Mayor Mamdani: Good morning, Harlem. Thank you for joining us on this warm spring day. I want to acknowledge we are joined here by a number of leaders both across our administration and our city. We have our deputy mayor, Julie Su, who is here with us. We have our interim president of EDC, Jeanny Pak, who is here with us. We have our Council members, Elsie Encarnacion, as well as Yusef Salaam, who are here with us. We have our Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal. And we also have the director of Uptown Grand Central, Carey King, who is here with us.
Now, we are all here at La Marqueta at the same site where 92 years ago, Mayor Fiorello La Guardia stood. And he was battling a cold and the pouring rain to break ground on this very institution of La Marqueta, a city-owned public market opened two years later in 1936. It cut overhead for pushcart vendors and lowered consumer costs. La Guardia said it was, "an answer to those who said the unemployed had been forgotten." The New York Times described it succinctly: "City tries experiment." New York City, it is time for a grand experiment once again.
Just as La Guardia used government to respond to the challenges of the Great Depression, we will use government to respond to rising prices and unaffordable groceries. Since the pandemic, grocery prices have gone up and they haven't come back down. Between 2013 and 2023, grocery prices increased in New York City by nearly 66 percent, significantly higher than the national average. During our campaign, we promised New Yorkers that we would create a network of city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough. And we are here today to celebrate the site of the Manhattan store, La Marqueta, which will be open by 2029.
Now, here's how it works. The city will subsidize a core set of staples. A private operator will run the store, but they answer to the standards that the city will set. These standards include requirements that at our stores, bread will be cheaper, eggs will be cheaper. Grocery shopping will no longer be an unsolvable equation. And workers will be treated with dignity. Sixty-five thousand New Yorkers live within a 10-minute walk of La Marqueta. 5,000 NYCHA residents live on either side of Park Avenue. And nearly 40 percent of East Harlem residents receive public assistance or SNAP benefits in the last year. And we know those are the very kinds of federal programs that are under attack in this very moment. Now, at its peak, La Marqueta served 25,000 customers per day. We hope to make a similar impact here in this very neighborhood, continuing Fiorello La Guardia's legacy. This is what we mean by a new era. When New Yorkers are being priced out of their groceries, government will step in and deliver affordability. Now, with that being said, I'm going to pass it over to our deputy mayor for economic justice, Julie Su.
Deputy Mayor Julie Su, Economic Justice: Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor, and good morning. I'm Julie Su, the Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice. Sixty-two percent of New Yorkers cannot afford the real cost of living in this city. Not extras, not luxuries - the basics. A home, child care, medicine, food. Sixty-two percent is not an individual choice. It's not one community's problem. And it is not inevitable. It is a policy failure. So, we're here to talk about food. And we're here in East Harlem, El Barrio, a neighborhood of hardworking people, elders, immigrants, families raising children - people doing everything right who still find that the things on the store shelves are too much and the paycheck is too little.
Nearly 40 percent, as the mayor has said, rely on SNAP or public assistance. The truth is, this did not happen because this community was forgotten by accident. It happened because, for too long, we've accepted a city where the private market could leave whole neighborhoods behind and called that normal. Where government then gave tax breaks and zoning incentives to those same private actors. At some point, government has to stop tinkering at the margins and act to make sure that public goods serve the public good. And that is what this is. The city owns this land and we are going to use it to make food cheaper.
We are going to subsidize a core basket of staples, the things that families actually need every week. And we will listen to the community so the food on the shelves will reflect what people in this neighborhood eat. We are putting out a procurement this summer and the workers, as the mayor has also said, the workers in this store will enjoy union-level standards. Because addressing affordability is not just about bringing down the prices that working New Yorkers pay. It's also about bringing up what they make. Now there's history here and La Marqueta was built when Mayor La Guardia understood the same thing that this mayor understands. That if the private market is not delivering fresh, sanitary, and affordable food, the public has a duty to step in. That history is real, this place still carries it, and today we are building on it. 90 years later, the question is the same. What do we owe one another in a city like this? Our answer is simple: if New Yorkers cannot afford to eat, government cannot look away. Five stores, five boroughs, each one representing the community that it's in, and the first site selection starts here. And with that, I'm very pleased to introduce City Council Member Elsie Encarnacion.
