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    NORTH AMERICAN Newsline                                                  APRIL 24, 2026    |  The Indian Eye 20

             Mayor Mamdani Announces La Marqueta as First

                   Site Identified for City’s Public Grocery Stores

               All five sites to open before end of mayoral term; first location to open in 2027

                                                   and La Marqueta to open in 2029

            OUR BUREAU
            NEW YORK, NY

                    ayor Zohran Kwame Mam-
                    dani, alongside Deputy
            MMayor Julie Su and the
            New York City Economic Develop-
            ment Corporation (NYCEDC), has
            announced La Marqueta in East
            Harlem as the first site for the city’s
            municipal grocery store program—
            an ambitious effort to confront rising
            food prices and expand access to af-
            fordable groceries.
                The  planned  9,000-square-foot
            store  will  be  built  from  the  ground
            up and is expected to open by 2029,
            while  the  first  city-owned  grocery
            store overall is slated to launch in
            late 2027. The Mamdani administra-
            tion aims to establish one such store
            in  each  borough  by  the  end  of  the
            mayor’s first term, signaling a broad-  price they can afford.”     cost-of-living crisis, improving public   “Food is a basic human right and no
            er structural intervention in the city’s   Under  the  proposed  model,   health, and creating a more dignified   one should have to work more than
            food economy.                     the city will retain ownership of the   and equitable city.”        one job to afford to put dinner on the
                The  urgency  behind  the  initia-  land  and  absorb  major  overhead   To guide implementation, the   table,” he said, adding that the proj-
            tive is clear. Grocery prices in New   costs such as rent and construction.   administration has announced the   ect is “a significant step toward fight-
            York City have surged nearly 66   A private operator, selected through   creation of an NYC Groceries Task   ing food insecurity.”
            percent over the past decade, signifi-  a request for proposals process, will   Force, led by Deputy Mayors Su and   From an economic and develop-
            cantly  outpacing  the  national  aver-  handle daily operations. Crucially,   Arteaga.  The  group  will  bring  to-  ment perspective, NYCEDC Inter-
            age. The city-owned grocery model   that  operator  will  be  contractually   gether city agencies, industry experts,   im President and CEO Jeanny Pak
            is designed to counter this trend by   obligated to pass savings directly to   and small business owners to shape   described  the  program  as  a  way  to
            leveraging public ownership to elim-  consumers, particularly on a core   the  program’s  rollout  and  ensure  it   address “food insecurity and afford-
            inate layers of cost that are typically   basket of essential goods.  meets community needs.          ability  while  ensuring  good  paying,
            passed on to consumers.               Deputy Mayor Julie Su empha-      Local leaders have welcomed   quality  jobs  and  a  dignified,  enjoy-
                The initiative seeks to deliver   sized  the  broader  policy  vision  be-  the decision to place the first store in   able  shopping  experience.”  Labor
            “affordable,  high-quality  grocer-  hind the initiative. “Economic justice   East  Harlem,  a  neighborhood  long   leaders have also expressed cautious
            ies”  while  strengthening  neighbor-  means making sure the basic necessi-  associated with both cultural vibran-  support,  with  Stuart  Appelbaum  of
            hood-level food access. To support   ties of life—starting with food—are   cy and economic challenges. Council   RWDSU saying they look forward to
            the rollout, Mayor Mamdani has al-  affordable  and  accessible  in  every   Member Elsie Encarnacion said the   ensuring the stores “deliver for fami-
            located $70 million in capital funds   borough,”  she  said,  describing  the   initiative would help ensure families   lies and workers alike.”
            for the development of five locations   grocery program as “a centerpiece”   can “buy fresh, affordable food right   The  choice  of  La Marqueta
            across the city.                  of the administration’s economic jus-  in their own neighborhood,” adding   carries  both  symbolic  and  practical
                Framing the move as a response   tice agenda.                   that it reflects the importance of in-  weight. Located in the heart of East
            to market imbalance, Mamdani said,    Public health considerations are   vesting in communities like hers.  Harlem, the site currently supports
            “When  corporations  control  every   also central to the effort. Deputy   Manhattan Borough President   more  than  20  small  businesses  and
            part of the food supply chain, pric-  Mayor for Health and Human Ser-  Brad Hoylman-Sigal pointed to the   120 workers.
            es  go  up,  basic  necessities  become   vices Dr. Helen Arteaga highlighted   area’s health disparities, noting that   Originally  opened  in  1936  by
            luxuries and workers and custom-  the connection between food access   limited  food  access  contributes  to   Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia as the
            ers both lose.” He added, “A public   and  well-being,  stating  that  “the   “higher rates of diabetes [and] heart   Park Avenue Retail Market, it was
            option allows us to intervene where   health and well-being of New York-  disease.” He said the selection of La   designed  to  bring  pushcart  ven-
            the market has failed… This is about   ers are dependent on their ability to   Marqueta builds on its “historic role   dors—primarily Jewish and Italian—
            ensuring that every New Yorker, re-  access affordable, nutritious foods.”   as a vital neighborhood food hub.”  under one roof and expand access
            gardless of income or ZIP code, has   She described the project as “a mon-  Council  Member  Yusef  Salaam   to affordable food for working-class
            access to fresh, healthy food at a   umental step toward addressing the   framed the initiative in moral terms.   residents.

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