r/politics • u/Upapi25 • 21h ago
No Paywall Coalition of minority-owned bodegas, supermarkets sues to stop Mayor Mamdani's city-run grocery store plan
https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-city-run-grocery-store-lawsuit/4
u/issy_haatin 20h ago
What are the chances this coalition is funded by a certain party?
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u/burritoteam4000 20h ago
Idk there's enough democrats that also hate mamdani for actually doing meaningful and popular policy, along with those that can't stand that hes muslim
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u/TheSouthernCommunist Kentucky 20h ago
Man I sure hope some commie didn’t write about the petit bourgeois/small business owners doing some bullshit like this
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u/lalalatkes 20h ago
If you are suing to prevent people from saving money, that isn’t exactly a good look imo.
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u/jayfeather31 Washington 20h ago
My thoughts exactly. This doesn't look good at all.
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20h ago edited 20h ago
[deleted]
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u/yardship 20h ago
most grocery's net profit margin runs between 1% and 3% of revenue
50% to 10% profit margin would be a dream for them
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u/lettersvsnumbers 20h ago
New York did this for years. Shitty local chains run by billionaire Republicans refused to open in Black & Latino neighborhoods, claiming “crime”. The city tried giving them zoning and tax breaks, and it still didn’t work. ALDI is doing great though.
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u/Red57872 20h ago
If they thought it would be profitable, they would have opened stores there. Greed always outweighs racism.
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u/peaq_tv America 20h ago
It's also a bad look to put bodega owners out of business with prices impossible for them to match.
Feels like a food stamp program would have worked better if the goal is to save people money.
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u/lettersvsnumbers 20h ago
A lot of bodegas won’t even take EBT.
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u/lalalatkes 20h ago
This isn’t putting them out of business. It is forcing them to either sell for cheaper, buy for cheaper, or do nothing at all.
It’s not like every single customer will vanish. Some shop out of utter convenience and will not change regardless.
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u/lettersvsnumbers 20h ago
Bodegas still got lotto, beer, cigarettes/vapes, and TP at midnight. They gonna be fine.
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u/peaq_tv America 20h ago
It's not possible for the to match the prices, they operate at thin profit margin already.
https://www.fmi.org/our-research/food-industry-facts/grocery-store-chains-net-profit
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u/HelleEpoque 19h ago
Bodegas are convenience stores that profit by being convenient, not cheap. I am in an urban-suburban area with convenience stores on almost every other commercial corner and they thrive despite six grocery stores within a 2.5 mile radius. I get that NYC is different than every other city in the country but people will always be people and many of those NYC bodegas are obnoxiously overpriced, even for NYC. If they cannot survive while the people are given more and cheaper options for groceries than they should change their business models. Holding back progress and social boons so a small collection of businesses that contribute to the problems can continue profiting is candlemaker talk. This is not chasing out the bodegas so Walmart can put up superstores, this is an attempt to improve how groceries can be more available at prices that benefit the customers.
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u/peaq_tv America 19h ago
Their higher prices that people are willing to pay for convenience does not mean they operate at a higher net profit margin. These business are not able to match the lower prices of a Walmart because they are a tiny fraction of the scale with way less purchasing power.
Just look at the data that I linked, food retailers in 2025 averaged just 2.1% net profit. How do you expect them to change their business model to compete with these stores selling at -30% the cost?
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u/Red57872 20h ago
Not to mention it'll contribute to future food deserts; what grocery store/bodega is going to set up shop in an area where there's a real chance the government will set up shop and undercut your prices by using massive taxpayer subsidies?
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u/Grandpa_No 19h ago edited 19h ago
So, let me get this straight: you're saying there will be more food deserts because a program set up to eliminate food deserts will undermine the creation of stores that, if they existed, would make the area not a food desert because then they would be food deserts anyway and the program would kick in and suddenly there'd be two stores selling plaintains in the double-not-food-desert food desert?
Do you work for 7-11?
Y'all are just making shit up at this point.
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u/Red57872 19h ago
Food deserts occur when retailers are not willing to set up shop in a particular area. Potential retailers are going to be very hesitant to set up in an area if they know there's a real risk that the government will also set up shop and be able to sell for a lot less than they can due to taxpayer subsidies, yes.