Council Member Elsie Encarnacion: Good morning, everyone. So first, obviously, I'd like to thank our mayor and Deputy Mayor Julie Su and all of the folks over at EDC. You know, this kind of progress only happens when people come together behind the shared vision. La Marqueta has always belonged to this community. I remember growing up, it wasn't the La Guardia days, but it was some time ago. And I remember growing up here, coming to shop for food and spices and then walking over to Casa Blanca, our meat market on 110th Street. That is what our Saturdays look like. As an adult, I've had the opportunity to work alongside Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito [and] Council Member Diana Ayala, who have both invested in this space. Together with the friends of La Marqueta, we kept showing up. Years of advocacy, dedication and belief in what this space could be. That commitment never wavered.
Their work has laid the foundation for this. And while investments have been made, what we're talking about today goes beyond dollars and cents. This is about confronting something deeper: food insecurity. And doing it in a way that is rooted in dignity, access and cultural connection. La Marqueta has always represented something simple but powerful. The idea that people should be able to access food that reflects who they are at a price they can afford. That sense of belonging really matters. Too many families are still struggling to put food on the table. Not far from here, our pantry lines are stretching around the block and they grow every day. Bringing this low-cost supermarket to La Marqueta is about meeting people where they are.
It's about expanding that access to fresh, affordable food, [and] supporting health. All of the things that we talked about here today. I want to thank your commitment to doing this together, ensuring that this investment strengthens our community. Because this isn't just about what we're building, it's how we build it and who we build it for. And thanks to the friends of La Marqueta - they're in the building - [and] everyone who never gave up on this space. The people who frequent our market the way it is now. So, I'm incredibly excited for what's to come. I'm excited to get to the work. And in the meantime, I welcome all New Yorkers to come and see what we've built here. We're starting our Salsa Saturdays on May 9th. Shout out to DJ Ray.
[Taps Mayor Mamdani.]
I heard that you have some pretty good dance moves, so, I expect to see you here at Salsa Saturdays and to visit all of our great vendors. Thank you.
Deputy Mayor Su: And next, we have the Manhattan Borough President, Brad Hoylman Siegel.
Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal: Thank you, deputy mayor. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Manhattan Borough President. So gratified, Mr. Mayor, that you're making good on a campaign promise here in Manhattan. And here in East Harlem. This is not just about accessibility to food and the issue of affordability; it's also about the quality of the food. And I know you would agree. You shouldn't be segregated throughout the borough and have access or lack of access to high-quality food just because where you live. Here in East Harlem, nearly 60 percent of households struggle to afford basic needs, and close to 40 percent rely on public assistance. And we see the impact in East Harlem very clearly.
Nearly one in six adults live with diabetes. And hospitalization and death rates are nearly double the city average. Heart disease hospitalizations are 45 percent higher here in East Harlem than the rest of the city. So, that's not a coincidence. It's a result of a system where too many families are forced to rely on cheaper, low-quality food, and one where fresh produce is harder to find. And processed options are often the most accessible and affordable. So, this is what a nutrition desert might look like. Not just fewer affordable grocery stores, but fewer real opportunities to make healthy choices. And even in neighborhoods with retailers nearby, access to high-quality food, fresh, nutritious, affordable food is still out of reach for too many people. And there's an expression, Mr. Mayor, that "the market has no morals." And that's when government has to step in and make that decision to ensure that every New Yorker has access to the quality, fresh food they need. So, thank you very much. I'm very excited about this, and congratulations.
Deputy Mayor Su: And now Council Member Yusef Salaam.
Council Member Yusef Salaam: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, deputy mayor. Thank you [to] all the elected leaders as well in this space. This is actually a sacred space. This is a space where, you know, I woke up this morning, and I started thinking about what does this moment mean? In politics, people are concerned more about how [they can] maintain power. But when you talk about leadership, you're talking about people who are concerned about your children's children's children's children's future. Our mayor is exhibiting true leadership in a moment where we've needed it desperately. Why? Because as the prices rise, I've often said people are concerned more about how can they feed their families, how can they afford the rent. If they can't do that in safety, then they have no real true ability to dream with their eyes wide open.
This is about putting the power back in the people and allowing the people to regain their pulse again, their very heartbeat. The heartbeat that tells their children that they're going to be all right. That their children's children's children, when their parents were in this moment are long gone, we'll say thank you. Thank you for doing the right thing all the time. Standing up, as they say in a place that we are really from here, right here in El Barrio and Harlem, 10 toes down. And so, I'm honored to be sharing in this moment. And as we hear the hecklers outside, they really just want a sandwich. That's really what they want. They're hungry. They're really hungry to make sure that this place opens up yesterday. That's how desperately they need it.
