Overview

• The NYC mayoral candidate reiterated a plan to open five city-run grocery stores, one per borough, promising cheaper groceries rather than free food.
• He cited studies on feasibility in large cities such as Chicago and pledged to recruit experienced operators to manage the pilot.
• Mamdani said the $60 million cost would be less than half of what the city already spends subsidizing corporate supermarkets.
• CNN’s Abby Phillip challenged the plan by pointing to Kansas City’s Sun Fresh, which opened in 2018 with roughly $17–18 million in public funding and recently shut down after persistent understocking and crime.
• Right-leaning outlets amplified skepticism and framed the proposal as an ideological risk, keeping the pilot a contested issue in the mayoral race.