New York Is Building a Grocery Store. The Question Is Whether a City Can Feed Its People Better Than the Market Can.

Mayor Mamdani announced La Marqueta in East Harlem as the first site for a city-owned grocery store. $70 million, five boroughs, first store open 2027. Grocery prices up 66% in a decade. The question is not about groceries — it is about where the boundary between public right and private market falls. Vienna, Detroit, Bologna, Seoul, Singapore, and Nairobi are each living a version of the same question. bcdW Current Today · New York · May 20, 2026 · [bcd-w.xyz](http://bcd-w.xyz)