"It's going to be $1," Josefina Aguirre said to a customer, pausing an interview with Fox News Digital inside her family's Spanish Harlem meat market. I got a couple of customers. Let's start over," Aguirre, a first generation American, said.
"This is me," she added with a laugh from behind the counter where she has worked for the past 30 years. Aguirre is among the neighborhood grocers suing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his plan to open city-backed grocery stores across all five boroughs. He says the plan will offer shoppers prices roughly 30% lower than comparable retailers.
Local business owners argue it will force small local-run stores to shutter. EXPERTS SCORCH MAMDANI'S GROCERY PLAN AS AN 'ILLUSION' THAT WILL HAVE TAXPAYERS FOOTING THE BILL "When we heard Mamdani was opening a grocery store where people are gonna save 30% it scares us because we don't have the money to compete," Aguirre said. "I mean, we are New Yorkers, we're not scared of competition, we never have been, but when you have a grocery store coming in like this, it could take us out of business." One of the proposed city-backed stores is set to open next year at La Marqueta, an existing public market just two blocks from Little Mexico, the family business Aguirre's parents opened in 1997.
The city is expected to spend roughly $30 million to build the location, putting a taxpayer-backed competitor practically on Aguirre's doorstep. NYC TAXPAYERS COULD PAY TWICE UNDER MAMDANI'S CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORE PLAN For generations, bodegas and small grocery stores have been woven into the fabric of New York City neighborhoods, serving customers who often live just blocks away. Aguirre said the shop, which she now runs with her two sisters, has survived the COVID-19 pandemic, rising rents and competition from big-box retailers such as a nearby Costco.
But after nearly three decades in business, Aguirre fears Mamdani's city-run grocery plan could be the setback her family cannot survive. "If I’m selling a whole chicken for $13 and he’s giving it for $7, they’re gonna buy the $7 chicken," Aguirre said. "Who doesn’t want a 30% discount?" For Aguirre, the stakes extend well beyond losing customers.
"I pay my mortgage from here. I pay for my kid's tuition. This is what I've been doing for over 30 years.
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