, right... and that 5 stores across the entire city of over 8 million people isn't exactly going to be crushing the competition.

 

[TSwizzle]

Yep. My crystal ball prediction is that the subsidized (30% is huge!) grocery store is going to knock the privately held grocery stores out of business, and soon after the government owned store is going to die soon after, due to incompetent management and/or lack of government financial support when the well finally runs dry. Then its, "Hellooooo 7-11 and Fast Food!" for all their nutritional needs.

Yes, a 30% reduction is huge but is only for "core basket" items. Produce, meat, milk, eggs, bread, cereal, rice etc. It seems the stores will carry everything else a normal supermarket sells at market value. This is going to be quite a tricky operation.

If these stores are selling items at a 30% discount, I don't know how they are going to keep up with demand. I would expect the shelves to be emptied pretty quickly. It will be like Walmart on Black Friday everyday!

I imagine it'll change to an "up to" discount.

Imagine if the store only offers 10% or 15% lower when 30% was promised (no exceptions, no gimmicks). Ooft, that's a bit bait and switch don't you think?

The price isn't really the issue, however. It is access, as the whole point is being able to provide access to groceries in areas underserved by grocery stores. Having one per borough seems off as boroughs are rather large for people that have to walk to a grocery store.

That's not the way I read it. It seemed to be all about affordability and jobs.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s city-run grocery stores will offer New Yorkers meat, seafood and fresh produce 30% cheaper than at other retail stores, city officials announced Monday. Mamdani said the five subsidized stores will set prices for items every month, based on typical prices for the same items. The city is also seeking experienced grocers to help run day-to-day operations in the stores. “The savings will last for the entire month, that means no weekly fluctuations nor sticker shock at the checkout line, not for our seniors living on fixed incomes nor for our parents who rely on a regular supply of apple slices to keep toddler tantrums at bay,

News

The saving will apply to anyone that shops there whether it is a senior on fixed income or someone who makes $200k.


It's great, a chicken in every pot!!

 

[Elixir]

The saving will apply to anyone that shops there whether it is a senior on fixed income or someone who makes $200k.

If you make $200k/yr and live in NYC, you’d be well advised to take advantage of that discount. I think that’s about what their fixed income seniors receive.

 

[Derec]

The saving will apply to anyone that shops there whether it is a senior on fixed income or someone who makes $200k.

Or whether they buy more than they need for themselves and resell on the sidewalk for a profit.

 

[Derec]

You are aware of how big NYC is, right... and that 5 stores across the entire city of over 8 million people isn't exactly going to be crushing the competition.

Five stores will not do anything for the supposed issue of food deserts. But discounting items by 30% will definitely harm private grocers who already operate on very thin margins.

 

[TSwizzle]

The saving will apply to anyone that shops there whether it is a senior on fixed income or someone who makes $200k.

Or whether they buy more than they need for themselves and resell on the sidewalk for a profit.

Or a Bodega buying it and selling it too I guess.

This is going to be very interesting to see how this pans out.

 

[bilby]

I will wait to see the actual operation of these stores, because talk is cheap.

It's 30% cheaper if you get it from the Mayor's office.

 

[thebeave]

With much fanfare, Mamdani lays out tNYC owned grocery store plans with 30% savings!!!!

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open a slate of government-owned grocery stores stirred up critics who roasted the idea as the democratic socialist’s first step toward creating communist bread lines in the city. The mayor offered a different vision for the city-owned shops on Monday, announcing that they would instead provide a 30% discount on produce, meat and a host of other kitchen staples as a way to offset the rising food prices in one of America’s most expensive cities. The five stores are expected to be placed in each of the city’s five boroughs, with the first set to open toward the end of 2027 in the Bronx. He plans to have all five operational by the end of his four-year term.
“Thirty percent off adds up to real money for New Yorkers,” Mamdani, a Democrat, said at a news conference at a warehouse in Brooklyn while standing in front of a display of fruits and vegetables. “In the wealthiest city, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, no New Yorker should have to worry about being able to afford to feed their family.”

News

This is going to be interesting.

