Mayor Zohran Mamdani\u2019s controversial plan to open city-owned grocery stores is set for an explosive City Council hearing \u2013 as a new, immigrant-led business group is building a $1 million-plus war chest to oppose it, The Post has learned.<\/p>\n
Sources said the meeting, tentatively slated for May 29, will be held by the City Council\u2019s Economic Development Committee and is the first administrative step to vet the $70 million plan to build five stores<\/a> \u2014 drawing the ire of bodega and grocery store owners who say the city-run shops\u2019 perpetual free rent and real estate tax breaks would provide unfair competition.<\/p>\n The hearing, whose details haven\u2019t yet been posted on the official calendar, could determine \u201cwhat the council is willing to allocate if anything,\u201d according to a city official who asked not to be identified. <\/p>\n Mayor Mamdani hopes to build a $30 million city owned grocery store at La Marqueta in East Harlem. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cThere are questions we have about bodega owners and the location,\u201d the official said. \u201cAll of these questions will be fair game.\u201d<\/p>\n Among those speaking out against the public stores will be the Multicultural Business Coalition, a month-old nonprofit comprised of more than 50 chambers of commerce representing Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Jewish-owned businesses in New York.<\/p>\n Registered as a so-called 501(c)(4) nonprofit, MBC is in discussions for a $1 million commitment from a single, unidentified supporter, according to Frank Garcia, the new group\u2019s chairman. The group also raised nearly $100,000 in a week from individual donors and small and mid-size businesses for a lobbying and ad blitz, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe will be at the hearing in force,\u201d Garcia told The Post. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to hurt the mayor but we are not going to let him hurt us.\u201d <\/p>\n If the coalition, which also opposes Mamdani\u2019s $30-an-hour minimum-wage proposal, is given the brush off, it \u201cwill go after the mayor and his candidates and make sure he is a one-time mayor,\u201d Garcia said.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first time so many disparate immigrant groups have come together under one umbrella \u2013 and politicos are taking notice, according to Duvi Honig, secretary of the coalition and founder of the Orthodox Jewish Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n Frank Garcia is the chairman of the Multicultural Business Coalition. Helayne Seidman<\/p>\n An event MBO hosted last week, drew New York Senate Majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Congressman George Latimer as well City Council staffers, including Speaker Julie Menin\u2019s chief of staff, Miguelina Camilo.<\/p>\n The MBC\u2019s president is Ken Roldan, a former lawyer in the New York Attorney General\u2019s civil rights bureau. He said the group is weighing possible legal action against the city over the public supermarkets, although he said he wasn\u2019t yet ready to discuss specifics.<\/p>\n \u201cWe wouldn\u2019t shy away from a lawsuit by any means,\u201d Roldan said. <\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office did not respond to requests for comment about the coalition.<\/p>\n The Multicultural Business coalition brings together 65 Chambers of Commerce representing a diverse group of immigrant business owners. Apple Photos Clean Up<\/p>\n The administration hasn\u2019t yet briefed the City Council on details of its plan, but some industry leaders have met with officials from the city\u2019s Economic Development Corporation, which is spearheading it, sources told The Post.<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s first planned store is aimed for an East Harlem location next to the La Marqueta food kiosks at East 116th Street and Park Ave. \u2013 which would cost $30 million to build from the ground up and open in 2029.<\/p>\n About a week ago, five East Harlem grocers and their trade group, the National Supermarket Association met with EDC officials for two hours about the store, according to Nelson Eusebio, director of government relations for the National Supermarket Association.<\/p>\n Mayor Mamdani announced his plan in front of La Marqueta to build a city-owned grocery store in Harlem. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n \u201cI believe they wanted to prepare themselves for the hearing,\u201d Eusebio told The Post. \u201cWe told them they are spending too much money [on the Harlem store] and asked them why they aren\u2019t investing funds into existing supermarkets.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the NYC EDC said it \u201chas not been notified about testifying\u201d at the hearing but confirmed that the agency has been meeting with \u201crelevant stakeholders\u201d including supermarket owners.<\/p>\n City Fresh Market at 125 E. 116th St.<\/a> is one of more than a dozen stores within five blocks of La Marqueta, as The Post reported<\/a>. A city-owned store \u201cwill definitely affect our business for sure,\u201d manager Jerry Nunez told The Post. \u201cThey won\u2019t pay rent and taxes which would put them a step ahead of us.\u201d<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s representatives will be grilled by City Council officials to determine whether his plan to open public grocery stores will be funded. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n Last month, City Council Speaker Julie Menin gave what some insiders saw as a notably noncommittal statement on Mamdani\u2019s grocery idea.<\/p>\n \u201cAs our city confronts ongoing fiscal and affordability crises, the City Council is identifying responsible solutions to lower costs and address food insecurity,\u201d her office said. The \u201cCity Council Speaker looks forward to receiving details on the mayor\u2019s proposal and assessing its potential impacts on consumers and local small businesses, including bodegas.\u201d<\/p>\n Another organization led by former mayoral candidate Jim Walden also has raised $1 million to launch a group called NYC Common Sense that also opposes many of the mayor\u2019s initiatives. The two groups are in discussions on how they can help each other, Garcia said.<\/p>\n Grocery stores near La Marqueta are worried that their businesses could be harmed by a new store that doesn\u2019t need to pay rent or real estate taxes. Luiz C. Ribeiro for NY Post<\/p>\n While five city-owned stores would impact neighboring grocers, an added concern is that the Big Apple could expand the model, sources say.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst case scenario is if they get funding to build 100 stores around the city,\u201d Eusebio told The Post. \u201cYou can\u2019t compete with a store that\u2019s not paying rent and getting breaks from the city.\u201d<\/p>\n