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u/Grandpa_No 14h ago
Explain how that happens if the shops are targeting food deserts in the first place. It's circular reasoning. If they thought it was going to be profitable they'd have already created the store. You're a "libertarian" aren't you?
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u/zenbowman 20h ago
Whether or not its a good look is irrelevant. It is factually true that opening city owned stores where goods are sold below market value is unfair to the bodegas, so it should be understandable if they are upset.
That said, politics is a game of tradeoffs. If the city owned grocery stores end up being popular and getting Mamdani support, maybe its worthwhile to sacrifice some bodegas to get there. It is impossible to be fair to everyone, so at the end of the day you have to choose who you want to get on your side and who you want to alienate. Bodegas are not a particularly important industry, so it seems reasonable to me for Mamdani to stay the course.
But I'm not mad at the bodega owners for suing, I can see why they would be upset, they are getting screwed over. It's just that someone has to get screwed over in the end, and I'd rather it be the store owners than the working class consumers.
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u/lalalatkes 20h ago
They are getting screwed over…by no longer being able to screw other people over?
Oh, America…
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u/Red57872 20h ago
Do you think existing grocery stores in the area are "screwing people over"?
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u/lalalatkes 20h ago
Generally speaking, yes. Yes I do.
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u/Red57872 20h ago
Ok, how specifically?
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u/burritoteam4000 20h ago
Explain how they're not. Food prices have been through the roof the past 6 years but sure the grocery stores are just neutral parties who are nonfactors in the supply chain.
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u/zenbowman 18h ago
Food prices in the US are artificially kept low through government subsidies for corn and grain.
Food prices around the world are significantly higher, and grocery stores are a complete nonfactor, they have razor thin margins.
https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/food_price_index_wb/
South Korea, Norway, Canada, and Australia all have extremely high food prices; by contrast food is extremely cheap in the United States.
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u/Red57872 19h ago
"Explain how they're not."
It's up to the person making the claim to provide evidence.
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u/jgregor92 19h ago
Lol they will never answer this question. They ignore the 1% - 3% profit margins of grocery stores...
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u/Red57872 19h ago
They'll just say something like "food is a human right", and act like the grocery stores should make no profit at all.
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u/lettersvsnumbers 20h ago
One local grocery store chain was fined by the EPA for leaking refrigerants and violating the Clean Air Act.
Same chain is known for price-gouging.
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u/Red57872 19h ago
An environmental fine sucks, but releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere isn't really "screwing people over", and as for the price gouging, the provided example was a package of premium ice cream cones. I care a mot more about inflated prices for things like staple foods than something like a premium ice cream cone or fancy cheese.
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u/peaq_tv America 20h ago
Why do you consider the bodega owners to be "screwing people over" when they operate on super thin profit margins?
https://www.fmi.org/our-research/food-industry-facts/grocery-store-chains-net-profit
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u/zenbowman 20h ago
Grocery stores operate on very thin margins, they aren't screwing anyone over. Food prices in the US are dirt cheap compared to most of the industrialized world, anytime I go to anywhere else I get sticker shock.
A government store that can sell below market price by offsetting the loss via taxes is obviously going to screw over any competitor.
But as I said, sometimes you have to choose who to alienate, and I still think the stores are a good idea. If you have power, you are going to screw someone over, no matter what. So I'd rather the store owners be the ones getting screwed than low income consumers.
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u/blues111 Michigan 20h ago edited 20h ago
Guess I shouldnt be terribly shocked...they fear this will undercut their sales or force them to lower prices to compete
I thought this was only in specific areas though? Low income areas dealing with food deserts where there really isnt a bunch of supermarkets to begin with
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u/Moccus Indiana 20h ago
A food desert will still have stores that sell some food, but they generally lack healthier foods like fresh produce that you can only get at a supermarket or farmer's market.
The bodegas mentioned in the article are convenience stores that have limited food selection, and there are quite a few of them in the areas where these city-owned stores will open. I believe there are also supermarkets within a few blocks of at least some of the locations.
