One of New York's wealthiest grocers published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Monday attacking Zohran Mamdani for proposing the creation of up to five city-owned grocery stores.
John Catsimatidis, the billionaire businessman who owns the Gristedes and D'Agostino Supermarket chains in Manhattan, argued that Mamdani's policy proposal has echoes of Hugh Chávez's regime in Venezuela. He also said the proposal would kill private industry and potentially create the bread lines that were once seen in the Soviet Union.
"That’s not progressive, it’s oppressive," Catsimatidis wrote. "He wants bureaucrats to decide what you eat, when you eat, and where you get it. He wants to rip away the livelihoods of hardworking grocers—many of them immigrants, like my parents."
Mamdani campaigned on a promise to address the growing cost-of-living crisis for New York families. Opening municipal-owned grocery stores is just one part of that plan, but it has drawn significant criticism.
During an appearance on "Meet The Press" with Kristin Welker on June 29, Mamdani pointed to other parts of the country where similar city-owned grocery stores have had a positive impact.
“We’ve seen that they worked in Kansas,” Mamdani said. “When a feasibility study was done in Chicago, it was shown to be something that was not only feasible but pressing and urgent in an urban setting.”
Those examples weren't enough to satisfy Catsimatidis, who argued that Mamdani's idea would "destroy everything we’ve built."
"Capitalism may not be perfect, but it’s the only system that feeds the world," Catsimatidis wrote. "Under Mr. Mamdani’s vision, the corner bodega, the family-owned deli and the community supermarket would all disappear—replaced by government outposts that decide what’s available and when. That isn’t a vision of equity. It’s a blueprint for collapse."