I'm sure, Mr. Mayor, you have people following you around all the time. And, you know, I woke up thinking about this as well. You get the privilege of standing in the gap, being our leader, being the representation of the eight plus million people in this city who call you our mayor. Those who have voted for you, those who have not voted for you, [and] those on different sides of the aisle. This is a beautiful moment to show what we can do on into the future. Because, let me tell you, my children's children's children will most certainly be coming to La Marqueta because this is where I used to come. Thank you.
Deputy Mayor Su: And next is Carey King, director of Uptown Grand Central.
Carey King, Director, Uptown Grand Central: Good morning, everyone. My name is Carey King. I'm the director of Uptown Grand Central, the neighborhood nonprofit that recently formed East Harlem's first business improvement district, the East Harlem 125th Street BID. Many of us who have lived in East Harlem for some time know the word Pathmark, the iconic supermarket that served the neighborhood for more than 15 years on 125th Street. Pathmark was so well known that even though there's no building there anymore, most everyone when they pass by, they still call that block Pathmark.
When Pathmark closed 10 years ago, it was a blow to the community. And in response, our nonprofit has worked for the past decade with Grow NYC to host a farm stand year-round for the neighborhood. Season in and season out, from the berries and greens of the spring, to the tomatoes and corn of the summer, to the apples and the pumpkins of the fall and winter. We have been working with our neighbors to ensure that food is fresh and affordable. In this work of food access and connecting neighbors with farmers, there are a few truths that remain constant here in East Harlem. A third of our residents rely on SNAP EBT. More than a third of our households earn less than $20,000 a year. And we all want to choose produce that is fresh, high quality and responsibly grown without having to stand on a long pantry line.
The news that a city-run supermarket is coming to East Harlem's very own La Marqueta is especially exciting at a time that we've just been informed that farm stands are closing citywide due to federal budget cuts. All too often, communities such as East Harlem find themselves on the short end of the stick when it comes to funding priorities. So, we're excited that this mayor is committed to building a permanent point of food access here in our neighborhood. A place where people of all income levels can use their hard-earned dollars to be part of the food chain that is responsible for everyone. From the hands that pick the food, to those that deliver and market the food, to those that buy, cook and eat it. Thank you.
Question: There's a lot of businesses here. There's a supermarket one block away. There's about four other grocery stores within a few blocks or avenues in this area. Many of them have been working for years with lawmakers on legislation to try to buy food at lower prices at those wholesale prices to be able to offer food at lower prices. So, I guess why not work with local stores here in the area instead of potentially pushing them out of business?
Mayor Mamdani: This is not the entire answer to our City Hall's approach to tackling food insecurity. It is one part of it. What I will say is that for a long time, City Hall has relied exclusively on subsidies and tax breaks. There's a program called City Fresh that I've made my criticisms clear of that spent nearly the same amount of money that we're talking about spending on creating this supermarket. And yet New Yorkers have seen a rise in grocery prices across the board. So, what we are looking to do is to provide something to New Yorkers where they don't have to hope, but they have a guarantee that their essentials will be cheaper at that supermarket.
And it's something that we also see as one part of a flourishing ecosystem across the city. I'll give you another example. One thing that many of us love as New Yorkers are our bodegas across New York City. Now, we also know that for bodegas, some of the primary revenue generators are tobacco products and lottery products. Our city-run grocery stores are not going to be selling that. We're talking about the very food and produce that working class New Yorkers are so often priced out of while they're being lectured to and told to eat healthier.
Question: What metric will you use to measure whether the groceries are affordable enough, and do you plan on imposing any food affordability requirements on the many participants in the Fresh program, which of course [is] designed to bring actual supermarkets to underserved areas?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, we will continue to look at the Fresh program. I've made my criticisms clear of it as a program that has not translated into so much of what New Yorkers are looking for in terms of affordability. When it comes to the products that we will be selling at the city-run grocery stores, there will be an essential basket of goods that will be guaranteed at a cheaper price and cheaper than what they're being sold at currently.
Question: So how will you determine, I guess that's my [inaudible] -
Mayor Mamdani: The exact price points will be put forward over the course of this procurement process. However, the intent and something that we will fulfill is that New Yorkers will be able to recognize the price differential. It won't just be something that's incidental.
Question: So, when exactly will this store be developed for customers and [inaudible], and also since it was mentioned that over 60 percent of people living in this neighborhood struggle financially, what other steps are you going to take to help improve their economic situation?
