NYC business owners revolt over Mamdani’s government-run grocery stores: ‘Doomed for disaster'

New York City business leaders and bodega owners rallied Wednesday just steps away from the future site of one of Mayor Zohran Mamdani's city-run grocery stores, arguing the plan will force local businesses to close.

The Multicultural Business Coalition, which is made up of 50 chambers of commerce representing multicultural businesses, filed two lawsuits in state court on Monday challenging Mamdani’s plan to open five government-owned supermarkets with subsidized grocery offerings.

On Wednesday, leaders within the coalition gathered alongside bodega owners outside the American Deli Mini Market Corp, in Harlem — which sits across the street from the confirmed Manhattan city-run store location at La Marqueta — to challenge Mamdani’s rollout of the stores, which is slated to begin in late-2027.

GROCERY BOSS WARNS MAMDANI'S CITY-RUN STORES PIT GOVERNMENT AGAINST 'ITS OWN CITIZENS' "This is a campaign promise doomed for disaster if it is allowed to go through," Mark Jaffe, president and CEO of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, told Fox News Digital.

One of the two lawsuits is a seven-page class-action filed on behalf of "hundreds" of store owners and alleges the opening of the city-run grocery stores would violate the businesses’ civil rights, according to court documents.

"When you use government money discriminatorily, it could be a civil rights violation," Jaffe said, adding, "Shame on the [Mamdani] administration for not working with small businesses, but trying to hurt them and being heartless in their statements." The second suit asks the courts to permanently block the operation of " the municipal grocery stores , in absence of undertaking necessary studies and analysis," a move that has historically barred large retailers — such as Walmart — from entering the Big Apple. 'WASTEFUL DISTRACTION': EXPERTS SLAM MAMDANI'S TAXPAYER-FUNDED GROCERY STORES Under Mamdani’s plan, the five grocery stores will offer a core basket of items priced 30% below the average retail prices sold at other businesses.

"Under the model, the City will own the land and cover overhead costs like rent and construction.

A private operator, selected through a request for proposals, will manage daily operations and be contractually required to pass savings directly to customers on a core basket of everyday staples," an April news release stated.

However, the pricing and subsidization of business expenses for the city-run stores puts the operators at an unfair advantage, according to Jaffe.

EXPERTS SCORCH MAMDANI'S GROCERY PLAN AS AN 'ILLUSION' THAT WILL HAVE TAXPAYERS FOOTING THE BILL "It’s unfair," Jaffe told Fox News Digital.