Store Story

New York's next mayor literally wants to mind the store:

Mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani outlined his platform on his website saying people in his city are struggling with the cost of groceries. The site then declared Mamdani “will create a network of city-owned grocery stores focused on keeping prices low, not making a profit. Without having to pay rent or property taxes, they will reduce overhead and pass on savings to shoppers. They will buy and sell at wholesale prices, centralize warehousing and distribution, and partner with local neighborhoods on products and sourcing. With New York City already spending millions of dollars to subsidize private grocery store operators (which are not even required to take SNAP/WIC!), we should redirect public money to a real ‘public option.'” The Journal article by Adam Lehoday cited the owner of Appleton’s Marketplace on West End Avenue, Hamza, who said Mamdani might have good intentions but the idea could spiral into “corruption and money laundering, like we’ve seen in some of the other agencies.” The report also said more problems could arise because opening such ventures would fail to address the crime and poverty that is shutting down grocery stores in some neighborhoods. The Journal article continued: Another argument for the city-owned stores is that they would be able to cut prices by minimizing profit margins. But private grocery chains aren’t exactly price gouging—net profits average a razor-thin 1 percent to 2 percent. One woman I spoke with, a member of a food cooperative in Lower Manhattan, said she wasn’t sure “how it could work given the prices at our own nonprofit aren’t any lower than regular grocery stores.” Mamdani explained his idea in a video and appeared to accuse grocers in the area of price gouging.

Wait until he actually tries this idea...