Jeanny Pak, Interim President & CEO, New York City Economic Development Corporation: Good morning, Hunts Point! I'm Jeanny Pak, the interim CEO and president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation. I want to welcome you all to this incredible site, The Peninsula. And first, I want [to] thank [the] labor in the house. Our food unions: RWDSU, UFCW 342 and 1500, UNITEHERE! Local 100 - and all of the other Union Teamsters: 202, 32BJ, HTC, CIR/SEIU, NYSNA, 1199 and CWA 1180. And I'd also like to thank the Mayor's Grocery Task Force for all being here today.
Why is this place where we are all gathered today [on] this sunny Monday morning so significant? Over the past decade, the city and EDC, with the tremendous support and vision of community members, elected officials and so many others, have worked to transform this site. Which was once [the] Spofford Juvenile Detention Center, a prison of violence and pain that denied opportunities for the youth of this community. Into what you see today, a campus of dignified living, a place where working Bronxites can afford to live, work and play. The Peninsula development includes 740 units of 100 percent affordable housing, a childcare center, 30,000 square feet for commercial light industrial businesses providing good-paying jobs and over 50,000 feet for community, cultural and recreational open space.
This revitalized campus is part of the larger Hunts Point community. Just down the road sits one of the city's most important assets. The Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, where New York City gets 40 percent of its food supply. At this site, the city and EDC recently removed another painful relic of the past - another prison, the Vernon C. Bain jail barge, that long overstayed its welcome on our city's waterfront. EDC got rid of this former prison, sold it for scrap materials, and [is] now putting in its place a new Hunts Point Marine Terminal that will create a real working waterfront, activate our waterways for blue highways, expand good jobs and move forward resiliency in the Bronx.
Working with the mayor [and] Deputy Mayor Julie Su, the first-ever deputy mayor for Economic Justice - EDC is resetting the conversation and reimagining economic development in our city. We are focused on growth that both expands the economic pie for all New Yorkers and ensures the pie includes and elevates working people - people who have previously and historically been left behind. These goals are not in opposition but [has] one collective goal: to uplift all of us to invest in a more economically just New York City. And [the] key to this is ensuring that New York City is more affordable [and] that basic needs like food and groceries are more affordable.
So, working families can have more choice [and] can have the ability to save and invest and build their own capital. EDC, working hand-in-hand with the mayor and Deputy Mayor Su, is thrilled and excited to deliver NYC groceries, one store in each borough, to bring affordable, fresh produce and everyday groceries to the South Bronx and to all New Yorkers. Now it is my great pleasure to introduce, Mayor Mamdani.
Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani: Good morning, everybody. How we doing BX? Is labor in the house? It is such a pleasure to start the day here in the BX with so many friends and partners. And I wanna first say thank you to Jeanny Pak, our interim president and CEO of EDC. I want to acknowledge a number of our administrative leaders that we have here with us, including our deputy mayor, Helen Arteaga. We have our director, Kate MacKenzie [from] the Mayor's Office of Food Policy. We have, soon to come out here, [the] borough president of the Bronx, Vanessa Gibson. If we can also give her a shout-out for another great event-packed Bronx week that we had here.
We wanna thank Maria Torres, the Hunts Point CEO. We wanna thank Victoria Melendez, a resident at Peninsula Building 1A. We wanna thank Ademola Oyefeso, the VP of UFCW; David Kramer, the president of Hudson Companies; James Patchett, the CEO of Gilbane; members of Bronx CB2 [and] The POINT Community Development Corporation. And I know that Jeanny has already gone union by union, but if we can have a loud round of applause for organized labor here in the building. We are here in Hunts Point through which so much of the food that nourishes New Yorkers travels before it arrives on a restaurant plate or lands in a grocery store cart. The Hunts Point Cooperative Market is nearby.
As many of you know, it is the largest food distribution center anywhere in the world. The wholesalers who walk through its hundreds of thousands of [square] feet of floor space can pick between some of the ripest produce in the region. Some of the freshest fish on the East Coast [and] some of highest-quality meat anywhere in the country. And yet, so many New Yorkers in this same neighborhood and across the Bronx cannot say the same. Seventy-seven percent of households in surrounding neighborhoods cannot afford basic needs. More than 50 percent of households have relied on public assistance in the last 12 months alone. And when nearby families go shopping for groceries, there are not enough affordable options nearby.