Yep. My crystal ball prediction is that the subsidized (30% is huge!) grocery store is going to knock the privately held grocery stores out of business, and soon after the government owned store is going to die soon after, due to incompetent management and/or lack of government financial support when the well finally runs dry. Then its, "Hellooooo 7-11 and Fast Food!" for all their nutritional needs.

Well that didn't take long...

Immigrant-led business group votes to sue NYC over Mamdani’s taxpayer-funded grocery stores, alleging unfair competition

An immigrant-led business group is gearing up to sue New York City over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s controversial plan to open five taxpayer-funded supermarkets — claiming the $70 million project will create unfair competition for nearby stores, The Post has learned.

As the far-left mayor announced new details of his plan this week — including a 30% discount on basic items like produce, meat, milk, cheese and bread – the Multicultural Business Coalition’s board voted to file a lawsuit in the coming weeks to block the pricey initiative, the group’s chairman Frank Garcia told The Post.

“The mayor doesn’t seem to want to sit down with us,” Garcia said, adding that Mamdani “won’t be able to bully these lawyers we are going to bring in.”

MBC — formed earlier this year to create a unified front against Mamdani’s grocery policy — includes 50 chambers of commerce representing Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Jewish-owned businesses in New York.

MBC and other groups representing thousands of grocery stores and bodegas including the National Supermarket Association gripe that the city is pursuing the government-run supermarkets regardless of whether they hurt existing stores in lower-income areas that are already feeling major financial pressures.

In particular, they have pointed to five bodegas within just a few blocks of the city-run stored planned for East Harlem, in the space known as La Marqueta.

Some of those Harlem store owners fear they will be put out of business when customers discover the cheaper prices at Mamdani’s stores – which will not pay rent because they will be built on municipal property, according to the mayor’s office.

“Having items that sell for 30% less than our prices, means nobody will go to our stores,” Radhames Rodriguez, president of the United Bodegas of America told The Post.

 

[ZiprHead]

How City-Owned Grocery Stores Can Tackle Food Insecurity

As private grocers abandon low-income neighborhoods, Zohran Mamdani’s public ownership proposal offers a solution to market failures.

inequality.org

Contrary to the public outcry from critics, city-owned grocery stores are not a novel or radical idea in the United States. The United States military already operates a network of publicly owned grocery stores; rural communities in Kansas have successfully experimented with municipally owned supermarkets; and big cities are exploring their potential and charting plans.

City-owned grocery stores are a promising solution for communities who suffer from the hunger and food insecurity that comes from living in food deserts, urban or rural neighborhoods with limited access to healthy and affordable groceries.

Food deserts exist in part because of misaligned profit motives for private sector grocery companies. Large corporate retailers like Kroger and Whole Foods do not bother to invest in certain communities because, despite demand, low-income neighborhoods lack the infrastructure and purchasing power to sustain their for-profit business. Instead, retailers concentrate or relocate their grocery stores to areas where they can expect a higher rate of return, like wealthier suburban neighborhoods.

 

[Tigers!]

I will wait to see the actual operation of these stores, because talk is cheap.

It's 30% cheaper if you get it from the Mayor's office.

At the back door with the money in brown bags please.

 

[TSwizzle]

Some of those Harlem store owners fear they will be put out of business when customers discover the cheaper prices at Mamdani’s stores – which will not pay rent because they will be built on municipal property, according to the mayor’s office.

@thebeave

I don’t think their fears are totally unfounded and I can understand the unfairness of it but the cut price items are pretty limited and I expect these items to be sold out 30 minutes after the store opens in the morning. They will have to ration quantities or something. If they are selling bacon for $3 per pound or steak at $7/8 per pound it will be gone quick. But maybe the community will be respectful of their fellow citizens and restrain themselves from loading up on cut price groceries.

The other thing is that Mamdani’s stores won’t be selling haram items like alcohol or cigarettes. Inshallah.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

The other thing is that Mamdani’s stores won’t be selling haram items like alcohol or cigarettes. Inshallah.

You know food banks don't offer things like alcohol or cigarettes either, right? But sure, everything is because Islam.

