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A view from the store floor
NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani briefly speaks with reporters
Will shoppers need ID for NYC city-run stores? Some reports say yes, others say no
Mamdani announced that stores will price certain items—including produce, meat, bread and milk—at 30% below aver- age market prices. The city will price the remaining products at market rates. The mayor said the discounts could save shop- pers 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 Mam- dani’s grocery store plan and comprises 50 chambers of commerce representing Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Middle East- ern and Jewish-owned businesses in New York, plans to sue the city. —Bill Wilson
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 in August 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 pro- tecting the food for the people who live in Manhattan.” “Good,” another poster wrote. “This ben- efit is for New York City residents since the city subsidizes it with their tax dollars.”
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