A City Council member is set to introduce a bill that would expand Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s municipal grocery store plan beyond its current five store pilot.
Jennifer Gutiérrez, D-Brooklyn, is a co-sponsor on the bill being introduced Thursday to ensure that city-operated supermarkets would become a permanent part of government.
Gutiérrez first started looking into the concept two years ago, when she heard from constituents about a dearth of affordable groceries, particularly in parts of South Williamsburg, she said. The complaints were universal, she said, coming from Hasidic Jews and Black and Hispanic residents.
“Both communities raised the fact that there was no close access to a supermarket, a good grocery store,” she said. “It’s a food access issue.”
Gutiérrez met with advocates and immersed herself in food policy, going through the real estate and food sourcing challenges, as well as the pros and cons of different store models.
The Mamdani administration hung a rendering showing a planned city-owned grocery store at La Marqueta public market in East Harlem, April 14, 2026. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY
When Mamdani made city-run grocery stores one of the key pillars of his campaign, she was elated. But she thinks it should go further.
“Lets make sure it’s not something that just our current mayor invests in, but something we can codify into in perpetuity,” Gutiérrez said.
The bill would specifically add the grocery plan into the city’s laws, with a minimum of five stores.
Councilmember Jennifer Gutiérrez (D-Brooklyn) wants to make city-owned grocery stores a permanent fixture, embedded in local laws. . Credit: Ben Fractenberg/THE CITY
Mayor Mamdani’s municipal grocery store plan — which will cost an estimated $70 million just to build out — would create a city-subsidized shop in each borough. So far, the city has announced just two of the five locations, a 20,000-square-foot supermarket in Hunts Point in The Bronx and a 9,000-square foot store at La Marqueta in East Harlem.
The Bronx store is expected to open first, while the Manhattan location will be the last to open, by 2029, officials have said.
The mayor’s plan was one of many affordability initiatives that helped elect him, but challenges remain.
Supporters of Mayor Mamdani’s grocery plan join a rally marking his first 100 days in office, April 12, 2026.
The city will have to compete with local and national grocery chains while also creating the leverage necessary to buy and sell at low prices from suppliers, experts previously told The City Reporter.
It’s unclear which private operator could run the stores, and how the prices could remain competitive with just five supermarkets.
Gutiérrez said those challenges are one reason the city should expand the market plan.
“The more we invest in it, the more sustainable we can count these markets being,” she said.
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