Mayor Zohran Mamdani has named the first site for one of his signature campaign promises: a network of city-owned grocery stores. On April 13, 2026, during a rally marking his first 100 days in office, Mamdani announced that La Marqueta, the city-owned marketplace in East Harlem, will host the first of five planned public grocery stores — one in each borough.

The proposal is among the most ambitious public-grocery experiments attempted by a major American city, and it became a central flashpoint of Mamdani’s 2025 campaign, pitched as a direct response to rising food prices.

How the stores would work

Under the model Mamdani’s administration has outlined, the city owns the site and develops it using capital funds, then partners with a third-party grocery operator to run day-to-day operations, collaborating on pricing and labor. By absorbing costs that private grocers pass on to shoppers — such as rent — the city aims to lower prices on a core basket of everyday staples.

La Marqueta sits beneath the elevated Metro-North tracks on Park Avenue in East Harlem and is operated by the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The East Harlem store is expected to open by the end of 2029, with the remaining four targeted for completion by the close of Mamdani’s term.

The administration framed La Marqueta as a fitting first site on grounds of need. City officials cited that roughly 38 percent of households in the area receive SNAP benefits and that 59 percent reported being unable to afford basic needs in the past year — figures that place the neighborhood among the city’s more food-insecure.

The case Mamdani is making

Mamdani has built the grocery plan around the argument that consolidation in the food supply chain drives prices up while wages stay flat. “When corporations control every part of the food supply chain, prices go up, wages stay flat,” he said in announcing the East Harlem site, casting the public stores as intervention where, in his telling, the market has failed working-class neighborhoods.

Local officials echoed the access argument. City Council Member Elsie Encarnacion said the store would mean “access to affordable, healthy food that is hopefully culturally relevant” for East Harlem residents — a nod to La Marqueta’s long history as a hub for Puerto Rican and Latino food vendors.

Skepticism and the road ahead

The plan has drawn sustained criticism from grocery-industry groups and conservative commentators, who argue that government-run stores risk losing money and undercutting private supermarkets that operate on thin margins. Reporting on the rollout has flagged the practical hurdles — siting, construction timelines, finding operators, and proving the stores can actually deliver lower prices — that stand between the announcement and a working storefront.

For now, the program remains in its earliest phase: one identified site, a multi-year construction horizon and an operating model still being defined through the city’s development process. La Marqueta’s selection makes the promise concrete, but the test — whether a city-owned store can meaningfully lower what New Yorkers pay for groceries — is years away.

Verification

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Mayor Mamdani announce?
On April 13, 2026, he named La Marqueta in East Harlem as the first identified site for his planned network of five city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough.
When would the first store open?
The East Harlem store at La Marqueta is expected to open by the end of 2029, with all five stores targeted for completion by the end of Mamdani's term.
How would the city-owned stores work?
The city would own the site and develop it with capital funds, then partner with a third-party grocery operator on pricing and labor, aiming to pass savings to shoppers on staple items.
Why East Harlem?
It is a city-owned site with deep food-insecurity need: officials cited that 38% of area households receive SNAP and 59% reported being unable to afford basic needs in the past year.