An immigrant-led business group is reportedly preparing to sue New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over complaints stemming from his taxpayer-funded grocery stores, one of his landmark policies.
The Multicultural Business Coalition — a nonprofit group formed earlier this year in response to the state-funded grocery stores, representing Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and Jewish-owned New York businesses — is planning to raise $1 million to combat the new policy, Chairman Frank Garcia told the New York Post. The money is being raised for lobbying and the legal costs associated with the move.
“The mayor doesn’t seem to want to sit down with us,” Garcia told the outlet, adding that Mamdani “won’t be able to bully these lawyers we are going to bring in.”
Garcia is aiming to build a bipartisan coalition for the lawsuit, a task that should be made easier by growing pushback from within the Democratic Party. The most high-profile is the state’s top official, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), who has subtly questioned the proposal in the past. New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin has also questioned the proposal.
Part of Garcia’s plan is to garner public sympathy by highlighting the plight of small business owners, who may be unable to compete with the tax-subsidized stores. He claimed several groups and wealthy individuals, including conservative think tanks and politicians, have pledged financial support, though declined to tell the outlet who. Accepting their public support could jeopardize the bipartisan angle.
The MBC is planning to send a letter to Mamdani’s office in the coming days to notify him of its intent to take action.
Though Garcia outlined the broad complaint of their lawsuit, he declined to give their specific allegations. The crux of their complaints is that the taxpayer-subsidized supermarkets create unfair competition for small businesses, not only over the subsidized grocery prices but also because the new supermarkets will be built on municipal property, so they won’t have to pay rent.
“Having items that sell for 30% less than our prices means nobody will go to our stores,” Radhames Rodriguez, president of the United Bodegas of America, told the New York Post.
Mamdani has countered these arguments by claiming that the government supermarkets will offer different products that don’t directly compete with bodegas or grocery stores.
“We are not looking to compete with bodegas or grocery stores when it comes to their ability to survive,” he said at a Monday press conference.
The first of the five supermarkets is planned to open next year.
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On Monday, Garcia told the New York Times he had been offended by recent comments from the chairman of the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, Gustavo Gordillo, an ally of Mamdani, who offered words of support for Mamdani’s plan.
“If one publicly owned grocery store that brings prices down in the neighborhood is enough to put someone out of business, then maybe they shouldn’t have been in that business in the first place,” he said.