Several immigrant business owners are preparing to sue New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over his plan to open five city-owned grocery stores that would sell food at prices up to 30% below traditional retailers, the Multicultural Business Coalition’s board voted, the New York Post reported and Fox News Digital confirmed Wednesday.
MBC Chairman Frank Garcia told Fox News Digital the group plans to send a letter to Mamdani’s office in the coming days outlining its legal plans to protect competing stores, bodegas and other small businesses. He said the organization will pursue further legal action if the mayor does not respond or meet with the group within three weeks.
Garcia said the effort is nonpartisan and aimed at raising awareness for small business owners struggling with rising costs. “So I’ve been waiting for a meeting for a couple of months. Why aren’t they having me?” he told Fox News Digital. “We are ready to file the lawsuit if the mayor doesn’t meet with us.”
The MBC, founded earlier this year, said it includes members from African, Asian, Caribbean, Hispanic, Jewish and Middle Eastern business communities and has backing from other organizations. The group said it has support from city and state lawmakers, including New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, and that lawyers will be “ready to go” after the three-week deadline.
Mamdani unveiled more details about the city-backed grocery stores this month, a plan that has drawn renewed criticism from opponents who called it a “communist fantasy,” according to reporting. Fox News Digital said it reached out to the mayor’s office for comment. Mamdani is also facing a separate lawsuit from New York City landlords seeking to overturn the city’s rent freeze, the reports said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
