Exclusive | Immigrant-owned grocers to sue over Mamdanis NYC-owned supermarkets as soon as this week

A group of immigrant-owned grocers who have threatened to sue New York City over Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan to open government-owned supermarkets is poised to take legal action as soon as this week, The Post has learned.The Multicultural Business Coalition, which is comprised of 50 chambers of commerce representing ethnically diverse businesses, made a last-ditch effort to avoid litigation in a letter to City Hall on Wednesday.“Although we have not heard from you since May 2026, we are open to resolving this matter amicably with more sensible solutions to feed working class people with nutritious essential food items at affordable prices,” the coalition’s president Kenneth Roldan wrote in the letter obtained by The Post.The coalition is still weighing whether to file in state court or federal court — or both, Roldan told The Post in an interview on Wednesday.“We are at the 11th hour — we have multiple versions of the lawsuits that have been prepared,” Roldan said.

“The federal case will be based on antitrust and predatory pricing.The state cause of action will be tortuous interference and possibly discriminatory practices by the administration.”He added that the group — which represents Asian, African, Caribbean, Hispanic, Middle Eastern and Jewish-owned businesses in New York — has been repeatedly rebuffed by City Hall since May when it first requested meetings with the socialist mayor.The city recently issued a request for proposals and is seeking operators for five city-owned supermarkets that will cost taxpayers $70 million.

Bids are due Oct.16.The city’s RFP “demonstrates a lack of understanding of the supermarket industry and raises questions about the efficacy of the plan,” according to the letter, adding that city-owned grocers “could paralyze their operations, reduce their slim profit margins or even force some out of business entirely.” “We are asking the mayor to avoid litigation to sit down with us,” Mark Jaffe, ...