Mamdani Announces His Plan to Destroy NYC's Bodegas Will Take Effect Next Year

Amy Curtis | April 14, 2026 9:00 AM

From the outset of his campaign, Zohran Mamdani vowed to bring government-run grocery stores to the Big Apple. The plan is doomed to fail, as every other city that has tried government-run grocery stores has been forced to shutter them. Mamdani's plan was also contingent on his misreading a government website about $140 million in subsidies, money that didn't actually exist (which is appropriate for a socialist, really).

But bodega owners in New York City were sounding the alarm last summer that government-run grocery stores would put them out of business, with Fernando Mateo, a spokesman for the United Bodegas of America, calling the plan a "cancer."

Despite these warnings, Mamdani announced he will open the first government-run grocery store next year.

Zohran Mamdani announces he will open his first communist grocery store in New York next year:

“I am proud to announce that we will open every single one of these stores by the end of our first term, and the first one will open next year.” pic.twitter.com/AMp8DMqXKa
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 13, 2026

"During our campaign, we promised New Yorkers that we would create a network of five city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough," Mamdani said. "Today, we make good on that promise. I am proud to announce we will open every single one of these stores by the end of our first term. And the first one will open next year."

There are millions of people living in the five boroughs. Manhattan has a population of about 1.63 million, Brooklyn 2.74 million, Queens 2.4 million, the Bronx 1.47 million, and Staten Island about 500,000.