How do city-owned grocery stores work? What to expect at NYC’s first

What’s affordable, healthy, and consumed all over? Groceries from your local city-owned supermarket.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani is generating some buzz this week with his announcement that New York City is gearing up to open its first batch. He is expected to talk about his plans at a press conference later Tuesday.

Joining him will be Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su. They’ll be at the first site the city has selected to house one of its new grocery stores: La Marqueta in East Harlem. The city already owns the site.

La Marqueta is the first site selected to be one of the city’s stores, but it’s unlikely to be the first one open — the city still needs to build out the store. Construction operations are estimated to cost $30 million.

It’s one of five city-owned supermarkets currently being mapped out for each of the five boroughs in the Big Apple, Mamdani said as part of his 100 Days address Sunday night. The goal is to have one up and running by next year, with all five open by the end of Mamdani’s first term in 2029, City Hall has said.

“At our stores, eggs will be cheaper. Bread will be cheaper. Grocery shopping will no longer be an unsolvable equation,” said Mamdani.

City-owned grocery stores were a key campaign pledge for Mamdani.

Mamdani, 34, took office in January after a campaign centered on making New York City a more affordable place to live, centering his agenda on refocusing the vast power of government toward helping the city’s struggling working class.