Mamdani’s Office Insists City-Run Grocery Stores Will Be Open To ‘Everyone,’ Will Not Require Proof of Residency or Income

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s office is insisting that planned city-run grocery stores will be available to “everyone” — and that no income or residency requirements are required despite recent online speculation and accusations of hypocrisy.During a press conference last week, Mr. Mamdani said that the planned city-run grocery stores will offer a 30 percent discount on “essential” food products. A reporter asked the mayor how officials will prevent people from taking “advantage” of the deal and whether there would be limits on how many discounted food items people can buy. The interim president of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, Jeanny Pak, chimed in to say that the program will be limited to New Yorkers. She said officials are looking at a “library card-esque” form of identification to ensure the program is “focused on everyday New Yorkers.”A spokesman for Mr. Mamdani, Cassio Mendoza, told The New York Sun that the card system is only about inventory management, not residency or identification requirements. “To be absolutely clear: NYC Grocery stores will be open to everyone. There will be no system to verify identity, residency, or income, and no one will be asked to show ID to shop,” Mr. Mendoza said in a statement.The initial comments about the “library card” system went largely unnoticed until Monday when critics accused Mr. Mamdani of hypocrisy and planning to set up an identification requirement to limit access to discounted groceries. A former Los Angeles mayoral candidate, Spencer Pratt, criticized Mr. Mamdani, writing on X, “Racist Commie Mamdani is going to make you show ID in his markets. You want your government-subsidized arugula? Show your papers! Ask for ID to vote? BIGOT!!!”Senator Rick Scott wrote on X, “It’s not just ironic, it’s hypocritical! @NYCMayor Mamdani’s going to require an ID check for his grocery stores, but thinks it’s racist to require one for federal elections?!?”Mr. Mamdani has previously faced mockery over what critics say is hypocrisy regarding his stance on requiring identification to vote. In February, the mayor was criticized after the New York officials said New Yorkers would have to provide multiple forms of ID to register as an emergency snow shoveler. When asked about requiring identification to get paid to shovel snow, Mr. Mamdani told CNN, “It’s federal law to require certain forms of identification in order for someone to actually be paid for this kind of a job. And so that’s what we’re asking for — two forms of identification. It’s a long-standing city program.”The Democratic Socialists of America, of which Mr. Mamdani is a member, has denounced voter ID requirements as “racist” and a former of “voter suppression.”Mr. Mendoza told the Sun that the “library card” for the city-run grocery stores will function more like a “loyalty card system.”“This is not an identification system, nor is it a mechanism to verify who someone is, where they live, or how much they earn. It is a practical inventory management tool to ensure affordable groceries remain available for the people who need them instead of being cleared off shelves for resale,” he added. Mr. Mamdani’s office said that people will not have to apply for the card through any city agency.

Mamdani’s Office Insists City-Run Grocery Stores Will Be Open To ‘Everyone,’ Will Not Require Proof of Residency or Income

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