Issues

Legal Action

The case

The Lawsuits

On August 24, 2026, the coalition filed two lawsuits in New York County Supreme Court challenging the city's plan to open five government-run grocery stores. It was the coalition's first litigation, brought after three months of asking City Hall for a meeting, and it made the front page of the New York Post and the pages of the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Bloomberg Law the same day.

Class action on civil rights grounds

A seven-page class action on behalf of hundreds of store owners who are members of groups historically discriminated against. It alleges the plan violates New York civil rights laws and the Equal Protection Clause of the state Constitution: member grocers, predominantly Hispanic-, Arab-, and Asian-owned, are denied equal protection because they cannot offer discounts that depart so far from ordinary commerce, and will be put out of business, deepening the exclusion of minority groups from economic opportunity. It seeks relief and damages.
Petition to block the stores pending required review

A thirteen-page petition asking the court to permanently block the municipal grocery stores in the absence of the studies and analysis the city was required to undertake. It alleges the city exceeded its authority, selected sites arbitrarily without a land-use study, environmental review, or analysis of the effect on existing stores, and that stores pledged to sell 30 percent below market, a rate that rivals or exceeds Walmart's, would eliminate an untold amount of opportunity for minority and small businesses. It asks the court to compel an economic impact analysis before any store opens.

Counsel

The coalition is represented by attorneys E. Dubois Raynor Jr. and Damond Carter. Mark Jaffe, president and CEO of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce, serves as the coalition's legal counsel and general counsel.

Timeline

May 2026

Days after forming, the coalition writes to City Hall seeking a seat at the planning table, stating it remains open to resolving the matter amicably with more sensible solutions to feed working-class people nutritious food at affordable prices.
May 29, 2026

Coalition members testify at the City Council budget hearing on the grocery plan.
July 27, 2026

The mayor unveils the full blueprint at a Brooklyn food distribution center: five stores, a $70 million capital commitment through the Economic Development Corporation, and a 30 percent discount on a core basket of staples. The coalition's board votes to file suit and to raise $1 million for the legal and public campaign.
August 19, 2026

A final letter goes to City Hall offering to resolve the dispute out of court.
August 24, 2026

Two lawsuits are filed in New York County Supreme Court. The mayor, asked at a press conference in Queens, says he is confident in both the legality and the importance of the plan.
August 26, 2026

Coalition members and bodega owners rally outside American Deli Mini Market in East Harlem, across the street from the planned La Marqueta store.

Statements

Statements from the Coalition

“Make no mistake about this plan. It is a direct assault on minority business by a mayor who claims to be a champion of disenfranchised poor and working-class New Yorkers.”

Kenneth Roldan President

“There is a better way to feed the struggling people of New York City. We have seen no business plan, this is just a marquee store that will allow the mayor to say he kept a campaign promise, so we are asking the judge to stop this.”

Mark Jaffe Legal counsel; President and CEO, Greater New York Chamber of Commerce

“The Puerto Ricans were the bodega pioneers and they were followed by the Dominicans, the Arabs, the Koreans, the Chinese and finally my Mexican business members. Food retailing, from bodegas to supermarkets, is New York City's great mosaic. Mayor Mamdani needs to withdraw his disastrous plan and work with us to find different ways to bolster and sustain what so many New York City immigrants have created.”

Jairo Guzman Treasurer; President, New York State Mexican Chamber of Commerce

“Having items that sell for 30% less than our prices means nobody will go to our stores.”

Radhames Rodriguez President, United Bodegas of America

The City's Position

The mayor has said he is confident in both the legality and the importance of the initiative, that the city has more than 1,000 grocery stores and five municipal ones will not fundamentally alter the market, and that existing city-subsidized markets have not harmed nearby bodegas. The Economic Development Corporation has said it is evaluating tax abatements, incentives, and zoning benefits for nearby grocers. The coalition's answer is the one it has given since May: sit down with the businesses the plan affects.

The Advocacy and Legal Fund

The coalition is raising $1 million to cover lobbying, public awareness, and the legal costs of the challenge. Individual donors and small and mid-size businesses contributed nearly $100,000 in the first week after the coalition formed.

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