 

[Derec]

You know food banks don't offer things like alcohol or cigarettes either, right?

But these Mamdani Marts are supposed to be a grocery store, not a food bank.

But sure, everything is because Islam.

More accurately, islamoleftism. Kind of how when Sadiq Khan, the Islamic ruler of London, banned bikini-clad women from tube advertisements, his action fit both the Islamic and radical feminist ideologies.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

You know food banks don't offer things like alcohol or cigarettes either, right?

But these Mamdani Marts are supposed to be a grocery store, not a food bank.

Which isn't what I was claiming. However food banks are similar initiatives to provide necessities to others. So it just makes sense why no alcohol or cigarettes would be provided, no reason to propose any dumb as shit conspiracy theory about Islam.

 

[TSwizzle]

You know food banks don't offer things like alcohol or cigarettes either, right?

But these Mamdani Marts are supposed to be a grocery store, not a food bank.

Which isn't what I was claiming. However food banks are similar initiatives to provide necessities to others. So it just makes sense why no alcohol or cigarettes would be provided, no reason to propose any dumb as shit conspiracy theory about Islam.

Relax fella. It’s just a bit of tongue in cheek humor.

Now, if it doesn’t sell bacon or other pork products, well that changes things a little.

 

[GenesisNemesis]

You know food banks don't offer things like alcohol or cigarettes either, right?

But these Mamdani Marts are supposed to be a grocery store, not a food bank.

Which isn't what I was claiming. However food banks are similar initiatives to provide necessities to others. So it just makes sense why no alcohol or cigarettes would be provided, no reason to propose any dumb as shit conspiracy theory about Islam.

Relax fella. It’s just a bit of tongue in cheek humor.

Hard to tell with your history of delusional as fuck comments.

 

[ZiprHead]

You know food banks don't offer things like alcohol or cigarettes either, right?

But these Mamdani Marts are supposed to be a grocery store, not a food bank.

Walmart started dropping cigarette sales in 2022 and Aldi's doesn't sell either of those.

 

[laughing dog]

You know food banks don't offer things like alcohol or cigarettes either, right?

But these Mamdani Marts are supposed to be a grocery store, not a food bank.

There is no requirement nor necessary expectation that a GROCERY store should carry alcohol or cigarettes. Where I live, there are two grocery stores that only carry food. Just sayin'.

 

[ZiprHead]

More accurately, islamoleftism. Kind of how when Sadiq Khan, the Islamic ruler of London, banned bikini-clad women from tube advertisements, his action fit both the Islamic and radical feminist ideologies.

Whataboutism.

Are there muslims and radfems hiding under your bed?

 

[thebeave]

Some of those Harlem store owners fear they will be put out of business when customers discover the cheaper prices at Mamdani’s stores – which will not pay rent because they will be built on municipal property, according to the mayor’s office.

@thebeave

I don’t think their fears are totally unfounded and I can understand the unfairness of it but the cut price items are pretty limited and I expect these items to be sold out 30 minutes after the store opens in the morning. They will have to ration quantities or something. If they are selling bacon for $3 per pound or steak at $7/8 per pound it will be gone quick. But maybe the community will be respectful of their fellow citizens and restrain themselves from loading up on cut price groceries.

The other thing is that Mamdani’s stores won’t be selling haram items like alcohol or cigarettes. Inshallah.

Fair point. If that does happen, I suspect they will soon put a means test on who can buy the discounted products. Perhaps just residents who live within a limited radius of the store, meet the low income requirements and are not Jewish (). Seems kinda dumb to me from the get-go to allow just anyone to buy these heavily discounted items.

I buy most of my groceries these days on Amazon. Prices and products are good overall and delivery is fast and reliable. If NYC is committed to the idea of helping out low income residents with their grocery needs, how about instead setting up a program to have Amazon deliver special discounted grocery items direct to these low income residents that live within food deserts? The delivery drivers and warehouse workers would be local residents who need jobs. It probably wouldn't even get off the ground, though, due to the toxic keywords associated with it, like Bezos, capitalism, billionaire, profit, climate change, etc. Kind of a shame.