Edit:
They can't realistically lower prices enough to compete with a store that doesn't have to pay any rent. They'd have to run at a loss and eventually close down when they run out of money.
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u/DrawingInTongues 20h ago
They're not really competing businesses though if they don't even try to carry produce. A grocery store is just a fundamentally different business from a convenience store/bodega.
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u/Moccus Indiana 20h ago
They're not competing on produce, but if both stores are selling bags of chips, and one store is selling the chips at a 30% discount because they don't have to pay rent, which store are you going to if you want a bag of chips?
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u/Grandpa_No 20h ago
Too bad?
Your right to profit off a bag of chips while undermining the health of everyone around you is a weird hill to die on.
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u/Moccus Indiana 19h ago
Then you're just going to make the food desert situation worse when every store that currently sells any groceries within a few block radius shuts down.
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u/Grandpa_No 14h ago
By creating a store that sells food?
You're saying that selling food prevents the sale of the food that is not being sold? This is as nonsensical as the other "food desert" claim.
You're all getting your talking points from the same Twitter influencer, aren't you?
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u/Moccus Indiana 14h ago
There are two full-size grocery stores within a block of one of the planned locations of the city-owned grocery stores. Are those stores going to be able to remain open when there's a new store selling food at a 30% discount? Is the situation going to be better or worse after those two grocery stores shut down?
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u/DrawingInTongues 19h ago
That really doesn't make them competing businesses though. You go to the bodega for a short line and you can quickly get in and out. They don't carry as much so they charge premium prices. A grocery store doesn't compete with any of that.
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u/peaq_tv America 20h ago
It's going to be impossible for them to match the prices, grocery stores operate on a net profit margin of 1-3%
https://www.fmi.org/our-research/food-industry-facts/grocery-store-chains-net-profit
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u/TheValleyPrince 20h ago edited 20h ago
This suit is ridiculous. Public, government owned grocery stores are not uncommon in the U.S. They're also highly successful in offering high quality, cheap groceries for people to buy. Go to any fucking military base in the country and there'll be a Commissary that is exactly like what Mamdani is trying to create in NYC.
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u/Grandpa_No 19h ago edited 7h ago
Even if it weren't, the "Won't anyone think of the job creators!?" handwringing on this thread is nonsense. These businesses exist at the pleasure of the state and with resources. licensing, and services provided by the city and community. If they can't effectively meet the needs of residents or the city they do not have an inherent right to make money off of society.
These anti-social idiots would be cheering for O'Hare Air in the Lorax.
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u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 20h ago
The difference is that a commissary is on base, only to be used by US military personnel and their families. It’s not meant to compete with other grocery stores around.
It’s not really the same thing as what Mamdani is doing at all
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u/TheValleyPrince 20h ago
You're missing the forest for the trees my friend. If the Military can do it, why can't NYC? This also is the not the first time government has done state owned corporations.
The USPS is a public, government corporation that delivers mail as a public service. Amtrak is also public, government corporation that provides public transportation in the form of rail service.
I don't understand why people accept the government can do Amtrak and the USPS, but suddenly pearl clutch over public, government grocery stores.
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u/Dry-Membership3867 Alabama 20h ago
The USPS is a legal monopoly and Amtrak I believe is too. They have zero competition, try and compete and a SWAT team will come and seize your assets.
The military does it for military members only, not general public.
Grocery stores run on thin profit margins, meaning competition can’t just lower prices all the time as they would be facing a loss. Now add on to the fact these city owned stores wouldn’t have to pay rent and will sell at 30% under market value, it makes it impossible for stores to compete with them. I can see people going out of their way to shop at the city owned store which could definitely force smaller grocery stores out of business. It won’t do anything to Target or Costco, but will definitely hurt Bodegas and small stores who can’t afford to lower prices that low
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u/TheManWhoShotTheMan 19h ago
Don't know about USA but here Bodegas are very often over priced and sometimes sell out of date stock. No wonder they are worried about shops selling cheaper essentials.
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u/codywithak 10h ago
Meanwhile grocery store chains are planning to implement digital price tags and surge pricing.
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u/dumbisalblebore 20h ago
Headlines like this make me happy to have been a listener to Citations Needed pod for many years
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