By Hannah Fierick and Matt Troutman
He’s selling a “basket of goods.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani admitted Tuesday that the promised lower prices at his city-owned grocery stores will only be guaranteed for a core set of everyday staples.
Items in those so-called baskets of goods have yet to be decided, but likely include essentials such as bread, milk and eggs, officials said.
Beyond those essentials, the stores will also sell other foodstuffs and items. Officials said they’ll aim to make those items low-cost as well, but may not always be able to achieve the perpetual discount.
“When it comes to the products that we will be selling at the city-run grocery stores, there will be an essential basket of goods that will be guaranteed a cheaper price, and cheaper than what they’re being sold at currently,” Mamdani said during a news conference at La Marqueta in Harlem.
The already city-owned La Marqueta was the first location revealed to host Mamdani’s socialist pet grocery project, but he said Tuesday the actual store – which carries a whopping $30 million expected price tag – won’t open until 2029.
Other yet-to-be-decided municipal grocery stores will open before then, with the first expected to greet shoppers in late 2027, officials said.
“This store will be open in 2029,” Mamdani said. “The reason that we’re announcing it first is because, unlike other stores, this will be built from the ground up.”
The store at La Marqueta is planned to be a 9,000-square-foot market erected on a nearby vacant lot, officials said.
The project will cost roughly half the $70 million Mamdani’s administration expects to spend to get the city-owned grocery stores off the ground in all five boroughs by the end of his first term.
The funding still requires approval from the City Council.