New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s game plan for government-run grocery stores faced criticism Monday after a city official told reporters a "library-card-esque system" may be employed to prevent abuse of the 30% discounted markets.Mamdani took a question from a reporter who asked about preventing bulk purchases of groceries at the artificial discount from being re-sold at MSRP or higher.The mayor responded that the government grocery Request-for-Proposal makes clear "this is a program for New Yorkers to be able to put food on the table, not a program for people to be able to make a quick buck through reselling.I'm going to pass it over to our EDC head, Jeanny Pak, to add some additional details."MAMDANI’S CITY GROCERY PLAN COULD LEAVE TAXPAYERS PAYING FOR EVERY BANANANew York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani holds up bananas as he speaks at a food distribution center on July 27, 2026 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.
(Spencer Platt/Getty Images)It was Pak’s follow-up that raised eyebrows, given Mamdani and many Democrats’ staunch opposition to voter ID and Republicans’ SAVE America Act moving through Congress."[W]e are looking to make sure that we target New Yorkers, whether it be a sort of a library card-esque thing, and also we manage who's buying and that is focused on everyday New Yorkers," Pak said."So, we are mindful of that, and so we're going to make sure that we have all the things in place to ensure that that does not happen."SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMSWhen asked about the apparent divergence between Pak’s response referencing a possible ID card-type system and opposition to voter ID, a Mamdani spokesperson said it was an apples-to-oranges contrast."Comparisons to voter ID laws or the SAVE Act simply do not apply.This is not an identification system, nor is it a mechanism to verify who someone is, where they live, or how much they earn," Mamdani’s spokesperson said."It is a practical invent...