Bodega owners decried likely Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani’s proposal for city-run grocery stores in a Monday press conference alongside billionaire owner of Gristedes supermarkets John Catsimatidis.
Leaders of the United Bodegas of America (UBA) said Mamdani’s plan would hurt thousands of bodega workers across New York City and turn the city into a communist government. Mamdani — a Democratic socialist, which is much different from being a communist — has proposed creating five municipally owned grocery stores, one for each borough, that offer food at lower prices to address high rates of food insecurity.
The rally included around 10 bodega owners and Gristedes workers standing with UBA leadership, as well as Catsimatidis, who argued that Mamdani was a threat to the city.
Fernando Mateo, the speaker of UBA and a one-time Republican mayoral candidate, said municipal grocery stores would drive bodegas out of business and hurt the 25,000 workers that UBA represents.
“There’s no way that New York City can take over and install bodegas run by the government,” Mateo said during the press conference. “This is not a communist country. This is a capitalist country where immigrants came to work and progress, and we are here because we are in disbelief that the government is going to come in and set up bodegas where we’re located. That cannot happen.”
“Government does not know how to run businesses — every business that the government runs is bankrupt,” Mateo added.
Mamdani’s proposal calls for only five city-run stores, but Mateo said such an operation would threaten bodega owners across the city. Both Mateo and Catsimatidis, however, skirted questions as to how the proposal would have such a drastic impact.
“You’re not taking my money to compete with the entrepreneurs that came to the city and risked everything they have,” Mateo said.
At the same time, Mateo also said city-owned grocery stores would never work and accused Mamdani of lying to voters.
“It cannot work. It’s off the table. It’s a non-starter,” Mateo said. “It is not true. You cannot do it.”
Mamdani’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Mamdani advanced his plan as a way to address New York City’s affordability crisis and food insecurity, which some experts say is a modest proposal that would maintain the city’s competitive market while lowering costs in certain neighborhoods. Municipal grocery stores are not a novel idea: the U.S. Department of Defense has public retail markets, and cities including St. Paul, KS, Madison, WI, and Atlanta have or plan to open city-run grocery stores, according to CNN.
Recent polling from the progressive pollster Data for Progress also shows that 66% of New Yorkers support municipal grocery stores, and 90% are concerned about rising food costs.
Catsimatidis dismissed concerns about rising costs when asked by amNewYork, saying it was a part of living in New York City and people should “deal with it.”
In a December interview with The New York Times, Mamdani said his municipal grocery store plan was necessary to address rising costs.
“Everywhere I go, I hear New Yorkers talking about the outrageous prices of groceries,” Mamdani said. “This is a bold and workable plan.”
Catsimatidis, who has threatened to shut down his businesses and leave New York City if Mamdani becomes mayor, spoke more about Mamdani than bodegas. He portrayed the Queens Assemblymember as an out-of-touch socialist corrupting the Democratic Party and compared him to infamous communist leaders like the late Cuban dictator Fidel Castro.
“He wants to be the Fidel Castro of New York City,” Catsimatidis said. “Fidel Castro promised everything to everybody.”
“We’re going to have a big fight before we give up New York City,” Catsimatidis added. “We’re not giving up New York City that easily. We will do what we have to do now.”
Catsimatidis, who ran for mayor twice as a Republican after being a registered Democrat, said he supports Mayor Eric Adams’ reelection campaign and President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts, citing lower crime levels.
He also suggested investigating Mamdani’s background, noting that he got his citizenship “only” seven years ago.
Radhames Rodriguez, the president of UBA who owns bodegas in the Bronx, said Mamdani’s plan would destroy the lives of bodega owners and employees.
“We have somebody that came from — I don’t know where he’s coming from — and tries to take our business from the people that have been here for over 50 years,” Rodriguez said.
“That’s not going to happen,” Rodriguez added. “We’re going to stay and we’re going to fight, because we need those bodegas in every corner, serving our community.”
