Immigrant grocers and bodega owners are taking Mayor Zohran Mamdani to court over his plan to open five government-owned supermarkets across New York City.
According to the New York Post, the Multicultural Business Coalition, which represents 50 chambers of commerce serving ethnically diverse businesses, filed two lawsuits in New York state court Monday.
One is a proposed class-action lawsuit representing “hundreds” of store owners who say they belong to groups that have historically faced discrimination.
The seven-page class-action complaint argues that the city-owned supermarkets could violate the civil rights of existing business owners if the plan moves forward.
A second, 13-page lawsuit compares Mamdani’s proposal to the threat posed by Walmart, which has faced years of resistance from New York politicians and labor unions over concerns that its deep discounts could hurt smaller retailers.
The filing points to the city’s promise to sell basic grocery items at prices 30% below market rates, arguing that the discounts could rival or exceed Walmart’s pricing.
The lawsuit claims the city-owned stores could “eliminate an untold amount of opportunity for minority businesses and small business at large.”
The coalition also alleges that the city did not conduct an adequate review of how the supermarkets could affect nearby grocery stores before announcing the plan in July.
The group is asking a court to require an economic analysis of the potential impact on family-owned businesses, including stores owned by Hispanic, Arab and Asian New Yorkers.
“There is no extant evidence that the respondents have undertaken any studies and or serious analysis before its current arbitrary site selection,” the filing states.
Mamdani defended the proposal when asked about the lawsuits at a press conference in Queens.
“I’m confident both in the legality of this, that it will stand up in court and the importance of delivering it,” Mamdani said.
The city’s grocery program is expected to cost taxpayers $70 million to build. Officials say shoppers could save about $90 a month, or roughly $1,000 annually, through the planned discounts on staples such as produce, meat, milk, cheese and bread.
The first two locations are planned for La Marqueta in East Harlem and the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Center in Hunts Point, Bronx. Locations in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island have not yet been announced.
MBC President Ken Roldan called the proposal “a direct assault on minority business,” while Chairman Frank Garcia said his family has a long history of operating bodegas and advocating for immigrant store owners.
The coalition expects to identify its first plaintiffs later this week and amend the filings to include them.