With only one full-service supermarket within a quarter mile, thousands of New Yorkers have only limited options. We are here together today to change that and to chart a new course. Last month, we announced that we would fulfill a campaign promise: that we would lower prices by creating a network of city-owned grocery stores, one in each borough. In these stores, prices will be cheaper. Workers will be paid fairly and treated with dignity. Going to the grocery store will no longer cause that same anxiety for so many New Yorkers.
Now, on April 13, we announced the first site, La Marqueta in El Barrio. And in doing so, honoring the legacy of Fiorello La Guardia, who opened a site close to 100 years prior with the same mission of delivering cheaper goods to New Yorkers. Today, my friends, I am so proud to announce that the Bronx location will be here at The Peninsula. And New Yorkers will not need to wait long for costs to drop. This store will be the first of the five city-run grocery stores to open.
Bronx residents will be able to begin shopping here next year. It is going to be a 20,000 square foot location and its ambition is perfectly placed at The Peninsula, which will house 740 units of 100 percent affordable housing by the time that it's fully built. And as we heard from Jeanny, it'll be located on the site of the former Spofford Juvenile Detention Facility. Somewhere that, for so many years, was synonymous with neglect and mistreatment. This was a place of failure, where young, predominantly low-income New Yorkers were subjected to brutal physical conditions, human rights violations and physical abuse. We are reclaiming that same site to tell a very different story.
This store, and The Peninsula as a whole, will serve as physical proof of our conviction that government can be a force for good. That government can drive change that improves people's lives. And standing here this morning, I cannot help but think of the words of our 40th president, Ronald Reagan. He famously said, "The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help." It's a good quote, but I disagree. I think nine more terrifying words are actually, "I worked all day and can't feed my family."
We are going to use the power of government to lower prices and make it easier for New Yorkers to put food on the table. When government understands its purpose as serving the very working people that it has left behind time and again, it can make a difference in the most pressing struggles facing our city today. It's not just that government can help; it's that government must help and our government will help. And I want to thank organized labor for being a part of this announcement because as we have spoken about a cost of living crisis, as we've spoken about an affordability crisis, we know that at the heart of it is the inequality that runs rampant, not just in this city but across the country.
And when we ask ourselves what the most effective tool at combating that inequality [is], we come back to the same answer time and again, union density. And I thank you. All of you for showing us time and again what a path looks like to actually deliver for working people because today City government looks to join you in that same fight by making it easier for a working person to live and stay and build a life in the city that they have helped to run for so many years. This is the start of a new day for the Bronx, one that New Yorkers can actually afford. Now, it is such a pleasure and a privilege to be here with you. I am now going to pass the microphone back to Jeanny Pak, our interim president and CEO of the EDC. Thank you very much.
Interim President Pak: Thank you Mayor Mamdani. I'd now like to call Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson.
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson: Good morning, everyone. Buenos días a todos, bienvenidos, damas y caballeros. Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. What a pleasure to be here with all of you for the announcement of a new city-run and operated grocery store right here in the heart of the South Bronx. First, I want to thank our mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to EDC, all of our city officials, labor leaders, and unions in the house. To our elected officials past and present, to Hudson, Gilbane, MHANY, Bronx Community Board 2, The Point, CCFY, the Southern Boulevard BID, Bronx EDC, and all of my South Bronx soldiers who are here today for this exciting announcement.
First, let me acknowledge those on the front lines years ago who fought tirelessly and relentlessly for the closure of the Spofford Juvenile Detention Center. You helped to imagine what this space could be for our community. As the cost of living continues to rise, too many of our neighbors are struggling to afford basic necessities for themselves and their families. That ain't right. Access to affordable, high quality, and healthy food is a basic human right. Yet the cost of groceries continues to put healthy meals out of reach for far too many of our families across this borough. With the creation of a city-run grocery store, NYC Grocery, right here at the site of a former youth detention center, our city has taken an important and bold step towards addressing food insecurity, expanding access to fresh produce, and delivering for our families each and every day, with nutritious food, with affordable food, with dignity and respect.
Today, we are transforming a site once associated with pain and trauma and mass incarceration into a place that is rooted in community, in healing, in building, in opportunity and community care. This project represents, folks, what is possible when government listens to the people and invests directly in its needs. It is about turning our pain into purposeful work. It is about turning our storms into strength. It is about creating pathways for families to not only survive but thrive. I want to thank our mayor and his team for announcing the second city-run grocery store right here at La Peninsula. This is a beautiful space. Thank you Mayor for showing up for the Bronx in a real way. Being about action and attention. I look forward to opening this grocery store, creating good paying, sustainable union jobs. And new opportunities for our local residents here in Hunts Point.
