Overview

• A viral video showed empty shelves and a rancid odor at Kansas City’s Sun Fresh Market, which opened in 2018 with millions in public funding.
• GOP Rep. Mark Alford cited a $15 million loss and alleged rise in crime to warn that New York City’s pilot could face comparable failures.
• Mamdani insists the plan is a five-store experiment—one per borough—with a $65 million budget and expansion contingent on pilot performance.
• Supporters highlight New York’s existing Economic Development Corporation markets, operating since the 1930s with affordable rents and neighborhood vendors, as a viable precedent.
• Supply chain experts say city-run grocery outlets require seasoned operators and limited inventories to avoid the deficits that sank Kansas City’s market and zero-fare bus system.