Of the dozens of policy proposals in Zohran Mamdani’s platform, few have generated as much debate as the Democratic mayoral nominee’s call for city-owned grocery stores.
Progressives, food policy professors, and left-leaning publications have lauded the idea. Meanwhile, Mayor Eric Adams characterized the plan as a “false promise,” while Mamdani’s opponent Andrew Cuomo dismissed the idea as a “slogan” that couldn’t come true. Gristedes owner and major Republican donor John Catsimatidis has threatened to close his stores rather than compete with subsidized city grocers.
Both sides have largely missed a crucial point: New York already has a version of city-owned grocery stores. Namely, the six markets overseen by the city’s Economic Development Corporation, a nonprofit that manages city-owned property to boost economic development. These grocers include Essex Street Market on the Lower East Side, Moore Street Market in East Williamsburg, and others in Brooklyn, the Bronx and Queens…