And I look forward to working with Hudson, Gilbane and MHANY, and all of our unions to make sure that La Peninsula Part 2 and Part 3 continues to develop right here in the South Bronx. This is such an important moment for us, and I want to say congratulations to the people of the South Bronx. You never gave up on what the possibilities could be. From Community Board 2 to the Southern Boulevard BID, to The Point, to CCFY, to so many of our advocates that said the South Bronx deserves better. We are going to get better, and we're going to keep raising the standards of what living and affordability and safety and access to healthy food is all about, folks, we are just getting started. Felicidades a todos, gracias a todos. Congratulations and thank you so much Mr. Mayor for being here today.
Interim President Pak: Thank you so much, borough president. Our next speaker is one of Hunts Point's most vocal advocates, Maria Torres, president and CEO of the Point CDC.
[Crosstalk.]
Maria Torres, CEO, Hunts Point: Thank you everybody for coming here and this is so exciting. And I just - some of what I've said has been said already but, you know, the Hunts Point Peninsula is home to over 15,000 residents, yet it only has one supermarket. Hunts Point is also home to the world's largest food distribution hub that supplies approximately 25 percent of the city's produce, yet the local community struggles with some of the highest rates of food insecurity in the nation. In 2014, the Peninsula Project began visioning sessions with community members, and part of that visioning session included calls for a supermarket with healthy food options. While we saw this in our visiting sessions in 2014, COVID-19 in 2020 really showed us our community struggles with food insecurity. The Point became a site for meal distribution, giving out approximately 300 meals a day during that time.
To this day, we have a biweekly pantry that sees over 300 residents, not to mention the several other groups in the community that also have pantries. Add in current inflation rates for food and we know the number of families that face food insecurity have only increased. Pilot projects such as this would help to give families in our community some much needed relief from the high cost of food, as well as healthy options that have been missing from our community for decades. We are extremely excited that this site has been chosen for the pilot project in the Bronx and look forward to working with the mayor and his administration, EDC, and all the other groups.
At the Point, we want to thank our partners in this project, Paul Lipson at Barretto Bay, right? Barretto Bay Strategies. Paloma Hernandez at Urban Health Plan, Don Eversley at the Greater Hunts Point Economic Development Corp, Ismene [Speliotis], Katherine [Gray], and Dave Kramer from MHANY, Gilbane, and Hudson, who helped us develop this project. And then nothing gets done in Hunts Point without Rafael Acevedo, the district manager for Community Board 2, Roberto Crespo, the board chair, and our guide throughout the whole process, our former Council member, Rafael Salamanca. Thank you, Bronx borough presidents, we have Díaz and Gibson to help us make this happen, and everyone who saw us make this happen. So, we are so excited and thank you so much.
Interim President Pak: Thank you so much, Maria. Next, I'd like to call Victoria Melendez, a resident here at the peninsula.
Victoria Melendez, Resident, Peninsula Building: Good afternoon. I'm a resident of Peninsula, which is directed by MHANY Management. I moved in here four years ago, and I was very proud for this building, which is beautiful. The community is very strong, and we are definitely striving. Thank you to MHANY Management, thank you to [inaudible]. And we are looking forward to the future with this new development coming up. The reason why we need the supermarket is because I have noticed myself out on drive and my elderly tenants in my building, we have to walk at least six blocks to the near supermarket. And that is a little difficult because if we're in the wintertime, cold weather, it's difficult. So, that is one of the reasons. Another reason is the transportation. We need more public buses. We definitely need more transportation. We need to have more public buses, not only for the people who don't drive, but for elderly and handicapped.
Also, the fact that we are definitely need - with this supermarket, we're looking forward to new jobs for the community itself. And I think that, like myself, I'm definitely looking forward to work with this project because I really think that offering us this chance to build - and I have been bothering money management, I mean it's meaningful a supermarket since I moved in here and that was one of my pet peeve. I wasn't happy about that because I myself had to go to Costco, I got to pay Uber and if I go over there and I'm looking for sales. But how can I consider having sales when I have to pay up Uber back with my grocery? That's not sale, that is not sale.
So, I definitely look forward to this new supermarket so at least I can be able to put some money back in my pocket, because we got light bill to pay, we got rent to pay, we got other things. We got kids in college. So, with this new supermarket, it will benefit all of us. And it will put a little bit more money in our pocket for other things. So, at this point, I'm definitely very proud to represent the Peninsula as a resident. And I'm looking forward to work with the mayor. If he needs somebody to work for him, he can look for me. And I definitely look forward to this beautiful, great development. Thank you.
