New York City Plans Five City-Owned Grocery Stores Across Boroughs

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced plans Monday to open the first of five city-owned grocery stores next year at The Peninsula, an affordable housing complex under construction in the Bronx's Hunts Point neighborhood. The store will be part of a larger development that includes roughly 740 affordable housing units and space for light manufacturing.

City officials estimate the Bronx location will cost $10 million to build.

The Hunts Point site was selected based on grocery store density, income levels relative to cost of living, and population density. The neighborhood has a 36 percent poverty rate compared to 18 percent citywide, and officials say 77 percent of households in that section of the South Bronx have difficulty affording basic necessities.

There is currently one full-service supermarket within a quarter mile of the site. The broader project redevelops the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, which closed in 2011.

Mamdani previously announced in April that a second city-owned store will be built at La Marqueta marketplace in East Harlem. The 9,000 square-foot store is projected to open by 2029 on an empty lot beneath the elevated Metro-North tracks. The city plans to waive rent and taxes for all five stores so they can offer residents discounted food prices.

The total cost of establishing the stores is estimated at $70 million.

The City Council is scheduled to begin reviewing the planned budget at a May 29 hearing. City Council Speaker Julie Menin has raised concerns about how city-owned stores could affect existing bodegas and neighborhood supermarkets. The Multicultural Business Coalition is raising funds for public opposition efforts and legal challenges.

Frank Garcia, the group's chairman, said the plan is a waste of tax dollars and that the city should pursue subsidies instead. Francisco Marte, a Bronx bodega owner who heads the Bodega and Small Business Group, said the city is using tax money to compete with private businesses.

Some community leaders have suggested subsidizing existing local supermarkets and vendors rather than opening new municipal stores.