The major unanswered questions that expose huge gaps in Mamdanis grocery store plan

The Mamdani administration left scores of questions unanswered Wednesday about the mayor’s plan to open five city-owned grocery stores — exposing major gaps in the taxpayer-backed undertaking.An Economic Development Corporation official, during an online info session, was forced to admit to prospective partners that the city had yet to figure out simple logistics, including how to reimburse operators or pay store employees.The EDC official even confessed the city didn’t know how it would calculate the cost of the supermarkets’ signature “core basket” of essential goods, which Mayor Zohran Mamdani has said would be sold at 30% “below typical retail prices.” “The city does not have the expertise or experience in running stores, and so we’re looking to start to identify operators to integrate with us,” said Jamie Horton, VP of strategic initiatives and business operations for EDC, a quasi-public nonprofit funded by the city.Horton fielded questions from about a dozen attendees during the 45-minute Zoom call about the EDC’s 44-page “request for proposals” seeking bids from prospective operators to run the shops, which are estimated to cost $70 million to build out.Industry experts have panned Mamdani’s proposal as half-baked, saying the young socialist’s campaign vow to bring New Yorkers cheaper groceries via five “publicly-funded, privately-operated” supermarkets didn’t make sense in the real world.“There are big unknowns,” said Avi Kaner, the former owner of Morton Williams.“The way this [RFP] is structured is so risky, and the reward is so low, it would literally be a foolish investment.”Kaner, who wasn’t at the Wednesday morning sesh, added: “The whole concept is foolish because it does not achieve the goal.”“If the goal is to reduce the cost of groceries citywide, you don’t do it by adding five small stores.

If you want to lower the cost of groceries, make it cheaper to do business in the city.”Asked by ...