Interim President Pak: Thank you so much, Victoria, that was very gratifying about hearing your lived experience. That's what we're trying to change here. Our last speaker is Ademola Oyefeso, International VP of United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
Ademola Oyefeso, International Vice President, United Food and Commercial Workers Union: Good morning, everybody. Is labor in the house? Is labor is the house? Thank you. My name is Ademola Oyefeso. I'm the international vice president for the 1.2-million-member United Food and Commercial Workers Union. And I'm here with the RWSU and our locals representing every grocery worker in New York City, in every borough of New York City, from Locals 338, 342, and 1500. And we're all here with one clear message: New Yorkers deserve affordable groceries and good jobs. That's why we're proud to stand with you, Mayor Mamdani, as you take on the affordability crisis head on. Because let's be clear, working people are being squeezed every single day, and they need action, not slogans.
Anyone can make promises during a campaign. What matters is who will fight and deliver for them. And delivering means bringing people together to open a store that does two vital things: lowers grocery prices and creates good jobs. Wait, pause, pause - I mean, creates good union jobs. You can't solve the affordability crisis by crediting prices alone. Real affordability means food on the table and a paycheck you can live on. It means dignity. It means security. It means union jobs. So, when this store opens in the Bronx next year, it won't just open its doors. It'll prove that New York can deliver affordable food, respect for workers, and results for working families. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, for leading the charge on this. Thank you.
Interim President Pak: Thank you, everyone, for joining us. Next time you come here, there will be air conditioning and a new grocery store.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: It seems like you are not concerned about this idea, that a city-owned grocery store will have negative impact on non-city-owned grocery stores nearby. Do you have any mechanisms in mind or plans for monitoring those impacts?
Mayor Mamdani: You know, I first want to acknowledge our leadership from EDC, including Jeanny, who's right here with us, for the intensive work that they've been doing to make clear that our vision for a healthy ecosystem is a city-run grocery store alongside flourishing private market grocery stores as well as bodegas. And what we've seen in even the city's current and long-standing approach as it pertains to Essex Market is the ability for city subsidy to flourish alongside those private market operators. What I will say before passing it over to Jeanny is that we are incredibly excited about this site specifically, the timeline of the site and that the grocery store will be the first to open by the end of next year and that it is the fulfillment of a vision that so many Bronxites have had of transforming what was a site of such pain into one of hope and affordability. Jeanny, if you'd like to add anything.
Interim President Pak: Yeah, and I also would say that, as you know, NYC Groceries is gonna be a core basket of goods focused on fresh produce [and] everyday goods. So, it's not gonna be - it's gonna offer the full range of what you see in the grocery store, but that's not going to be the discounted, it's only gonna be core baskets. So, there's still gonna be a lot of room for bodega owners and supermarkets to offer the regular full items that you see the grocery stores.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Interim President Pak: So, we have done a lot of outreach to the bodega owners and associations and also the NSA Supermarkets Association. We are also doing targeted outreach once the site is announced. So, we did a lot of outreach as it relates to La Marqueta and we will be continuing to do that for The Peninsula.
Mayor Mamdani: And I will just add one thing before the next question, which is just that this outreach, this engagement - it will continue after the launch of these city-run stores as well. And so, there is going to be a continued commitment to ensuring the flourishing of the ecosystem as a whole.
Question: [Inaudible.]
Mayor Mamdani: Sorry, and what's the question is to respond to them?
Question: How are you planning to interact with these individuals [inaudible]?
Mayor Mamdani: I think that as Jeanny has said, there has been sustained outreach to a number of trade organizations representing grocery stores as well as bodegas, and then upon the announcement of any site, also outreach to the specific bodegas and supermarkets in that area. And that's going to continue. And what Jeanny said is something that I will also restate, which is that oftentimes the items that drive most profit for these kinds of entities are also not the items that these city-run grocery stores are going to be selling.
We're not going to be selling lottery tickets. We're not going to be selling a lot of the things that make the margin, whether it's tobacco products or things of that nature. And so, we're excited to continue to have that conversation and we take any concern seriously and what I will also say is that our commitment to New Yorkers is to deliver them affordable groceries and we are very excited about doing that.
Question: Mr. Mayor, I wonder if you can talk about what your stance on the MTA workers and their demands to the governor. Claire Valdez, the candidate you are endorsing for Congress, is going to join them on the picket line. Would you be willing to join on the picking line as well?