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Mamdani: This store will be open in 2029. The reason that we're announcing it first is because unlike other stores, this will be built from the ground up. We are talking about a vacant lot that is about one or two blocks over there that is currently laying vacant. It is city-owned. We're going to build it from the ground up. We're going to design it. We're going to build it. We're going to complete it. It's then going to open so that Council Member Salaam's great, great, great, great grandchildren can continue to go to it. The other stores that we will open by 2029, some of them will be in preexisting constructed spaces. They won't require the same kind of timeline. Every single one of the five city-run grocery stores will be open by the end of 2029. The first one will be open next year.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: [inaudible] local grocery stores and bodegas, etc., and can you give an example of like a cucumber costs X, it now costs Y.
Mayor Mamdani: I can't give you an exact example of the cost of a cucumber in our essentials basket. But what I can tell you is that - when New Yorkers come to city-run grocery stores, they will see a clear price differential when it comes to those essentials, and I'm not sure if you'd like to add anything to that point.
Jeanny Pak, Interim President, NYC Economic Development Corporation: We will have a core basket of goods focused on fresh and everyday groceries, and it will be a fixed discount on sort of what is the average price of that. We haven't determined exactly how it's going to be calculated, but it's going to be a certain percentage. What it's going to allow people to do is it's going to allow them to budget and it's going to allow to feel a predictability of price. So, every week they go to the grocery store, they know, these core basket of goods, what price they will be. It's not going to fluctuate with the capital markets. It's going to be fixed throughout the five stores.
Question: Have you studied the economic impact on local businesses, if anything?
Mayor Mamdani: We are confident that this is going to be a critical part of not just the business ecosystem, but also the civic ecosystem across the city.
Question: You are a passionate supporter of union labor. I wanted to ask you if you are committed to making the jobs at these grocery stores union jobs.
Mayor Mamdani: You heard from the Deputy Mayor of Economic Justice that the standards will be union standards at these sites. They will be union standards -
Question: What does that mean?
Mayor Mamdani: That means that people will be paid the amount of money that they deserve and it's-
Question: [inaudible] they can afford to organize as a union?
Mayor Mamdani: No, that's not what that means. What it means is these are the amounts of money that the city will be budgeting towards it. And to say anything beyond that is then to preclude ourselves in the contract negotiations with private vendors-
Question: [inaudible] union jobs?
Mayor Mamdani: Because we're making them union standard jobs. And then that opens the door to all of that kind of living wage potential.
Question: You said this store will open in 2029 and that the first of your grocery stores will open next year. Why is it taking so long? I feel like a bodega opens every other week across New York City in every neighborhood. Why take so long to start?
Mayor Mamdani: I think for a few reasons. The first is that we are talking about building something from the ground up. We're talking about this city's first city-run grocery store in Manhattan that we need to both design, that we also need to construct. We're also going to be constructing it using prevailing wages. And it's also one part of a larger ecosystem, not just in terms of La Marqueta, but also here on this strip. We've seen the MTA has just completed their work in this very area. This requires a lot of interagency and intergovernmental coordination that we're going to be seeing. The store that will be open next year in 2027 and the additional stores that will be open by the end of 2029 will not require this same scale of production. The reason that we're announcing this is so that we can get started on this.
Question: So, this is under the umbrella of EDC, which you have yet to appoint a President for. Is Lina Khan still conducting interviews? Can you give us an update on that? And then is Speaker Menin on board with the grocery stores -
[Crosstalk.]
Mayor Mamdani: When it comes to EDC, we are continuing to conduct those interviews. And also, I think what today shows is that the work of EDC is not reliant on concluding those interviews. That work can continue. We're proud, frankly, of the immense amount of work coming out of EDC to ensure that we can deliver something the city has not seen before, which is a guarantee that these prices will be affordable.
Question: If the issue is high prices, why not just make some reforms to some of the drivers of the cost in grocery stores and supermarkets around the city? The special permit at the city council and things like that. And then, just related to the price of groceries, I want to know if there's a backup plan for supply. A lot of the reasons things cost a lot when you want good produce, it's just hard to get product into New York City. So, if you cut the price, what's going to make sure they come here, [inaudible]?
Mayor Mamdani: So, let's just go through a few things. Grocery prices went up across the nation over the course of COVID and the years since. However, grocery prices in New York outstripped even that of the national average. We have heard corporate leaders on earnings calls talking about how those prices have stayed up, even as some of those costs have come down. That speaks to the fact that oftentimes when government creates a subsidy or a tax break, it's doing so in the hopes that it will be passed on to the consumer. The difference in this approach is that we are not hoping for affordability. We're guaranteeing affordability.
