Immigrant Business Coalition Opposes New York City Public Grocery Store Plan

A coalition of immigrant-led business groups has raised more than $1 million to oppose Mayor Mamdani’s plan to open five city-owned grocery stores in New York that would receive perpetual free rent and real estate tax breaks. The Multicultural Business Coalition, formed one month ago and representing Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Jewish-owned businesses, secured a $1 million commitment from a single unidentified donor and nearly $100,000 in additional small contributions.

The group intends to attend an upcoming City Council hearing in force and has not ruled out a lawsuit against the city. The hearing before the City Council’s Economic Development Committee is tentatively scheduled for May 29 and would mark the first formal review of the $70 million proposal.

Officials said the session will examine what funding, if any, the council is willing to provide and will address questions about impacts on bodega owners and store locations. The coalition’s chairman told reporters the group does not want to hurt the mayor but will not allow the plan to damage their businesses.

He warned that if the coalition’s concerns are dismissed, it will campaign against the mayor and his candidates in future elections. The coalition also opposes the mayor’s proposal to raise the minimum wage to $30 an hour. Its president, a former lawyer in the state attorney general’s civil rights bureau, said the group is weighing possible legal action although specifics have not been disclosed.

The mayor’s office did not respond to requests for comment. The administration has not yet briefed the full City Council on plan details, though officials from the city’s Economic Development Corporation have met with some industry leaders.

The first proposed store would be built from the ground up next to La Marqueta food kiosks in East Harlem at a projected cost of $30 million and is slated to open in 2029. Five local grocers and their trade group met with Economic Development Corporation officials for two hours last week to discuss the project.

The director of government relations for the National Supermarket Association said his members told city officials the project would spend too much money on a new store instead of supporting existing supermarkets. More than a dozen private stores already operate within five blocks of the proposed site.

The manager of one nearby grocery said a city-owned store that pays no rent or taxes would have an unfair advantage and would definitely affect his business. Industry representatives expressed worry that approval of five stores could lead to an expansion to as many as 100 locations across the city, making competition impossible.

Funding and Impacts City Council

Speaker’s office issued a statement last month that stopped short of endorsing the plan. The speaker’s office said the council is seeking responsible solutions to affordability and food insecurity while looking forward to reviewing details and assessing effects on consumers and small businesses including bodegas.

The coalition’s secretary, who also leads an Orthodox Jewish business chamber, noted that the breadth of immigrant groups uniting under one organization has drawn attention from state and city political figures. An event hosted by the group last week was attended by senior legislative staff.

A separate organization founded by a former mayoral candidate has also raised $1 million to oppose several of the mayor’s initiatives, and the two groups are discussing ways to coordinate their efforts. The coalition chairman, who previously declined an offer from a political action committee linked to the mayor, said he plans to raise funds for his own political action committee.

>The coalition will be at the hearing in force. We don’t want to hurt the mayor but we are not going to let him hurt us.