Mayor Mamdani: What I will say is that I remain hopeful that both sides will be able to reach a fair deal for the workers that ensure that this commuter rail system actually runs and for the riders who depend on that very same system. And I'll just take this opportunity also to speak directly to New Yorkers for whom the suspension of service is one of immense interest given the impact that it has on their lives, [and note] that New Yorkers should be planning for heavier congestion. They should be planning for longer travel times for the duration of the suspension of service. The MTA is providing limited bus service for essential workers, those who cannot telework. And for any New Yorker who wants to ensure that they are staying up to date on the most breaking developments, especially as we encourage the continued conversation around the resolution of this contract, is for them to sign up for Notify NYC. And they can, sorry, I'll just say, they can do that by going to nyc.gov/NotifyNYC, or by texting 692-692 to NOTIFYNYC.
Question: It's no secret that you are pretty pro-union. Do you feel like you can't comment on whether their demands are fair because this is a state - these are about state workers.
Mayor Mamdani: No, I feel like I can make my opinions, I can share them with any New Yorker at any time. And when it comes to this, I think the importance that I've laid out time and time again, both in private and public conversations, is a fair deal. And that is for the workers who make it run and for those who rely on that system.
Question: You're hosting a Shavuot celebration tonight at Gracie Mansion. What's your message to some Jewish leaders who are being threatened with being canceled in your community if they come to your event tonight? Does the door need to remain open in order for you to continue to work with the Jewish community to fight antisemitism? And then, just on the substance of one of your posts last week-
Mayor Mamdani: Could I first answer the first question and then we'll go to the second one? Thank you very much. My message to Jewish leaders across this city is that my door is always open. I look forward to welcoming a number of those leaders to Gracie Mansion this evening for Shavuot. I also know that that is a door that we will keep open beyond just this evening's event, beyond just Jewish American Heritage Month. It is part of a commitment to be the mayor for every New Yorker. And that means a mayor for those who voted for you, who didn't vote for you [and] who didn't vote at all. And that also means that there will be times where you will meet New Yorkers at an event, at a specific conversation, out on the street. I look forward to all of those interactions. Your second question?
Question: The second question is, you know, you want to be the mayor for all New Yorkers who made this promise. Yet, the City of New York seems to be now taking more, you know, the City of New York posted this Nakba post last week, which was upsetting to some Jewish New Yorker who felt that perhaps there at least should have been an acknowledgement that Holocaust survivors were also facing painful displacement.
So, you know, what should Jewish New Yorkers think about the fact that, you know, using your official city accounts you're now making certain statements about Israel, you know using your official city accounts. People understand your views on Israel, but you know they don't necessarily feel like you speak out about all these other sorts of situations, other conflicts, other issues.
Mayor Mamdani: I was proud to commemorate Nakba Day, which is an annual day on May 15 that commemorates the expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from 1947 to 1945 during the creation of the State of Israel and for the year that followed. And it was a privilege to be able to share the story of Inea and her story as not just a Nakba survivor, but also as a New Yorker.
And I firmly believe that acknowledging anyone's people pain does not preclude you from the acknowledgement of another people's. And when it comes to New Yorkers like Inea and so many others, not only has their pain never been acknowledged, but so often we have seen that even their identity is up for debate. And my message to each and every New Yorker is that this is a city for you and that we will continue to be proud of everyone who calls it home.
Question: There's no city-wide tracker to track grocery prices, and the administration is considering, according to the [Task] Force. I just wanted to get your sense on whether that is something that you're trying to do before, in deciding prices for the city-run grocery [store].
Mayor Mamdani: I think that's an interesting point that I'll bring up to the team. What I will say is that we have seen that the cost of groceries has been going up in this city and that it has outstripped even the increase that we've seen nationwide. And that's of immense concern because what we're talking about is not a luxury good. We're talking produce. We're taking about eggs and milk and chicken and for many New Yorkers they are unable to plan their lives. Knowing whether they will be able to afford that next week because they don't know whether the price is going to continue to skyrocket.
[Crosstalk.]
Question: For a little bit of behind the scenes on the Nakba video, can you give us more insight into this discussion? You're the first mayor to ever acknowledge this. How did you decide to do it in this way? Why didn't you appear in the video? Yeah, if you could just give us a window into how you guys decided to acknowledge this.
Mayor Mamdani: So, May 15 has long been the day of commemorating the Nakba. And there are many Nakba survivors in New York City. And we wanted to ensure that the focus of this was just to hear from a New Yorker herself on her own memories of what it meant to be expelled and what her life has been like and how she has found that home in New York City. We wanted to have a Nakba survivor be at the focal point of this video as opposed to myself. I was intending to be there as part of it; however, I did fall sick and we didn't want to create any kind of complication for her. Thank you so much.