In the contract we will have with a private operator, it will be required that the savings that are passed on to that operator then be passed on to the consumer. And I think it comes back to what was being said earlier, which is that for too many working-class New Yorkers, they are not able to budget for the grocery store anymore because they don't know what the price will be. I mean, I think it was Gothamist that recently found the cost of beef going up by, what was it, about 16 percent just over six months. That is something that is incredibly difficult for working-class New Yorkers to keep up with.
Question: What about working on regulations, getting rid of [inaudible]?
Mayor Mamdani: Your question was about taking actions that you would then hope be passed on in savings to consumers. My answer to you was that many of these actions that are taken are done in the hopes of savings being passed on. But those guarantees don't come. The city has a City Fresh program. It invested $30 million into that program. Those savings have not been passed on to New Yorkers. This will guarantee those savings.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: I'm wondering about the cost, the $70 million dollars allocated towards the grocery stores, will you comment on the decision to build this one from the ground-up considering the high cost of $30 million?
Mayor Mamdani: So, we have seen the history of La Marqueta, what it means to people in El Barrio and frankly, even beyond that. And when we speak to the local Council member, I remember you were telling me you have photos of this very institution and the memories. And yet what we know is that for too many New Yorkers, affordable grocery prices have also become a memory. They have also become something that they look back on as opposed to something they can look forward to. And we have seen that the history of this site, the need of this site.
Again, we're talking about an area where nearly 40 percent of residents are on public assistance of some sort, where we have 5,000 NYCHA residents on either side of this avenue, where we have so many different ways that working class New Yorkers can get here, whether we're talking by train, by rail, by car or even soon by bike. And that is the exact kind of opportunity the city wants to be able to deliver affordable grocery prices.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: I had a question about the state budget, they passed another extender yesterday, a lot of people think this is a sign that this will stretch on longer. It may even go past when your executive budget is due. Can you just give us an update on how these delays on the state level are affecting your ability to plan for executive? And would you rather they get this thing done before you have to put your next budget up?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that these conversations are continuing. This used to be a part of my life when I was serving in Albany. I am encouraged by the nature of the conversations, and I do expect that these will conclude by the time of our executive budget.
Question: What do you think about the reports that Julie Menin, Council Speaker, is stoking a feud with your side of City Hall? Do you agree with that analysis, and how will you work through areas, issues - the DOI commissioner, the budget? I guess that and her concern about this very plan that you talked about today?
Mayor Mamdani: I haven't yet read that article, but what I will tell you is that I'm looking forward to working with anyone and everyone to transform the most expensive city in the United States of America into one that's affordable for New Yorkers across the five boroughs. And I think just over the past few days, we've had an occasion to remember and recall what the first hundred days have looked like. The accomplishments of an administration and frankly of a city workforce that has been incredible.
And so, today, what I'm so excited by is that same city workforce has brought us to the verge of delivering something we haven't yet seen in this city. And when it comes to our DOI commissioner, I'm incredibly proud of the track record that she has, the qualifications she's put forward. We're speaking about someone who led the prosecution of R. Kelly and has shown a track record of independence, of accomplishment, and working at the highest levels rooting out corruption. And I think that those qualifications do speak for themselves.
Question: As we are heading into the summer months, we have a lot coming up, we have a World Cup, we also have the ball drop, and I just wanted to get your take on this. Are we prepared, is the city prepared, are there enough officers to protect New Yorkers and tourists this summer?
Mayor Mamdani: Yes, that is the short answer, the long answer - that is the answer. [It] is that this city is prepared and that we're going to spend every single day - we're now less than 60 days away to the start of the most-watched sporting tournament in the world. And we're so excited that together with New Jersey, we're going to be hosting eight of those games. And we know that those games are not just opportunities for people to enjoy the World Cup, but also opportunities for them to enjoy our city. And for New Yorkers as well to get a chance to reintroduce themselves to the breadth and the beauty of the city. And I'm really excited by all the work that we're doing across City government to welcome tourists and to welcome our neighbors.
Question: There's a staffing crisis right now within the NYPD. Going forward in the summertime, how are we going to be able to come back from that?
Mayor Mamdani: We feel good about our staffing levels and we're excited about everything we're going to deliver. Thank you all very much.
