Socialist NYC mayoral candidate Mamdanis plan for city-run food markets would clobber customers: critics

Socialist mayoral wannabe Zohran Mamdani’s scheme to bring government-owned-and-operated grocery stores to the Big Apple is a “Soviet” style disaster-in-waiting, supermarket owners across NYC told The Post.Mamdani, a Queens state assemblyman who is polling second among Democratic primary candidates, claims his “network” of municipal markets would slash skyrocketing grocery prices by eliminating overhead.But the city already has “a poor track record” running public housing, hospitals, schools and other services – and would “likely fail miserably in the grocery business,” said Jason Ferraira, a board member of the National Supermarket Association, which represent over 700 NYC and East Coast stores.“New Yorkers enjoy having options,” he said.“Each grocer is catering to the needs of a neighborhood, carrying different products for different ethnicities, backgrounds and incomes.”But Mamdani’s plan would create “Soviet” markets where customers could be stuck with just “one brand or generic brands” of items like bread and milk, insisted Ferraira, who runs three Foodtown supermarkets in Queens.Others noted that fixed prices at city-run markets would force competing private businesses to shutter, leaving New Yorkers with less selection.“It’s a socialist move that goes against the American Dream,” said Nallely De Jesus, the vice president of a company that runs a Super Fresh and four other markets in the South Bronx.“It’s also not just about cheaper prices; it’s about making sure customers are getting the products they want.”Both Ferraira and De Jesus insisted a vast majority of supermarket operators don’t price gouge, adding it pays to keep prices as low as possible to be able to compete.Mamdani’s plan calls for five municipal grocery stores — one in each borough — and potentially expanding to a larger network of stores.

He estimated the first five would cost $60 million combined to build.Plan specifics have bee...