Zohran Mamdani, the Communist-Islamist mayor of New York City, is certainly living up to his Communist label with the announcement his government-owned grocery store will cost a ridiculous $30 million and take three years to build.
“This store will be open in 2029,” Mamdani told supporters this week about his plans to build a 9,000 square foot store on a vacant lot. “The reason that we’re announcing it first is that, unlike other stores, this will be built from the ground up.”
This East Harlem store will cost an absurd $30 million.
Only a socialist would require $30 million and three years to build a freaken grocery store, and I am not alone in that thinking.
“I almost fell back when I saw the $30 million number,” Anthony Pena, president of the National Supermarket Association, told the New York Post. “Even a high-end, gourmet store in the middle of Manhattan wouldn’t cost that much to build.”
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani attends a news conference where he announced the first of the city-run grocery stores: La Marqueta in East Harlem on April 14, 2026, in New York City. A key campaign promise, Mamdani has pledged a city-run grocery store in every borough of NYC, where residents can buy discounted produce and other healthy foods. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Avi Kaner, who once owned a grocery chain in New York, told the Post that “$30 million is an awful lot to spend to build one supermarket.”
According to both men, “a typical, 15,000-square-foot store without elevators or escalators costs under $10 million to build.”
And what’s Mamdani offering with his $30 million spend and three-year build? Will East Harlem see a glorious grocery palace complete with massage therapy, IMAX movie theaters, free daycare, a coffee bar, and a full spa? Nope…
“When it comes to the products that we will be selling at the city-run grocery stores, there will be an essential basket of goods that will be guaranteed a cheaper price, and cheaper than what they’re being sold at currently,” Mamdani said.
Oh.
Two things to keep in mind…
First, that $30 million is just to build the thing. My guess is that at least half of that money will be used for graft to pay off Mamdani’s supporters in the unions and the like, but that $30 million does not include the cost of running the store, purchasing the food, and operating at a loss.
Second, what will this government-run store do to all those East Harlem grocers who require a profit to remain in business? Mamdani’s either going to bury them in bankruptcy, or he’ll have to subsidize them to keep them in business.
Mamdani has another $40 million set aside for one government-owned grocery store in the four remaining boroughs. Those will be cheaper because the city will move into an existing structure instead of building a new one.
These schemes never work, and there is nothing about this plan that doesn’t spell boondoggle.
I can’t wait to watch history repeat itself. New York City getting what it voted for is grand entertainment.
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