Shoppers who want lower prices at city-run grocery stores in New York City may have to prove their residency, though conflicting reports claim the city will not require an ID.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Monday the city wants to prevent nonresidents from accessing food that could cost 30% less than what traditional supermarkets charge.
The city-run stores will offer a free, voluntary membership card program, but according to the New York Post, shoppers will not have to prove their residency. The city also doesn’t want people reselling the items on social media, which may require item limits.
On Reddit, some commenters favored the ID approach.
“He is doing this for residents of NYC who pay taxes,” one poster said. “He is protecting the food for the people who live in Manhattan.”
“Good,” another poster wrote. “This benefit is for New York City residents since the city subsidizes it with their tax dollars.”
Mamdani announced last week that stores will price certain items—including produce, meat, bread and milk—at 30% below average market prices. The city will price the remaining products at market rates. The mayor said the discounts could save shoppers about $90 per month, or more than $1,000 per year.
The city plans to open one city-run store in each borough, but officials have announced locations for only two so far—in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx and the La Marqueta market in East Harlem.
The Multicultural Business Coalition, which formed this year to fight Mamdani’s grocery store plan and comprises 50 chambers of commerce representing Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Jewish-owned businesses in New York, plans to sue the city.